“There are 2,431 Social Security recipient in the Northern Marianas as of 2009,” said Congressman Sablan. “And the number is growing every year.
“So it becomes increasingly important that we make sure that the benefits those 2,431 individuals receive keep up with the cost of living.
“It is hard enough to get by on a Social Security check, even harder if that check has less and less spending power at the store.”
Kilili has co-sponsored H.R. 2365, the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers, or CPIEC, Act. This requires the U.S. Department of Labor to prepare and publish a monthly Consumer Price Index for those age 62 and over. The bill also requires the new CPIEC to be used in the computation of cost-of-living increases for Social Security and Medicare benefits.
“Elderly Social Security beneficiaries have living costs that are not necessarily captured in the regular Consumer Price Index,” said Sablan.
“In particular, the elderly spend more on health care; and health care costs are rising faster than overall costs.”
The Congressional Research Service reports that those aged 65 and older spend more than twice as large a share of their total outlays on health care as does the overall population. With respect to the population aged 75 and older, the share of their spending allocated to health care is close to three times as large as that of the total population.
H.R. 2365 would require the new CPIEC to be used in the computation of cost-of-living increases for Social Security and Medicare benefits.
Wider benefit of Social Security to NMI
Aside from the question of making sure that Social Security benefits for the elderly keep up with cost of living, the data Congressman Sablan released also underscore the importance of Federal Social Security benefits in the overall NMI economy.
“Social Security benefits put $15 million into the pockets of beneficiaries in the Northern Marianas last year. And most of that money goes directly into the economy to pay for food and utilities and the other basic necessities of life.
“It is important to pay attention to that stream of income flowing into our local economy,” said Sablan.
Total Social Security payments to individuals in the NMI have increased from about $10 million in 2003 to $15 million in 2009. Average payments to individuals have tended to increase, also. But last year broke with the trend and the average payments to individuals declined.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act did compensate for that dip, however, by providing a $250 check to Social Security recipients nationwide, including those in the NMI.
“That one-time Recovery Act check provided a little bit of help to the elderly and some veterans who were also eligible,” Sablan noted. “And it pumped another much-needed $640,000 into our economy.
Of the 2,431 Social Security recipients in the Northern Mariana Islands in 2009 1,502 are retirees, widows, and widowers, who are mostly elderly. The rest are disabled workers and children.
