The inflation rate was 1.3 per cent in the past year - unless you’re an age pensioner, in which case it was 2.4 per cent, official figures show.

In the past five years, the consumer price index (CPI) has risen by 16 per cent, but most age pensioners would not be surprised to find official figures confirm their cost of living is rising faster.

The CPI is generally seen as a good yardstick for measuring the cost of living.

And it is, on average, at least for households located in the state and territory capitals where the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) collects its raw CPI price data.

Most households derive their income primarily from wages, so it should be no surprise that the cost of living index for such households has risen by about the same margin as the CPI over the past five years.
Full Story