Income of the Population 55 or Older, 2006

Poverty Status of Aged Persons Based on Family Income

Poverty Status of Aged Persons Based on Family Income

Poverty Status of Persons 65 or Older Based on Family Income

Poverty Status of Persons 65 or Older in Beneficiary Families Based on Family Income

Key Terms and Concepts for Section 11 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.

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).

The ratio of Social Security income to total income. This ratio is defined as Social Security income divided by total income. Units and persons in families with less than $1 of total income or negative earnings or asset income are excluded from these tables.

Notes

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

Tables

Poverty Status of Aged Persons Based on Family Income Table 11.1 By Social Security beneficiary status, marital status, race, Hispanic origin, sex, and age, 2006
Sex and age Number (thousands) Percentage below poverty line Percentage below 125% of poverty line
All persons
All persons
55–61 24,314 8.3 11.2
62–64 7,877 10.1 13.9
65 or older 36,035 9.4 15.6
Men
55–61 11,781 7.4 10.0
62–64 3,697 9.3 12.6
65 or older 15,443 6.6 11.4
Women
55–61 12,534 9.3 12.4
62–64 4,180 10.9 15.0
65 or older 20,593 11.5 18.8
By beneficiary status
Beneficiary
All persons
55–61 2,179 16.1 24.8
62–64 3,346 10.3 15.0
65 or older 31,126 7.5 13.7
Men
55–61 1,001 13.7 21.9
62–64 1,466 9.6 14.0
65 or older 13,221 4.2 9.1
Women
55–61 1,179 18.2 27.3
62–64 1,879 10.8 15.8
65 or older 17,905 9.9 17.1
Nonbeneficiary
All persons
55–61 22,135 7.6 9.9
62–64 4,531 10.0 13.0
65 or older 4,909 21.6 28.2
Men
55–61 10,780 6.8 8.9
62–64 2,231 9.1 11.7
65 or older 2,221 20.7 25.4
Women
55–61 11,355 8.3 10.9
62–64 2,301 11.0 14.3
65 or older 2,688 22.4 30.5
By marital status
Married
All persons
55–61 16,635 4.1 5.9
62–64 5,299 5.7 7.8
65 or older 19,913 4.4 7.7
Men
55–61 8,653 3.6 5.3
62–64 2,801 6.4 8.3
65 or older 11,231 4.5 7.8
Women
55–61 7,982 4.6 6.5
62–64 2,498 5.0 7.2
65 or older 8,682 4.3 7.7
Nonmarried
All persons
55–61 7,679 17.5 22.8
62–64 2,578 19.1 26.3
65 or older 16,122 15.6 25.4
Men
55–61 3,128 17.7 22.9
62–64 896 18.1 26.1
65 or older 4,212 12.1 21.1
Women
55–61 4,552 17.4 22.8
62–64 1,682 19.6 26.5
65 or older 11,910 16.8 27.0
Widowed
All persons
55–61 1,143 19.9 26.7
62–64 705 16.7 25.9
65 or older 10,712 13.9 23.8
Men
55–61 209 12.7 16.6
62–64 126 24.6 39.7
65 or older 2,022 9.2 17.5
Women
55–61 934 21.6 29.0
62–64 579 15.0 23.0
65 or older 8,690 15.1 25.2
Divorced
All persons
55–61 3,987 16.0 20.7
62–64 1,230 16.6 22.6
65 or older 3,144 15.1 24.9
Men
55–61 1,682 17.1 22.3
62–64 465 14.9 20.7
65 or older 1,166 11.5 19.6
Women
55–61 2,305 15.1 19.5
62–64 765 17.6 23.8
65 or older 1,978 17.2 28.0
Never married
All persons
55–61 1,736 18.1 24.0
62–64 428 26.2 31.4
65 or older 1,389 23.6 33.9
Men
55–61 849 18.8 25.2
62–64 212 21.6 27.8
65 or older 624 20.4 32.4
Women
55–61 887 17.5 22.8
62–64 215 30.8 34.9
65 or older 766 26.1 35.1
By race
White alone
All persons
55–61 20,456 7.3 9.9
62–64 6,699 8.5 11.5
65 or older 31,270 7.9 13.8
Men
55–61 10,055 6.5 8.8
62–64 3,172 7.8 10.6
65 or older 13,512 5.4 9.7
Women
55–61 10,401 8.0 10.9
62–64 3,526 9.2 12.3
65 or older 17,759 9.9 16.9
Black alone
All persons
55–61 2,443 15.7 21.3
62–64 769 22.9 31.0
65 or older 3,085 22.7 32.5
Men
55–61 1,066 14.1 20.2
62–64 339 21.5 28.6
65 or older 1,210 16.7 26.2
Women
55–61 1,378 16.9 22.1
62–64 431 24.0 32.8
65 or older 1,875 26.7 36.6
Asian alone
All persons
55–61 971 8.4 10.1
62–64 278 8.4 15.5
65 or older 1,182 12.0 17.6
Men
55–61 451 7.8 9.7
62–64 132 5.8 10.6
65 or older 495 12.2 17.1
Women
55–61 521 9.0 10.4
62–64 146 10.8 19.9
65 or older 687 11.8 18.0
Hispanic origin
All persons
55–61 2,028 16.0 23.9
62–64 611 19.6 25.0
65 or older 2,428 19.4 29.7
Men
55–61 979 13.7 20.0
62–64 286 17.6 23.7
65 or older 1,034 17.6 27.5
Women
55–61 1,049 18.2 27.5
62–64 325 21.3 26.2
65 or older 1,394 20.8 31.3
NOTE: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2006.
Poverty Status of Persons 65 or Older Based on Family Income Table 11.2 By Social Security beneficiary status, marital status, race, Hispanic origin, sex, and age, 2006
Sex and age Number (thousands) Percentage below poverty line Percentage below 125% of poverty line
All persons
All persons
65–69 10,629 8.2 12.5
70–74 8,369 9.2 14.8
75–79 7,567 9.8 15.9
80 or older 9,471 10.7 19.7
Men
65–69 5,013 6.9 10.7
70–74 3,726 6.9 11.3
75–79 3,271 6.4 11.4
80 or older 3,433 6.1 12.5
Women
65–69 5,616 9.3 14.0
70–74 4,643 10.9 17.6
75–79 4,296 12.5 19.3
80 or older 6,038 13.4 23.9
By beneficiary status
Beneficiary
All persons
65–69 8,458 6.1 10.3
70–74 7,332 7.1 12.7
75–79 6,777 7.7 13.4
80 or older 8,560 9.1 18.0
Men
65–69 3,980 4.2 8.1
70–74 3,262 4.6 9.4
75–79 2,911 3.8 8.6
80 or older 3,069 4.3 10.4
Women
65–69 4,478 7.7 12.3
70–74 4,070 9.1 15.3
75–79 3,866 10.7 17.0
80 or older 5,491 11.7 22.3
Nonbeneficiary
All persons
65–69 2,171 16.4 20.9
70–74 1,037 23.8 30.0
75–79 790 28.0 37.0
80 or older 910 26.2 35.9
Men
65–69 1,033 17.3 20.9
70–74 465 23.3 24.7
75–79 359 27.4 34.2
80 or older 364 20.7 30.2
Women
65–69 1,138 15.6 20.9
70–74 573 24.3 34.2
75–79 431 28.5 39.4
80 or older 546 29.8 39.8
By marital status
Married
All persons
65–69 7,011 4.7 7.0
70–74 5,168 4.3 7.3
75–79 4,231 4.9 8.4
80 or older 3,503 3.6 9.1
Men
65–69 3,839 5.0 7.4
70–74 2,767 3.9 6.6
75–79 2,434 5.2 8.5
80 or older 2,191 3.7 9.2
Women
65–69 3,172 4.2 6.5
70–74 2,401 4.7 8.2
75–79 1,797 4.5 8.2
80 or older 1,312 3.4 8.8
Nonmarried
All persons
65–69 3,617 15.0 23.1
70–74 3,202 17.0 26.9
75–79 3,336 16.1 25.4
80 or older 5,967 14.9 26.0
Men
65–69 1,174 13.1 21.7
70–74 960 15.6 25.0
75–79 837 9.7 20.1
80 or older 1,242 10.1 18.2
Women
65–69 2,444 16.0 23.8
70–74 2,242 17.6 27.8
75–79 2,499 18.2 27.2
80 or older 4,726 16.1 28.1
Widowed
All persons
65–69 1,485 12.6 19.2
70–74 1,872 15.4 25.2
75–79 2,323 14.5 24.1
80 or older 5,032 13.5 24.4
Men
65–69 303 9.2 15.1
70–74 372 12.7 22.4
75–79 399 6.8 16.7
80 or older 947 8.8 16.6
Women
65–69 1,182 13.4 20.3
70–74 1,500 16.1 25.8
75–79 1,924 16.1 25.6
80 or older 4,084 14.6 26.3
Divorced
All persons
65–69 1,358 15.0 23.5
70–74 812 14.2 23.5
75–79 566 14.4 24.9
80 or older 407 18.0 32.1
Men
65–69 519 13.0 20.0
70–74 321 13.5 21.3
75–79 228 6.8 19.3
80 or older 98 7.7 12.9
Women
65–69 839 16.3 25.6
70–74 491 14.7 25.0
75–79 338 19.5 28.7
80 or older 309 21.2 38.1
Never married
All persons
65–69 492 20.3 31.6
70–74 292 27.8 38.5
75–79 268 25.3 31.5
80 or older 337 23.2 35.1
Men
65–69 231 18.8 34.0
70–74 144 23.2 32.7
75–79 125 18.6 28.2
80 or older 124 22.0 33.0
Women
65–69 262 21.7 29.5
70–74 149 32.2 44.1
75–79 143 31.3 34.4
80 or older 213 23.9 36.3
By race
White alone
All persons
65–69 9,082 6.7 10.5
70–74 7,130 7.3 12.8
75–79 6,633 8.5 14.1
80 or older 8,425 9.2 18.0
Men
65–69 4,335 5.4 8.6
70–74 3,189 5.4 9.3
75–79 2,913 5.6 10.4
80 or older 3,074 4.9 11.1
Women
65–69 4,746 7.9 12.2
70–74 3,941 8.9 15.5
75–79 3,720 10.8 17.1
80 or older 5,352 11.6 22.0
Black alone
All persons
65–69 992 19.1 27.4
70–74 845 23.7 31.3
75–79 584 21.5 33.1
80 or older 665 28.0 41.2
Men
65–69 423 18.4 28.1
70–74 366 17.0 25.9
75–79 219 10.1 20.4
80 or older 202 19.5 29.0
Women
65–69 568 19.7 26.8
70–74 479 28.8 35.5
75–79 364 28.4 40.8
80 or older 463 31.7 46.5
Asian alone
All persons
65–69 373 9.1 13.6
70–74 275 9.4 16.5
75–79 258 14.0 20.4
80 or older 275 16.6 21.6
Men
65–69 163 11.9 14.2
70–74 108 11.2 15.7
75–79 100 13.8 18.6
80 or older 125 12.4 20.7
Women
65–69 210 7.0 13.1
70–74 168 8.2 17.1
75–79 158 14.1 21.6
80 or older 150 20.1 22.3
Hispanic origin
All persons
65–69 831 19.5 27.6
70–74 613 17.8 29.1
75–79 494 20.4 28.7
80 or older 490 20.4 35.0
Men
65–69 351 16.1 25.2
70–74 268 20.8 28.6
75–79 212 17.9 25.9
80 or older 204 15.5 31.8
Women
65–69 480 22.0 29.4
70–74 345 15.5 29.6
75–79 282 22.3 30.7
80 or older 286 23.8 37.3
NOTE: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2006.
a. Fewer than 75,000 weighted cases.
Poverty Status of Persons 65 or Older Based on Family Income Table 11.3 Social Security beneficiaries, by marital status, race, Hispanic origin, sex and age, 2006
Sex and age Number (thousands) Percentage below poverty line Percentage below 125% of poverty line
By marital status
Married
All persons 65 or older 16,951 2.3 5.2
65–69 5,576 2.4 4.4
70–74 4,501 2.3 5.0
75–79 3,739 2.4 5.1
80 or older 3,135 2.0 6.9
Men 65 or older 9,609 2.3 5.4
65–69 3,041 2.5 4.7
70–74 2,432 2.2 5.0
75–79 2,160 2.4 5.1
80 or older 1,976 2.0 7.4
Women 65 or older 7,342 2.3 4.8
65–69 2,535 2.3 4.0
70–74 2,068 2.5 5.0
75–79 1,579 2.4 5.0
80 or older 1,159 2.1 5.9
Nonmarried
All persons 65 or older 14,176 13.7 23.8
65–69 2,882 13.2 21.8
70–74 2,831 14.6 24.9
75–79 3,038 14.3 23.7
80 or older 5,425 13.1 24.5
Men 65 or older 3,612 9.4 18.8
65–69 939 9.8 19.1
70–74 830 11.6 22.3
75–79 751 7.8 18.8
80 or older 1,093 8.5 15.7
Women 65 or older 10,563 15.1 25.6
65–69 1,943 14.8 23.1
70–74 2,002 15.9 25.9
75–79 2,287 16.4 25.3
80 or older 4,332 14.3 26.7
Widowed
All persons 65 or older 9,724 12.3 22.4
65–69 1,249 10.8 18.0
70–74 1,688 13.3 23.2
75–79 2,145 12.9 22.4
80 or older 4,641 12.0 23.2
Men 65 or older 1,796 7.1 15.8
65–69 253 4.5 11.5
70–74 324 9.1 19.7
75–79 360 4.6 15.3
80 or older 859 8.2 15.8
Women 65 or older 7,928 13.5 23.9
65–69 996 12.4 19.6
70–74 1,364 14.3 24.0
75–79 1,786 14.6 23.8
80 or older 3,782 12.9 24.9
Divorced
All persons 65 or older 2,689 13.6 23.8
65–69 1,086 13.7 22.4
70–74 733 12.4 22.2
75–79 518 13.4 24.1
80 or older 353 16.1 31.3
Men 65 or older 999 8.7 17.4
65–69 422 10.6 17.4
70–74 281 8.6 17.6
75–79 217 5.8 18.9
80 or older 79 6.8 13.2
Women 65 or older 1,689 16.5 27.6
65–69 664 15.6 25.5
70–74 452 14.7 25.0
75–79 300 18.9 27.8
80 or older 273 18.8 36.5
Never married
All persons 65 or older 1,047 20.3 30.8
65–69 348 18.1 30.5
70–74 222 25.3 37.3
75–79 217 21.5 27.9
80 or older 260 17.8 28.1
Men 65 or older 484 16.7 28.9
65–69 173 15.2 32.6
70–74 120 19.1 30.5
75–79 102 18.9 28.2
80 or older 89 13.7 20.1
Women 65 or older 564 23.3 32.5
65–69 175 21.1 28.5
70–74 102 32.6 45.4
75–79 115 23.7 27.6
80 or older 171 19.9 32.3
By race
White alone
All persons 65 or older 27,457 6.3 12.1
65–69 7,332 5.0 8.6
70–74 6,362 5.6 10.8
75–79 6,022 6.5 11.7
80 or older 7,741 8.0 16.6
Men 65 or older 11,744 3.3 7.6
65–69 3,472 3.1 6.3
70–74 2,854 3.5 7.7
75–79 2,626 3.0 7.5
80 or older 2,792 3.6 9.4
Women 65 or older 15,714 8.5 15.4
65–69 3,860 6.7 10.7
70–74 3,507 7.2 13.3
75–79 3,396 9.2 14.9
80 or older 4,949 10.4 20.7
Black alone
All persons 65 or older 2,476 20.0 30.7
65–69 747 15.0 23.5
70–74 686 20.6 29.6
75–79 488 19.9 32.3
80 or older 556 25.9 40.3
Men 65 or older 968 12.9 23.7
65–69 323 14.3 24.2
70–74 288 13.2 24.1
75–79 185 7.1 18.4
80 or older 172 16.3 27.5
Women 65 or older 1,508 24.5 35.2
65–69 424 15.6 22.9
70–74 398 26.0 33.6
75–79 303 27.7 40.8
80 or older 383 30.2 46.0
Asian alone
All persons 65 or older 766 7.9 13.2
65–69 223 7.1 12.5
70–74 179 5.6 12.6
75–79 192 13.1 18.4
80 or older 172 5.6 9.1
Men 65 or older 316 8.4 12.4
65–69 108 7.9 11.5
70–74 65 a a
75–79 67 a a
80 or older 75 2.9 6.4
Women 65 or older 450 7.6 13.8
65–69 115 6.3 13.4
70–74 114 4.5 11.2
75–79 125 11.5 18.5
80 or older 97 7.7 11.2
Hispanic origin
All persons 65 or older 1,758 16.4 27.0
65–69 550 16.7 25.5
70–74 457 14.0 26.3
75–79 377 16.6 24.5
80 or older 374 18.9 32.8
Men 65 or older 752 13.3 23.5
65–69 230 11.9 22.2
70–74 205 15.2 23.4
75–79 157 11.7 20.7
80 or older 160 14.5 28.1
Women 65 or older 1,006 18.8 29.7
65–69 320 20.1 27.8
70–74 252 13.0 28.8
75–79 220 20.0 27.1
80 or older 214 22.3 36.3
NOTE: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2006.
a. Fewer than 75,000 weighted cases.
Poverty Status of Persons 65 or Older in Beneficiary Families Based on Family Income Table 11.4 Persons in Social Security beneficiary families, by proportion of family from Social Security, sex, and age, 2006
Sex and age Number (thousands) Percentage below poverty line Percentage below 125% of poverty line
Persons in families receiving less than 50 percent of income from Social Security
All persons 65 or older 14,772 0.8 1.8
65–69 5,077 0.6 1.3
70–74 3,643 1.0 1.7
75–79 2,913 1.2 2.1
80 or older 3,139 0.8 2.1
Men 65 or older 6,848 0.5 1.1
65–69 2,502 0.5 1.3
70–74 1,741 0.5 1.1
75–79 1,375 0.4 0.8
80 or older 1,231 0.6 1.3
Women 65 or older 7,924 1.1 2.3
65–69 2,576 0.6 1.4
70–74 1,902 1.4 2.3
75–79 1,538 1.9 3.3
80 or older 1,908 0.9 2.7
Persons in families receiving 50 to 89 percent of income from Social Security
All persons 65 or older 9,821 5.6 10.2
65–69 2,249 5.9 9.1
70–74 2,314 5.5 9.4
75–79 2,289 5.6 9.2
80 or older 2,969 5.6 12.3
Men 65 or older 4,084 3.2 6.4
65–69 956 4.7 7.6
70–74 977 3.1 6.2
75–79 961 3.1 6.3
80 or older 1,189 2.0 5.7
Women 65 or older 5,737 7.4 12.8
65–69 1,293 6.7 10.2
70–74 1,337 7.3 11.7
75–79 1,328 7.4 11.4
80 or older 1,780 8.0 16.7
Persons in families receiving 90 to 99 percent of income from Social Security
All persons 65 or older 3,031 14.8 29.2
65–69 615 15.2 24.2
70–74 631 13.5 28.0
75–79 713 15.6 27.1
80 or older 1,072 14.7 34.0
Men 65 or older 1,106 11.3 21.5
65–69 266 14.3 21.1
70–74 237 12.5 21.0
75–79 281 11.0 20.7
80 or older 322 8.2 22.9
Women 65 or older 1,924 16.8 33.6
65–69 349 15.8 26.6
70–74 394 14.1 32.3
75–79 431 18.6 31.3
80 or older 750 17.5 38.8
Persons in families receiving 100 percent of income from Social Security
All persons 65 or older 4,691 28.6 49.9
65–69 1,017 30.1 51.3
70–74 1,029 29.6 51.4
75–79 1,058 26.4 46.4
80 or older 1,587 28.6 50.3
Men 65 or older 1,655 21.4 43.5
65–69 431 24.5 47.2
70–74 412 21.8 45.5
75–79 389 17.8 38.4
80 or older 423 21.1 42.4
Women 65 or older 3,037 32.6 53.4
65–69 587 34.2 54.3
70–74 616 34.8 55.4
75–79 669 31.4 51.1
80 or older 1,164 31.3 53.2
NOTES: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2006.
Persons in families with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.