Zach Morris, PhD, associate professor at Stony Brook University's School of Social Welfare, has received a grant from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation (FINRA Foundation) to develop a replicable consumer price index for people with disabilities (CPI-D).
Cost-of-living issues are of great importance for Americans with disabilities, just as they are for those without disabilities. In addition to facing wider affordability pressures, disabled people often incur extra costs for items like assistive technologies, transportation expenses, and medical care. These additional expenses mean people with disabilities spend differently, and they are also likely to experience inflation differently.
This research project builds on a prior FINRA Foundation grant also led by Dr. Morris that produced the first national estimates of the extra costs of living with a disability: an additional $18,322 per year for a household at the median income level.
“With this grant, we will be able to provide a critically needed measure of inflation specific to the consumer experiences of the more than 61 million Americans living with a disability,” Dr. Morris said.
“Improved measures of inflation can help people with disabilities plan for their financial futures,” he added. “A CPI-D can also help policymakers ensure that programs like Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income are accurately indexed to the inflation experiences of beneficiaries.”
This CPI-D will be developed in close collaboration with Stephanie Rennane, PhD, a senior economist from the RAND Corporation. In prior work, Dr. Morris and Dr. Rennane found that medical expenses comprise approximately 15 percent of all expenditures for disability benefit recipients compared to 7 percent for the average consumer, demonstrating the need to develop a CPI-D.
“The FINRA Investor Education Foundation is pleased to support this important research, which can empower disabled Americans with the information needed to make sound financial decisions,” said Dr. Gary Mottola, research director at the FINRA Foundation.
