Income of the Population 55 or Older, 2006

Importance of Social Security Relative to Total Income
(Beneficiary Aged Units and Persons in Beneficiary Families Only)

Relative Importance of Social Security for Beneficiary Aged Units

Relative Importance of Social Security for Beneficiary Units 65 or Older

Relative Importance of Social Security for Persons 65 or Older in Beneficiary Families

Key Terms and Concepts for Section 9 1

Age. Age classification is based on the age of the person at his or her last birthday as of March 2007. A married couple's age is defined as the age of the husband—unless he is under age 55 and the wife is 55 or older, in which case it is the age of the wife.

Aged unit. With age 55 as the cutoff, aged units are defined as married couples living together—at least one of whom is 55 or older—and nonmarried persons 55 or older.

Marital status. Married persons are married and living with their spouse. Nonmarried persons may be divorced, widowed, never married, separated, or married but living apart from their spouse.

Race. The categories White alone, Black alone, and Asian alone reflect respondents who reported only one race. Because of changes to the race category, data on race are not directly comparable to editions prior to 2002. A person's race is his or her reported race. A married couple's race is defined as the race of the husband.

Hispanic origin. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. A married couple is of Hispanic origin if the husband is of Hispanic origin.

Family. A family is a group of two or more people (one of whom is the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together; all such people (including related subfamily members) are considered as members of one family.

Social Security beneficiary. A beneficiary may be receiving retired-worker benefits, dependents' or survivor benefits, disability benefits, or transitionally insured benefits.

Per capita income. Per capita income is total family income divided by the number of persons in the family.

Relative Importance of Income Source. The relative importance of a source is the ratio of the amount of income from a given source to total income for an aged unit or family. These tables are distributions of persons or aged units by the importance of a given source at the individual unit level.

Poverty. The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to detect who is poor. If a family's total income is less than that family's threshold, then that family, and every individual in it, is considered poor. The poverty thresholds do not vary geographically, but they are updated annually for inflation with the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). The official poverty definition counts money income before taxes and excludes capital gains and noncash benefits (such as public housing, Medicaid, and food stamps).

Notes

 1 For more information, consult the Glossary for this report.

Tables

Relative Importance of Social Security for Beneficiary Aged UnitsTable 9.A1 Percentage distribution of beneficiary units, by age, 2006
Proportion of income Aged 55–61 Aged 62–64 Aged 65 or older
Total 65–69 70–74 75–79 80 or older
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1–19 22.3 24.7 10.3 17.1 11.0 7.8 6.0
20–39 20.8 23.0 16.9 23.3 19.5 14.4 11.5
40–59 14.0 15.0 18.4 18.6 18.6 19.4 17.4
60–79 7.7 9.4 15.2 11.9 15.1 17.0 16.5
80 or more 35.2 27.9 39.3 29.1 35.8 41.4 48.6
50 or more 49.4 43.8 63.5 49.2 60.2 67.2 75.0
90 or more 31.0 24.3 32.3 24.6 29.1 33.9 39.9
100 25.9 16.8 21.6 17.5 20.0 22.4 25.6
Mean proportion 55.1 50.2 64.0 54.6 61.6 66.7 71.4
Number (thousands) 2,191 2,473 24,203 6,069 5,359 5,286 7,489
NOTES: Units with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.
The relative importance of a source of income may not accurately reflect the resources available to elderly persons or elderly aged units. The survey on which these data are based does not include some potentially important resources as income, including lump-sum pension payments and capital gains. In addition, these statistics do not take into consideration noncash benefits that supplement money income (housing and energy subsidies or food stamps) or the amount of savings available to supplement monthly income. Consult the Frequently Asked Questions for further information.
Relative Importance of Social Security for Beneficiary Aged UnitsTable 9.A2 Percentage distribution of beneficiary units, by marital status and age, 2006
Proportion of income Married couples Nonmarried persons
55–61 62–64 65 or older 55–61 62–64 65 or older
Total 65–69 70–74 75–79 80 or older Total 65–69 70–74 75–79 80 or older
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1–19 33.8 35.9 15.4 23.5 14.7 10.3 9.3 7.6 12.6 6.6 9.8 7.7 6.0 4.8
20–39 30.3 28.5 21.5 27.8 22.6 17.3 14.9 8.7 17.0 13.6 18.4 16.7 12.3 10.1
40–59 14.6 15.4 20.6 17.5 21.7 23.3 20.9 13.1 14.5 16.8 19.8 15.8 16.5 16.0
60–79 6.1 8.0 15.6 12.0 16.1 16.3 19.6 9.8 10.8 14.9 11.9 14.3 17.5 15.3
80 or more 15.2 12.1 27.0 19.2 24.8 32.9 35.3 60.8 45.0 48.1 40.2 45.6 47.7 53.7
50 or more 27.7 26.4 52.0 38.4 51.4 59.1 66.0 77.0 62.7 71.8 61.3 68.1 73.3 78.4
90 or more 13.0 9.4 20.4 14.8 19.1 24.4 26.6 53.9 40.4 40.8 35.7 38.0 40.9 44.9
100 10.1 6.5 11.7 8.6 11.4 13.2 15.5 46.0 28.0 28.7 27.4 27.7 29.3 29.5
Mean proportion 38.6 36.4 54.9 46.1 54.2 60.4 63.5 76.1 65.3 70.4 64.1 68.2 71.3 74.5
Number (thousands) 1,227 1,288 10,069 3,211 2,536 2,253 2,068 964 1,184 14,135 2,858 2,823 3,032 5,422
NOTES: Units with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.
The relative importance of a source of income may not accurately reflect the resources available to elderly persons or elderly aged units. The survey on which these data are based does not include some potentially important resources as income, including lump-sum pension payments and capital gains. In addition, these statistics do not take into consideration noncash benefits that supplement money income (housing and energy subsidies or food stamps) or the amount of savings available to supplement monthly income. Consult the Frequently Asked Questions for further information.
Relative Importance of Social Security for Beneficiary Units 65 or OlderTable 9.A3 Percentage distribution of beneficiary units, by race, Hispanic origin, and marital status, 2006
Proportion of income White alone Black alone Asian alone Hispanic origin
All units Married couples Nonmarried persons All units Married couples Nonmarried persons All units Married couples Nonmarried persons All units Married couples Nonmarried persons
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1–19 10.7 15.6 7.0 5.7 11.2 3.7 12.1 17.3 7.0 6.2 11.4 3.1
20–39 17.2 21.4 14.0 14.3 23.0 11.0 15.0 18.9 11.2 11.1 17.0 7.7
40–59 19.1 21.0 17.6 12.7 14.8 11.9 15.7 18.3 13.1 12.3 14.4 11.0
60–79 15.7 16.0 15.4 12.3 11.5 12.6 8.8 11.9 5.6 12.7 14.7 11.5
80 or more 37.4 25.9 46.0 55.0 39.5 60.8 48.4 33.6 63.1 57.6 42.5 66.7
50 or more 62.5 51.6 70.7 73.3 56.6 79.6 65.2 55.6 74.7 76.8 64.4 84.2
90 or more 30.4 19.4 38.6 48.5 32.6 54.5 41.2 27.2 55.0 52.4 36.6 62.0
100 19.3 10.6 25.9 40.4 25.6 46.0 32.6 19.9 45.2 43.2 27.4 52.7
Mean proportion 62.9 54.4 69.2 73.7 61.6 78.3 66.8 57.4 76.1 75.8 65.3 82.2
Number (thousands) 21,115 9,049 12,066 2,151 588 1,563 589 293 296 1,411 530 881
NOTES: Units with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.
The relative importance of a source of income may not accurately reflect the resources available to elderly persons or elderly aged units. The survey on which these data are based does not include some potentially important resources as income, including lump-sum pension payments and capital gains. In addition, these statistics do not take into consideration noncash benefits that supplement money income (housing and energy subsidies or food stamps) or the amount of savings available to supplement monthly income. Consult the Frequently Asked Questions for further information.
Relative Importance of Social Security for Beneficiary Units 65 or OlderTable 9.A4 Percentage distribution of beneficiary units, by marital status and quintile of total money income, 2006
Proportion of income All units Married couples Nonmarried persons
First Second Third Fourth Fifth First Second Third Fourth Fifth First Second Third Fourth Fifth
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1–19 0.4 1.2 1.9 6.2 42.6 1.1 2.4 4.9 10.8 60.5 0.2 0.5 1.6 2.8 28.4
20–39 1.5 4.0 9.9 27.1 41.2 3.1 6.6 16.0 45.3 36.6 1.0 1.8 5.6 14.4 44.7
40–59 3.2 8.1 26.2 38.0 13.2 3.9 15.4 39.9 37.4 2.6 3.2 4.0 11.7 41.4 20.9
60–79 9.1 17.1 24.7 20.7 1.9 11.1 28.6 29.8 5.1 0.3 8.5 10.5 23.0 26.1 3.7
80 or more 85.8 69.6 37.3 7.9 1.0 80.9 47.0 9.4 1.4 0.1 87.1 83.2 58.1 15.4 2.4
50 or more 96.7 91.7 77.7 45.8 6.7 94.3 84.9 61.1 18.0 0.6 97.3 96.5 87.8 66.3 12.1
90 or more 78.6 57.8 26.2 4.0 0.9 71.6 29.8 4.1 1.2 0 79.6 75.9 43.1 9.7 2.1
100 61.3 37.0 13.6 1.8 0.2 46.3 13.6 1.6 0.6 0 65.5 53.6 25.8 4.5 1.1
Mean proportion 92.8 84.8 69.1 49.5 25.6 89.7 74.4 54.5 37.9 18.5 93.5 91.7 79.3 58.2 31.8
Number (thousands) 4,105 5,189 5,175 5,059 4,675 1,822 2,150 2,147 2,038 1,911 2,229 3,065 3,056 3,023 2,762
NOTES: Units with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.
Quintile limits are $11,519, $18,622, $28,911, and $50,064 for all units; $22,083, $32,000, $45,796, and $76,746 for married couples; and $9,330, $13,374, $19,062, and $30,202 for nonmarried persons.
The relative importance of a source of income may not accurately reflect the resources available to elderly persons or elderly aged units. The survey on which these data are based does not include some potentially important resources as income, including lump-sum pension payments and capital gains. In addition, these statistics do not take into consideration noncash benefits that supplement money income (housing and energy subsidies or food stamps) or the amount of savings available to supplement monthly income. Consult the Frequently Asked Questions for further information.
Relative Importance of Social Security for Persons 65 or Older in Beneficiary FamiliesTable 9.B1 Percentage distribution of persons in beneficiary families, by sex and age, 2006
Proportion of family income All persons Men Women
Aged 55–61 Aged 62–64 Aged 65 or older 55–61 62–64 65 or older 55–61 62–64 65 or older
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1–19 35.7 30.0 15.4 36.4 34.4 17.0 35.3 27.0 14.2
20–39 27.6 26.1 20.3 26.9 26.0 22.1 28.0 26.1 19.0
40–59 13.1 15.2 18.8 11.9 14.0 20.3 13.8 16.0 17.7
60–79 6.8 9.2 15.1 7.0 7.8 14.5 6.6 10.2 15.5
80 or more 16.9 19.5 30.4 17.8 17.9 26.1 16.3 20.6 33.5
50 or more 29.5 35.0 54.3 30.5 31.3 50.0 28.9 37.5 57.4
90 or more 13.8 16.2 23.9 14.6 14.9 20.2 13.3 17.1 26.6
100 10.5 10.3 14.5 11.5 10.0 12.1 9.9 10.5 16.3
Mean proportion 39.2 43.4 56.8 39.5 40.6 53.7 39.1 45.3 59.1
Number (thousands) 5,191 4,348 32,315 1,958 1,746 13,693 3,234 2,601 18,622
NOTES: Persons in families with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.
The relative importance of a source of income may not accurately reflect the resources available to elderly persons or elderly aged units. The survey on which these data are based does not include some potentially important resources as income, including lump-sum pension payments and capital gains. In addition, these statistics do not take into consideration noncash benefits that supplement money income (housing and energy subsidies or food stamps) or the amount of savings available to supplement monthly income. Consult the Frequently Asked Questions for further information.
Relative Importance of Social Security for Persons 65 or Older in Beneficiary FamiliesTable 9.B2 Percentage distribution of persons in beneficiary families, by sex and age, 2006
Proportion of family income All persons Men Women
65–69 70–74 75–79 80 or older 65–69 70–74 75–79 80 or older 65–69 70–74 75–79 80 or older
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1–19 21.0 15.2 12.4 12.4 23.4 16.7 13.3 12.6 18.8 14.0 11.7 12.3
20–39 24.6 22.9 18.2 15.3 26.5 24.1 19.4 16.7 22.9 22.0 17.3 14.6
40–59 19.2 18.3 20.2 17.7 17.9 20.6 21.9 21.4 20.4 16.5 19.0 15.6
60–79 12.7 15.5 16.5 16.1 11.4 14.1 15.8 17.7 13.8 16.7 17.0 15.1
80 or more 22.5 28.1 32.7 38.5 20.7 24.5 29.6 31.6 24.1 30.9 35.0 42.4
50 or more 43.3 52.2 58.2 64.2 39.8 48.3 54.3 61.1 46.4 55.2 61.2 65.9
90 or more 18.2 21.8 25.4 30.3 16.8 19.3 22.3 23.5 19.5 23.8 27.7 34.2
100 11.4 13.5 15.2 18.1 10.4 12.2 12.9 13.4 12.2 14.5 16.9 20.8
Mean proportion 49.7 55.5 59.6 63.0 47.2 52.8 57.4 59.7 51.9 57.6 61.3 64.9
Number (thousands) 8,959 7,616 6,973 8,767 4,154 3,367 3,006 3,165 4,804 4,249 3,967 5,602
NOTES: Persons in families with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.
The relative importance of a source of income may not accurately reflect the resources available to elderly persons or elderly aged units. The survey on which these data are based does not include some potentially important resources as income, including lump-sum pension payments and capital gains. In addition, these statistics do not take into consideration noncash benefits that supplement money income (housing and energy subsidies or food stamps) or the amount of savings available to supplement monthly income. Consult the Frequently Asked Questions for further information.
Relative Importance of Social Security for Persons 65 or Older in Beneficiary FamiliesTable 9.B3 Percentage distribution of persons in beneficiary families, by sex and marital status, 2006
Proportion of family income All persons Men Women
Married Nonmarried Married Nonmarried Married Nonmarried
Total Widowed Divorced Never married Total Widowed Divorced Never married Total Widowed Divorced Never married
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1–19 16.4 14.2 13.3 17.1 13.5 17.9 14.6 13.9 15.7 16.1 14.5 14.1 13.2 18.0 11.3
20–39 22.3 17.8 16.8 19.8 21.2 23.2 18.9 18.9 18.3 17.5 21.1 17.4 16.3 20.7 24.3
40–59 20.5 16.7 16.3 18.3 17.7 20.1 20.7 20.5 21.5 21.7 20.9 15.4 15.4 16.5 14.3
60–79 15.8 14.2 14.7 12.2 14.5 14.9 13.3 15.9 10.0 10.5 16.9 14.5 14.5 13.5 17.9
80 or more 25.0 37.1 38.8 32.5 33.1 23.8 32.5 30.8 34.5 34.1 26.6 38.6 40.7 31.3 32.3
50 or more 50.1 59.6 61.8 54.3 55.3 47.7 56.5 57.4 55.0 56.0 53.1 60.7 62.8 53.9 54.7
90 or more 18.5 30.7 31.9 27.0 29.1 17.7 26.9 24.8 28.8 29.3 19.5 31.9 33.5 25.9 28.9
100 9.9 20.3 20.1 20.5 20.8 9.6 19.0 15.7 21.5 25.5 10.4 20.7 21.1 20.0 16.9
Mean proportion 53.5 61.0 62.4 57.3 59.1 52.0 58.5 58.3 58.7 59.0 55.4 61.8 63.3 56.4 59.3
Number (thousands) 18,024 14,291 9,782 2,702 1,084 10,061 3,632 1,800 1,000 499 7,963 10,660 7,982 1,702 585
NOTES: Persons in families with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.
The relative importance of a source of income may not accurately reflect the resources available to elderly persons or elderly aged units. The survey on which these data are based does not include some potentially important resources as income, including lump-sum pension payments and capital gains. In addition, these statistics do not take into consideration noncash benefits that supplement money income (housing and energy subsidies or food stamps) or the amount of savings available to supplement monthly income. Consult the Frequently Asked Questions for further information.
Relative Importance of Social Security for Persons 65 or Older in Beneficiary FamiliesTable 9.B4 Percentage distribution of persons in beneficiary families, by race, Hispanic origin, and sex, 2006
Proportion of family income White alone Black alone Asian alone Hispanic origin
All persons Men Women All persons Men Women All persons Men Women All persons Men Women
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1–19 15.0 17.0 13.6 13.6 13.6 13.6 32.6 29.8 34.6 20.3 20.6 20.1
20–39 20.4 22.3 19.0 19.9 20.6 19.4 19.2 20.5 18.4 19.3 22.4 17.0
40–59 19.3 20.8 18.3 14.7 15.6 14.1 13.3 15.3 11.8 12.6 12.3 12.7
60–79 15.6 14.8 16.2 10.9 12.0 10.2 10.5 11.7 9.6 12.8 13.1 12.6
80 or more 29.6 25.1 32.9 40.9 38.3 42.6 24.4 22.7 25.6 35.1 31.6 37.6
50 or more 54.4 49.7 57.9 57.8 55.9 59.1 41.5 42.4 40.8 53.5 50.1 55.9
90 or more 23.0 19.1 25.9 35.1 33.2 36.4 20.6 19.0 21.7 29.8 26.9 32.0
100 13.3 10.9 15.1 28.1 25.8 29.6 14.5 14.1 14.7 22.4 19.8 24.3
Mean proportion 56.7 53.3 59.2 62.2 61.0 62.9 46.6 47.2 46.2 57.3 55.0 58.9
Number (thousands) 28,456 12,142 16,314 2,595 1,014 1,581 820 337 483 1,865 786 1,079
NOTES: Persons in families with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.
The relative importance of a source of income may not accurately reflect the resources available to elderly persons or elderly aged units. The survey on which these data are based does not include some potentially important resources as income, including lump-sum pension payments and capital gains. In addition, these statistics do not take into consideration noncash benefits that supplement money income (housing and energy subsidies or food stamps) or the amount of savings available to supplement monthly income. Consult the Frequently Asked Questions for further information.
Relative Importance of Social Security for Persons 65 or Older in Beneficiary FamiliesTable 9.B5 Percentage distribution of persons in beneficiary families, by race, Hispanic origin, sex, and marital status, 2006
Proportion of family income White alone Black alone Asian alone Hispanic origin
Men Women Men Women Men Women Men Women
Married Non-married Married Non-married Married Non-married Married Non-married Married Non-married Married Non-married Married Non-married Married Non-married
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 a 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1–19 17.7 15.0 14.1 13.2 15.9 10.3 12.5 14.0 30.2 a 26.7 41.3 22.0 17.9 20.5 19.9
20–39 23.1 19.8 21.1 17.3 25.9 13.3 22.2 18.4 21.1 a 21.5 15.7 20.4 26.5 16.9 17.1
40–59 20.5 21.4 21.3 15.9 15.7 15.4 17.9 12.8 14.8 a 15.6 8.6 12.9 11.0 12.4 13.0
60–79 15.3 13.3 17.3 15.4 10.5 14.0 13.0 9.3 13.3 a 14.7 5.3 13.9 11.3 14.4 11.3
80 or more 23.3 30.5 26.3 38.2 31.9 47.0 34.5 45.5 20.6 a 21.5 29.1 30.9 33.2 35.8 38.8
50 or more 47.9 55.1 53.4 61.5 47.2 67.9 53.2 61.1 42.1 a 44.2 38.0 50.1 50.1 56.6 55.5
90 or more 17.2 24.7 19.1 31.3 26.5 42.5 27.8 39.3 17.0 a 18.0 24.9 25.0 30.8 28.5 34.3
100 8.8 16.9 9.7 19.3 20.0 33.8 21.8 32.2 12.2 a 11.2 17.8 16.8 26.0 20.7 26.8
Mean proportion 51.9 57.2 55.5 62.1 55.5 68.6 59.3 64.2 46.2 a 48.3 44.4 54.5 56.0 58.4 59.2
Number (thousands) 9,043 3,100 7,242 9,071 589 425 406 1,175 294 43 223 260 527 259 433 646
NOTES: Persons in families with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.
The relative importance of a source of income may not accurately reflect the resources available to elderly persons or elderly aged units. The survey on which these data are based does not include some potentially important resources as income, including lump-sum pension payments and capital gains. In addition, these statistics do not take into consideration noncash benefits that supplement money income (housing and energy subsidies or food stamps) or the amount of savings available to supplement monthly income. Consult the Frequently Asked Questions for further information.
a. Fewer than 75,000 weighted cases.
Relative Importance of Social Security for Persons 65 or Older in Beneficiary FamiliesTable 9.B6 Percentage distribution of persons in beneficiary families, by quintile of per-capita total family money income, 2006
Proportion of family income Total First Second Third Fourth Fifth
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1–19 15.4 2.4 3.9 6.9 15.0 49.4
20–39 20.3 6.8 8.2 15.5 30.1 40.7
40–59 18.8 6.9 11.4 25.5 40.5 7.9
60–79 15.1 11.9 19.3 30.6 10.9 1.2
80 or more 30.4 72.0 57.2 21.5 3.6 0.8
50 or more 54.3 87.7 82.9 66.0 32.0 3.6
90 or more 23.9 62.9 44.1 12.8 2.5 0.7
100 14.5 43.7 24.5 5.8 1.2 0.3
Mean proportion 56.8 84.3 77.0 59.5 41.7 22.8
Number (thousands) 32,315 5,795 6,793 6,806 6,601 6,320
NOTES: Persons in families with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.
Per-capita family total money income quintile limits are $10,466, $15,183, $21,411, and $34,193.
The relative importance of a source of income may not accurately reflect the resources available to elderly persons or elderly aged units. The survey on which these data are based does not include some potentially important resources as income, including lump-sum pension payments and capital gains. In addition, these statistics do not take into consideration noncash benefits that supplement money income (housing and energy subsidies or food stamps) or the amount of savings available to supplement monthly income. Consult the Frequently Asked Questions for further information.
Relative Importance of Social Security for Persons 65 or Older in Beneficiary FamiliesTable 9.B7 Percentage distribution of persons in beneficiary families, by number of persons in family and quintile of per-capita family total money income, 2006
Proportion of family income Total First Second Third Fourth Fifth
Persons in 1-person families
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1–19 7.6 0.3 0.8 1.7 4.5 34.0
20–39 14.4 1.2 2.0 7.3 18.2 47.6
40–59 17.9 3.7 6.0 16.2 50.3 13.6
60–79 15.7 9.6 13.2 32.4 18.9 2.3
80 or more 44.4 85.2 78.1 42.5 8.1 2.5
50 or more 69.3 96.7 95.7 83.2 54.6 8.1
90 or more 37.2 76.9 67.7 28.8 5.8 2.3
100 24.7 59.1 44.3 14.2 2.9 1.0
Mean proportion 68.1 92.3 88.9 73.1 52.3 28.9
Number (thousands) 10,703 1,993 2,427 2,202 2,154 1,928
Persons in 2-person families
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1–19 14.8 1.1 1.6 4.3 11.0 51.9
20–39 21.2 3.4 6.8 14.5 36.1 41.1
40–59 20.3 5.9 12.4 31.9 42.6 6.1
60–79 16.6 12.4 24.8 35.4 8.5 0.8
80 or more 27.1 77.3 54.4 13.8 1.7 0.1
50 or more 52.9 93.1 85.8 67.7 25.6 1.8
90 or more 20.1 67.7 36.7 6.3 1.1 0
100 11.0 43.6 16.2 2.2 0.4 0
Mean proportion 55.5 88.0 77.3 58.0 40.5 21.3
Number (thousands) 17,390 2,845 3,548 3,758 3,514 3,725
Persons in families of 3 or more
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1–19 37.9 10.7 23.0 32.0 54.2 80.0
20–39 31.6 28.3 32.7 41.5 34.7 18.2
40–59 14.8 16.5 22.9 21.1 9.7 1.8
60–79 7.4 15.2 13.8 4.6 1.4 0
80 or more 8.3 29.2 7.6 0.8 0 0
50 or more 22.0 53.0 32.1 13.5 3.9 1.0
90 or more 5.7 19.8 6.3 0 0 0
100 3.1 12.0 1.7 0 0 0
Mean proportion 33.7 56.4 40.5 30.5 21.8 13.4
Number (thousands) 4,222 957 818 847 933 667
NOTES: Persons in families with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.
Per-capita family total money income quintile limits are $10,466, $15,183, $21,411, and $34,193.
The relative importance of a source of income may not accurately reflect the resources available to elderly persons or elderly aged units. The survey on which these data are based does not include some potentially important resources as income, including lump-sum pension payments and capital gains. In addition, these statistics do not take into consideration noncash benefits that supplement money income (housing and energy subsidies or food stamps) or the amount of savings available to supplement monthly income. Consult the Frequently Asked Questions for further information.
Relative Importance of Social Security for Persons 65 or Older in Beneficiary FamiliesTable 9.B8 Percentage distribution of persons in beneficiary families, by sex and ratio of family total money income to the poverty threshold, 2006
Proportion of family income All persons Men Women
Under 1.00 1.00– 1.24 1.25– 1.49 1.50– 1.99 2.00 or more Under 1.00 1.00– 1.24 1.25– 1.49 1.50– 1.99 2.00 or more Under 1.00 1.00– 1.24 1.25– 1.49 1.50– 1.99 2.00 or more
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1–19 0.5 1.2 2.1 2.6 22.7 1.2 1.1 1.8 2.6 22.6 0.2 1.3 2.2 2.6 22.8
20–39 2.6 3.3 4.4 8.4 28.3 2.4 3.3 4.8 6.3 28.5 2.7 3.3 4.2 9.6 28.1
40–59 4.7 5.4 7.9 11.1 24.6 5.6 4.5 5.3 9.8 25.1 4.4 5.8 9.0 11.9 24.1
60–79 11.1 12.4 11.6 20.3 15.1 12.5 11.5 10.5 17.8 14.5 10.7 12.8 12.1 21.8 15.6
80 or more 81.0 77.7 74.1 57.6 9.4 78.3 79.5 77.6 63.5 9.3 82.0 76.9 72.5 54.0 9.5
50 or more 95.0 93.2 90.9 83.6 35.6 94.7 93.4 91.6 86.3 35.2 95.1 93.1 90.6 82.0 36.0
90 or more 72.6 71.2 62.3 43.1 5.4 74.5 73.2 65.3 48.1 5.3 71.9 70.2 61.0 40.1 5.6
100 54.4 49.5 38.2 23.4 2.1 55.1 55.9 42.0 26.6 1.9 54.2 46.4 36.4 21.5 2.2
Mean proportion 90.2 88.8 85.4 77.6 42.3 89.7 89.8 86.8 80.4 42.2 90.4 88.4 84.7 75.9 42.5
Number (thousands) 2,469 2,014 2,257 4,506 21,069 642 654 705 1,695 9,996 1,827 1,360 1,552 2,811 11,073
NOTES: Persons in families with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.
The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2006.
The relative importance of a source of income may not accurately reflect the resources available to elderly persons or elderly aged units. The survey on which these data are based does not include some potentially important resources as income, including lump-sum pension payments and capital gains. In addition, these statistics do not take into consideration noncash benefits that supplement money income (housing and energy subsidies or food stamps) or the amount of savings available to supplement monthly income. Consult the Frequently Asked Questions for further information.