| A new threat to Social Security has come up this week as Congress and the White House negotiate a budget deal to avert the fiscal cliff. On the negotiating table is a change to the way benefits are calculated known as the “chained CPI.”This would be a harmful benefit cut to all Social Security beneficiaries, including those on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). It reduces the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that Social Security and SSI beneficiaries receive in most years, resulting in people getting smaller benefit increases than they otherwise would under the current calculation.
Cuts from the chained CPI compound and get bigger every year. For the average SSDI beneficiary, the chained CPI would mean a benefit cut of about $347 per year after 10 years, $720 per year after 20 years, and $1,084 per year after 30 years. After 30 years, the cut is roughly 1 months’ worth of benefits for the average SSDI beneficiary.
The chained CPI is especially harmful to SSI beneficiaries, because it not only lowers the annual COLA but also reduces people’s initial SSI benefit.
To learn more about the chained CPI:
http://www.c-c-d.org/task_forces/social_sec/Chained_Consumer_Price.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/donna-meltzer/chained-cpi-fiscal-cliff_b_2277860.htmlTo learn more about deficit reduction, read The Arc’s publication, Deficit Reduction: What Disability Advocates Need to Know.
What Can You Do?
Call your Senators and the President. Click on the “Take Action” link above to get started.
Tell them:
- I oppose the chained CPI because it is a painful benefit cut for people who rely on Social Security, including people with disabilities.
- Social Security is a lifeline for many people with disabilities to be able to live in the community and be as independent as possible.
- Please oppose the chained CPI in these negotiations and protect all of the programs that people with disabilities rely on.
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