Since 2000, senior citizens have lost almost one-third of their buying power, according to the Annual Survey of Senior Costs, released recently by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), one of the nation's largest nonpartisan senior advocacy groups.
Typically, seniors receive a small Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) every year in their Social Security checks to help match inflation costs. But since 2000, the COLA has only increased 31 percent, while the actual cost of living for seniors has increased 73 percent.
And in 2011, for the second consecutive year, there was no COLA. The automatic COLA was first introduced in 1975; 2010 was the first year that seniors did not receive an increase. Seniors are forecast to receive a very small COLA next year.
Despite the lack of COLA, costs are going up. The study examined the increase in costs of 30 key items between 2000 and 2011. The items chosen are typical senior living expenses. Price increases for 22 out of the 30 costs exceeded the COLA.
The following table shows how various types of expenses have changed since 2000. (Dollar cost changes are included if that data is available; otherwise, only the percent of change is stated.)
| Category | Expense | Cost in 2000 | Cost in 2011 | Percent Increase, 2000-2011 | |
| Housing | Ownership costs | N/A | N/A | 32% | |
| Apartment rental | N/A | N/A | 39% | ||
| Homeowner's insurance (annual) | $508.00 | $969.00 | 91% | ||
| Real estate tax (annual) | $690.00 | $1,275.96 | 85% | ||
| Heating oil (gallon) | $1.15 | $3.34 | 190% | ||
| Natural gas (gallon) | $1.01 | $2.74 | 171% | ||
| Electricity (per kw hr) | $.08 | $.12 | 50% | ||
| Transportation | Gas, all grades (gallon) | $1.53 | $3.53 | 131% | |
| New & used vehicles | N/A | N/A | (-4%) | ||
| Oil change | $23.11 | $49.68 | 115% | ||
| Maintenance/ repair | N/A | N/A | 44% | ||
| Medical | Total out-of-pocket medical expenses | $1,074.50 | $1,526.18 | 42% | |
| Prescription drugs, generic, brand, special | $623.70 | $708.07 | 14% | ||
| Dental, general visits | $377.40 | $528.61 | 40% | ||
| Medicare Part B premiums (monthly) | $45.50 | $115.40 | 154% | ||
| Medicare Part D premiums | $25.93 | $40.72 | 57% (since 2006) | ||
| Food | 10 lbs. potatoes | $2.98 | $5.98 | 101% | |
| 1 lb. butter | $2.52 | $3.42 | 36% | ||
| Milk (gallon) | $2.78 | $3.30 | 19% | ||
| Eggs (dozen) | $0.93 | $1.81 | 95% | ||
| Ground chuck (lb.) | $1.90 | $2.99 | 57% | ||
| Bread, white loaf | $.91 | $1.40 | 54% | ||
| 1 lb. coffee | $3.54 | $4.42 | 25% | ||
| Oranges (lb.) | $.61 | $1.05 | 72% | ||
| Recreation | Recreation, misc. | N/A | N/A | 10% | |
| Communication | First class postage | $.33 | $.44 | 33% | |
| Basic phone service, local | $55.37 | $68.41 | 24% | ||
| Apparel | Clothing | N/A | N/A | (-8%) | |
| Other | Personal care products | N/A | N/A | 5% | |
| Personal care services | N/A | N/A | 32% | ||
"For many years, seniors have watched helplessly as the value of their benefits has eroded. Those losses have added up, and millions of seniors – among our most vulnerable citizens – are barely able to scrape by today," said Larry Hyland, chairman of The Senior Citizens League in a statement. "To put it in perspective, for every $100 worth of expenses seniors could afford in 2000, they can afford just $68 today."
A senior with an average Social Security benefit in 2000 received $816 per month, a figure that rose to $1,072.30 by 2011. However, that senior would require a Social Security benefit of $1,414.70 per month in 2011 just to maintain the same lifestyle he or she had in 2000.
A majority of the 37 million Americans aged 65 and over who receive a Social Security check depend on it for at least 50 percent of their total income, and one in three beneficiaries rely on it for 90 percent or more of their total income.
To help increase buying power, The Senior Citizens League is lobbying for a change in which Consumer Price Index (CPI) is used to determine the COLA. The government currently calculates the COLA based on the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), a slow-rising index that tracks the spending habits of younger workers who don't spend as much of their income on health care.
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