Income of the Aged Chartbook, 2000

Table of Contents

Definitions and Notes

Income Sources

Retirement benefits include Social Security, other public sources such as Railroad Retirement and government employee pensions (military, federal, state, and local), and private pensions and annuities.

Social Security includes retired-worker benefits, dependents' or survivors' benefits, disability benefits, transitionally insured benefits, and special age-72 benefits.

Pensions include private pensions and annuities, government employment pensions, Railroad Retirement, and individual retirement account, Keogh, and 401(k) payments.

Income

Total money income is the sum of all income received by the aged unit before any deductions such as those for taxes, union dues, or Medicare premiums. Total money income does not reflect nonmoney transfers such as food stamps, health benefits, subsidized housing, payments in kind, or fringe benefits from one's employment.

Aggregate income is the sum of the total money income of all aged units in the population of interest. Several charts in this book present the shares of aggregate income attributable to specific sources, such as Social Security.

General Notes

All years are calendar years.

Nonmarried men and nonmarried women include persons who are separated or married but living apart from their spouse.

Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

Percentages may not sum to 100 because of rounding.

Income Sources

Highlights
  • Social Security is a source of income for nearly all of the aged.
  • Social Security provides at least half of total income for a majority of beneficiaries.
  • Age groups differ in their likelihood of receiving earnings, but not pensions.
  • Receipt of income from major sources varies by race and Hispanic origin.

Social Security is a source of income for nearly all of the aged. Nine out of 10 aged units receive Social Security benefits. Asset income is the next most common source of income, received by about three-fifths of the aged. Two-fifths receive retirement benefits other than Social Security, and only one-fifth have earnings. Public assistance is received by 5% and veterans' benefits by only 4%.

Percentage receiving income from specified source, 2000
Bar chart with tabular version below.
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Table equivalent for chart. Percentage receiving income from specified source, 2000
Source of income Percent
Social Security 90
Asset income 59
Retirement benefits other than Social Security 41
Public and private 2
Public 12
Private 27
Earnings 22
Public assistance 5
Veterans' benefits 4
 

Social Security provides at least half of total income for a majority of beneficiaries. Social Security pays benefits to 90% of those aged 65 or older. It is the major source of income (providing 50% or more of total income) for 64% of the beneficiaries. It contributes 90% or more of income for almost one-third of the beneficiaries and is the only source of income for 20% of them.

Percentage receiving Social Security benefits, by relative importance of benefits to total income, 2000
Bar chart showing Social Security provides less than 50% of income for 36% of beneficiaries; 50-89% for 33%; 90-99% for 11%; and 100% of income for 20% of beneficiaries.

Aged groups differ in their likelihood of receiving earnings, but not pensions. Earnings are much more common in the youngest group than in the oldest group—44% compared with 4%. Private pensions are about as common across age groups, except for the group aged 85 or older. In all age groups, there is little or no difference in the likelihood of having public pensions.

Percentage receiving income from earnings and pensions, by age, 2000
Bar chart with tabular version below.
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Table equivalent for chart. Percentage receiving income from earnings and pensions, by age, 2000
Age Earnings Private pensions Public pensions
65–69 44 28 15
70–74 26 31 15
75–79 14 31 14
80–84 7 28 15
85 or older 4 22 13
 

Receipt of income from major sources varies by race and Hispanic origin. Among the aged, whites and blacks are somewhat more likely than Hispanics to receive Social Security. Whites are much more likely than blacks or Hispanics to receive income from assets and from pensions. The groups are about equally as likely to have earnings. Minority aged units are much more likely to receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) than are whites.

Percentage receiving income from major sources, by race and Hispanic origin, 2000
Bar chart with tabular version below.
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Table equivalent for chart. Percentage receiving income from major sources, by race and Hispanic origin, 2000
Source of income White Black Hispanic
Social Security 91 88 77
Asset income 63 29 28
Pensions 43 33 22
Earnings 23 19 19
Supplemental Security Income 3 10 16
 

Receipt of Social Security has become nearly universal. In 1962, 69% of the aged received Social Security benefits; in 2000, 90% of them did. Most of that increase occurred in the 1960s. Receipt of other pension income, which more than doubled from 1962 to 1992, has decreased slightly since then. The proportion of aged units with asset income, which had been about two-thirds since 1980, has dropped since 1994. The proportion with earnings has declined since 1971 and has been about 21% since 1982. The proportion receiving public assistance has also declined and is now about a third of its 1962 level.

Change in percentage receiving income from major sources, selected years
Line chart. Change in percentage receiving income from major sources, selected years. This line chart shows the change in receipt of Social Security, asset income, pensions, earnings, and public assistance from 1962 to 2000. In 1962, 69% received Social Security. This percentage then sharply increased to a high of 92 in 1988, after which there was little movement before it slightly declined to 90 in 2000. Fifty-four percent had asset income in 1962. This percentage declined slightly to 49 in 1971, rose to a high of 69 in 1990, then steadily declined to 59 in 2000. The percentage receiving pensions steady rose from 18 in 1962 to a high of 45 in 1992, and declined slightly to 41 in 2000. The percentage with earnings starts at 36, drops to sharply to 27 in 1967, rises to 31 in 1971, drops to 22 in 1982, and remains at about that level to 2000. Fourteen percent received public assistance in 1962. That percentage drops to 10 in 1980, and declined to 5 in 2000.

Total Money Income

Highlights
  • The aged are an economically diverse group.
  • Income differences by age are associated with differences in marital status.
  • Demographic differences are associated with different levels of income.
  • Median real income has risen substantially over the years.

The aged are an economically diverse group. Median income for all aged units is $18,778, but there are wide differences within the total group. About 19% have an income of under $9,000 (compared with the 2000 poverty threshold of $8,259 for one person aged 65 or older), and 14% have an income of $50,000 or more.

Percentage receiving income, by income level, 2000
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Table equivalent for chart. Percentage receiving income, by income level, 2000
Median income (thousands of dollars) Percentage of aged units
Less than 5 5
5-9 17
10-14 18
15-19 13
20-24 10
25-29 8
30-34 6
35-39 4
40-44 3
45-49 2
50 or more 14
 

Receipt of asset income is associated with relatively high median income. The median income of aged units with asset income is more than twice that of those with no asset income ($25,974, compared with $11,536). Aged units with no asset income are concentrated in the lowest income categories—41% have a total income below $10,000, and only 11% have an income of $30,000 or more. Among aged units with asset income, 10% have a total income of less than $10,000, and 42% have an income of $30,000 or more.

Percentage with various levels of income, by receipt of asset income, 2000
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Table equivalent for chart. Percentage with various levels of income, by receipt of asset income, 2000
Median income
(thousands of dollars)
With asset income Without asset income
Less than 10 10 41
10–19 27 35
20–29 21 13
30 or more 42 11
 

Receipt of earnings and retirement benefits also affects total income. About 7% of aged units have no retirement benefits. Of those, 39% have earnings, and their median income is $34,130; 61% have no earnings, and their median income is only $549. In the absence of earnings, median income rises markedly with the number of retirement benefits received, from $11,562 with one retirement benefit to $24,611 with two. For units with both earnings and retirement benefits, median income is $33,268 for those with one retirement benefit and $44,980 for those with two.

Median income, by receipt of earnings and retirement benefits, 2000
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Table equivalent for chart. Median income, by receipt of earnings and retirement benefits, 2000
Number of retirement benefits Median income (dollars)
With earnings Without earnings
No benefits 34,130 549
One benefit 33,268 11,562
Two benefits 44,980 24,611
 

Income differences by age are associated with differences in marital status. Median income is generally lower in older age groups. The striking differences by age are due in part to the disproportionate number of nonmarried women in older age groups. In every age group, nonmarried women have a lower median income than nonmarried men or married couples. Also, nonmarried women far outnumber the others in the older age groups.

Median income and percentage distribution of aged units, by age, marital status, and sex of nonmarried persons, 2000
Marital status and sex of nonmarried persons 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84 85 or older
Median income (dollars)
Married couples 36,948 32,012 27,723 27,206 24,779
Nonmarried men 19,128 14,678 15,715 16,247 13,764
Nonmarried women 13,415 12,269 12,020 12,335 10,910
Percentage distribution of aged units
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100
Married couples 55 45 39 31 19
Nonmarried men 14 16 14 17 19
Nonmarried women 31 39 47 52 62
Memorandum:
Total number of aged units (thousands)
6,508 6,154 5,689 3,841 3,038
 

Median income, by age, 2000
Bar chart showing median income by age: age 65 to 69, $25,873; age 70 to 74, $20,291; age 75 to 79, $17,282; age 80 to 84, $16,714; and age 85 or older, $12,964.

Demographic differences are associated with different levels of median income. Income is highest for married couples, who have a median income about twice that of nonmarried men and more than 2½ times that of nonmarried women. Whites have a median income 60% greater than that of blacks and almost 90% greater than that of Hispanics.

Median income, by marital status, sex of nonmarried persons, race, and Hispanic origin, 2000
Bar chart showing median income is 31,188 for married couples; 15,682, nonmarried men; 12,035, nonmarried women; and white, 19,790; black, 12,333, and Hispanic, 10,544.

Median real income has risen substantially over the years. Between 1962 and 2000, the income of the aged increased even when adjusted for inflation. The increase was 91% for married couples and 98% for nonmarried persons. There were disproportionate increases by race. Between 1967 and 2000, the income of whites increased by 102%; that of blacks increased by 78%.

Change in median income, by marital status and race, selected years
Line chart. Change in median income, by marital status and race, selected years. This line chart shows the change in median income in year 2000 dollars for married couples, nonmarried persons, white individuals, and black individuals from 1962 to 2000. Income for married couples remained fairly level from 1962 to 1967 ($16,339- 17,390). It then sharply increased to 22,781 and continued to steadily rise with some slight ups downs until it leveled off at 31,188 in 2000. Income for nonmarried persons begins at 6,422, rises very slowly until ending at 12,715. For white individuals, the 1967 amount of 9,806, rises to 13,802 in 1971. It keeps rising steadily without much fluctuation to 19,790 in 2000. The amount for black individuals begins at 6,929, rises slowly, and ends with a sharp increase to 12,333 in 2000.

Shares of Aggregate Income

Highlights
  • Social Security provides the largest share of aggregate income for persons 65 or older.
  • Shares of income from each source differ greatly by income level.
  • Over time, Social Security has provided the largest share of aggregate income for the aged.

Social Security provides the largest share of income for the aged. Aggregate income for the population 65 or older comes largely from four sources. Social Security provides 38%, earnings account for 23%, and asset income and pensions each account for 18%. Only 3% comes from other sources.

Shares of aggregate income, by source, 2000
Pie chart described in previous paragraph.

Shares of income from each source differ greatly by income level. Aged units are ranked by total money income and divided into five groups of equal size called quintiles. Persons in the lowest quintile have the largest share of income from Social Security benefits (82%), and public assistance provides the second largest share (8%). For those in the highest income quintile, earnings provide the largest share of income (35%), income from assets is the next most important (24%), followed by pensions (19%) and Social Security (19%).

Shares of aggregate income for the lowest and highest income quintiles, by source, 2000
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Table equivalent for chart. Shares of aggregate income for the lowest and highest income quintiles, by source, 2000
Source of income Percentage in
lowest quintile
Percentage in
highest quintile
Social Security 82 19
Pensions 3 19
Asset income 3 24
Earnings 1 35
Public assistance 8 -0.5
Other 2 2
 

Over time, Social Security has provided the largest share of aggregate income for the aged. In 1962, it provided the largest share followed closely by earnings. In 2000, Social Security continued to provide the largest share but by a much wider margin compared with the other major sources of income. The share from asset income increased for over 20 years but has generally declined since the mid-1980s. The share from earnings has had the opposite pattern—declining until the mid-1980s and increasing since then. The share from pensions had doubled by the early 1990s but has since leveled off.

Change in shares of aggregate income, by source, selected years
Line chart. Change in shares of aggregate income, by source, selected years. This line chart shows the change in shares of income from Social Security, asset income, pensions, earnings, and other income from 1962 to 2000. In 1962, the percentage for Social Security (31) rises to a high of 42 in 1994. It then declines to 38 in 1998 and continues at this rate to 2000. Asset income at 16 percent in 1962, rises to 28 in 1984, and a falls to 18 in 2000. Pensions begin at 9 percent, rise to a high of 20 in 1992, and remain at about the level ending at 18 in 2000.  In 1962, earnings are at 28, decline to a low of 16 in 1984, and then rise to 23 in 2000. Other income starts at 16, declines to 10 in 1967, drops further in 1976 to 4, then drops slightly to 3 in 1982 where it remains at about that level until slightly declining to 2 before rising back to 3 where it remains.

Poverty Status, Based on Family Income

Highlights
  • High proportions of nonmarried and minority aged are poor or near poor.
  • The oldest age group (85 or older) has the highest poverty rate.

High proportions of nonmarried and minority aged are poor or near poor. The variations in family income by marital status and by race are reflected in the poverty rates for those subgroups of the aged. Nonmarried persons and minorities have the highest poverty rates, ranging from 15% to 22%. When those with income between the poverty line and 125% of the poverty line (the near poor) are included, the rates for nonmarried persons and minorities range from 24% to 31%.

Poverty status, by marital status, sex of nonmarried persons, race, and Hispanic origin, 2000
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Table equivalent for chart. Poverty status, by marital status, sex of nonmarried persons, race, and Hispanic origin, 2000
  Percentage poor Percentage near poor
Married persons 5 3
Nonmarried men 15 9
Nonmarried women 18 11
White 9 7
Black 22 9
Hispanic 19 12
 

The oldest age group has the highest poverty rate. In keeping with the lower median income of older age groups, poverty rates are often higher for those who are older. As with income, the large proportion of nonmarried women in the older age groups contributes to the difference in poverty rates by age. Nonmarried women are more likely than married persons to be poor or near poor in every age group. The near poor have income between the poverty line and 125% of the poverty line.

Poverty status, by age, marital status, and sex of nonmarried persons, 2000
Age Married
persons
Nonmarried
men
Nonmarried
women
Percentage poor
65–69 4 16 18
70–74 4 17 18
75–79 5 13 19
80–84 5 15 17
85 or older 5 16 17
Percentage poor or near poor
65–69 7 23 27
70–74 8 27 29
75–79 9 20 30
80–84 9 27 27
85 or older 11 25 33
 

Poverty status, by age, 2000
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Table equivalent for chart. Poverty status, by age, 2000
Age Percentage poor Percentage near poor
65–69 8 4
70–74 10 6
75–79 11 7
80–84 12 8
85 or older 14 12