Income of the Aged Chartbook, 2006

 
Percentage with various levels of income, 2006
Income (dollars) Percentage of aged units
Less than 5,000 4.6
5,000 to 9,999 10.7
10,000 to 14,999 15.3
15,000 to 19,999 12.8
20,000 to 24,999 9.8
25,000 to 29,999 8.4
30,000 to 34,999 6.4
35,000 to 39,999 5.0
40,000 to 44,999 4.1
45,000 to 49,999 2.8
50,000 to 74,999 9.2
75,000 to 99,999 4.4
100,000 or more 6.6
NOTE: Totals do not necessarily equal the sum of the rounded components.
Median income, by age and marital status, 2006
Age All units Married couples Nonmarried persons
65 to 69 31,500 47,268 19,000
70 to 74 26,055 39,860 16,122
75 to 79 22,020 33,350 15,900
80 or older 18,000 30,594 14,648
 
Median income, by marital status, sex of nonmarried persons, race, and Hispanic origin, 2006
  Income (dollars)
Marital status  
Married couples 38,304
Nonmarried persons 15,928
Race  
White alone 24,658
Black alone 14,400
Asian alone 16,662
Hispanic origin 12,498
 
Constant (2006) dollar median income, by marital status and race, selected years
Year Couples Nonmarried White Black
1962 19,192 7,543 -- --
1967 20,359 7,883 11,480 8,112
1971 26,671 10,199 16,158 9,423
1976 27,955 11,905 17,503 10,594
1978 29,251 12,090 18,428 10,049
1980 29,408 11,695 18,154 9,933
1982 31,608 12,284 19,742 9,986
1984 33,471 12,981 21,266 10,614
1986 34,747 13,207 21,668 10,945
1988 34,603 13,510 22,353 10,741
1990 36,020 14,109 22,431 10,777
1992 34,223 13,728 21,588 10,724
1994 34,069 14,154 21,699 11,934
1996 35,905 14,522 21,784 12,398
1998 37,322 14,860 23,444 11,643
2000 36,513 14,886 23,169 14,439
2001 37,101 14,793 22,759 14,080
2002 36,375 14,781 22,529 13,447
2004 37,246 14,940 23,158 13,344
2006 38,304 15,928 24,658 14,400
NOTE: -- = not available.
Percentage receiving income from specified source, 2006
Source of income Percent
Social Security 88.5
Asset income 54.9
Retirement benefits other than Social Security 41.3
Public and private 2.0
Public only 12.2
Private only 27.1
Earnings 24.6
Veterans' benefits 3.5
Cash public assistance 3.7
Noncash benefits 9.2
 
Percentage of aged beneficiary units receiving Social Security benefits, by relative importance of benefits to total income, 2006
  All beneficiary units Beneficiary married couples Nonmarried beneficiaries
50% or more of income 63.5 52.0 71.8
90% or more of income 32.3 20.4 40.8
 
Percentage receiving income from earnings and pensions, by age, 2006
Age Earnings Private pensions Public pensions
65 to 69 46.2 25.6 13.5
70 to 74 28.5 32.6 14.1
75 to 79 18.5 30.1 15.0
80 or older 6.4 28.9 14.3
 
Percentage receiving income from major sources, by race and Hispanic origin, 2006
Major source of income White alone Black alone Asian alone Hispanic
Social Security 90.0 82.1 68.2 74.5
Asset income 58.9 25.6 40.2 22.6
Pensions 43.3 29.6 22.8 18.2
Earnings 25.2 20.1 23.5 22.5
SSI 2.6 9.3 10.7 10.1
 
Percentage receiving income from major sources, selected years
Year Social Security Pensions Asset income Earnings Cash public assistance
1962 69 18 54 36 13
1967 86 22 50 27 12
1971 87 23 49 31 10
1976 89 31 56 25 11
1978 90 32 62 25 10
1980 90 34 66 23 10
1982 90 35 68 22 8
1984 91 38 68 21 9
1986 91 40 67 20 7
1988 92 42 68 22 7
1990 92 44 69 22 7
1992 92 45 67 20 7
1994 91 42 67 21 6
1996 91 41 63 21 6
1998 90 43 63 21 5
2000 90 41 59 22 5
2001 91 40 58 22 5
2002 90 41 55 22 5
2004 89 41 55 24 4
2006 88.5 41.3 54.9 24.6 3.7
SOURCE: March Current Population Survey, Survey of the Aged, and Survey of Demographic and Economic Characteristics of the Aged.
Percentage with various levels of income, by receipt of asset income, 2006
Income (dollars) With asset income Without asset income
Less than 10,000 5.5 27.2
10,000 to 19,999 20.5 37.3
20,000 to 29,999 19.5 16.6
30,000 or more 54.5 18.9
 
Median income, by receipt of earnings and retirement benefits, 2006
Receipt of retirement benefits With earnings With no earnings
No retirement benefits 43,886 0
One retirement benefit type 42,760 14,004
Two retirement benefit types 57,662 30,324
NOTE: Retirement benefit types are Social Security, Railroad Retirement, government pension, and private pension or annuity.
Shares of aggregate income for the lowest and highest income quintiles, by source, 2006
Source of aggregate income Percentage of
aggregate income
for lowest quintile		 Percentage of
aggregate income
for highest quintile
Social Security 82.5 17.6
Earnings 1.6 41.3
Pensions 3.8 18.3
Asset income 3.3 20.8
Cash public assistance 7.5 0.1
Other 1.3 2.0
NOTES: The quintile limits for aged units for 2006 are $11,519, $18,622, $28,911, and $50,064.
Totals do not necessarily equal the sum of the rounded components.
Shares of aggregate income, by source, selected years (in percent)
Year Social Security Pensions Asset income Earnings Other
1962 31 9 16 29 15
1967 34 12 15 29 10
1976 39 16 18 23 4
1978 38 16 19 23 4
1980 39 16 22 19 4
1982 39 15 25 18 3
1984 38 15 28 16 3
1986 38 16 26 17 3
1988 37.9 17.5 24.8 17.0 2.8
1990 36.4 18.3 24.5 17.7 3.1
1992 39.5 19.6 20.6 17.1 3.2
1994 42.1 18.7 17.6 18.0 3.6
1996 40.3 18.5 18.0 20.0 3.2
1998 37.6 18.7 19.9 20.7 3.1
2000 38.4 18.0 17.5 23.1 3.0
2001 38.6 18.1 16.1 24.4 2.8
2002 39.4 19.0 13.6 24.9 3.1
2004 38.6 19.7 12.6 26.3 2.7
2006 36.7 17.9 14.9 27.8 2.7
SOURCE: March Current Population Survey, Survey of the Aged, and Survey of Demographic and Economic Characteristics of the Aged.
NOTE: Statistic was not produced in 1971.
Percentage with various levels of family income, 2006
Income (dollars) Percent
Less than 5,000 2.1
5,000 to 9,999 6.1
10,000 to 14,999 10.0
15,000 to 19,999 10.3
20,000 to 24,999 9.3
25,000 to 29,999 8.9
30,000 to 34,999 7.4
35,000 to 39,999 6.2
40,000 to 44,999 5.3
45,000 to 49,999 3.9
50,000 to 74,999 13.1
75,000 to 99,999 6.6
100,000 or more 10.6
NOTE: Totals do not necessarily equal the sum of the rounded components.
Family income of persons 65 or older tends to be higher than the income of aged units 65 or older because it includes income from all family members, not just a spouse. In addition, each elderly person counts individually rather than as part of a marital unit; statistics based on aged units give greater weight to nonmarried persons as compared to statistics based on persons.
Median family income, by sex and age, 2006
Age All persons Men Women
65 to 69 40,382 45,000 37,000
70 to 74 33,585 38,272 30,362
75 to 79 29,680 34,062 26,124
80 or older 25,062 30,013 21,600
NOTE: Family income of persons 65 or older tends to be higher than the income of aged units 65 or older because it includes income from all family members, not just a spouse. In addition, each elderly person counts individually rather than as part of a marital unit; statistics based on aged units give greater weight to nonmarried persons as compared to statistics based on persons.
Median family income, by sex, race, and Hispanic origin, 2006
Sex, race, or Hispanic origin Dollars
All persons 31,744
Men 37,288
Women 28,114
White alone 32,400
Black alone 23,580
Asian alone 43,512
Hispanic 27,142
NOTE: Family income of persons 65 or older tends to be higher than the income of aged units 65 or older because it includes income from all family members, not just a spouse. In addition, each elderly person counts individually rather than as part of a marital unit; statistics based on aged units give greater weight to nonmarried persons as compared to statistics based on persons.
Family income source, by sex, 2006
Source of income All persons Men Women
Social Security 89.9 88.9 90.7
Asset income 60.1 62.6 58.3
Retirement benefits other than Social Security 44.7 48.1 42.2
Earnings 36.2 40.3 33.1
Veterans' benefits 4.2 5.1 3.5
Cash public assistance 4.5 3.4 5.3
Noncash benefits 7.7 5.4 9.5
NOTE: Family income of persons 65 or older tends to be higher than the income of aged units 65 or older because it includes income from all family members, not just a spouse. In addition, each elderly person counts individually rather than as part of a marital unit; statistics based on aged units give greater weight to nonmarried persons as compared to statistics based on persons.
Percentage of aged persons in families receiving Social Security benefits, by sex and relative importance of family benefits to family total income, 2006
  All persons Men Women
50% or more of income 54.3 50.0 57.4
90% or more of income 23.9 20.2 26.6
NOTE: Family income of persons 65 or older tends to be higher than the income of aged units 65 or older because it includes income from all family members, not just a spouse. In addition, each elderly person counts individually rather than as part of a marital unit; statistics based on aged units give greater weight to nonmarried persons as compared to statistics based on persons.
Poverty status, by sex, marital status, race, and Hispanic origin, 2006 (in percent)
Sex, marital status, race, or Hispanic origin Poor Near poor
All persons 9.4 6.2
Men 6.6 4.8
Women 11.5 7.3
Married 4.4 3.3
Nonmarried 15.6 9.8
White alone 7.9 5.9
Black alone 22.7 9.8
Asian alone 12.0 5.6
Hispanic 19.4 10.3
 
Poverty status, by age, 2006 (in percent)
Age Poor Near poor
65 to 69 8.2 4.3
70 to 74 9.2 5.6
75 to 79 9.8 6.1
80 or older 10.7 9.0