2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: This needs to be said... [View all]Jeff In Milwaukee
(13,992 posts)Your Social Security benefit is established at the time of your retirement. You benefit is then adjusted for inflation over time. Chained CPI is simply an alternative (and based on the consensus among economists, more accurate) way to calculate the rate of inflation.
Look, what we're arguing here is semantics. The dollar amount of your Social Security check will be less under Chained CPI because it calculates a slightly lower rate of inflation.
SSI and benefits for the poorest elderly are excluded from the revision, and when you reach the age of 85, you get a bump in benefits. So who's effected? Seniors not living in poverty -- those who would likely be taxed on their Social Security benefits. When you factor in the reduction in taxes, the decrease is about 0.25%