Income of the Population 55 or Older, 2008

Importance of Income Sources Relative to Total Income

Relative Importance of Income Sources for Aged Units

Relative Importance of Income Sources for Units 65 or Older

Relative Importance of Family Income Sources for Aged Persons

Relative Importance of Family Income Sources for Persons 65 or Older

Key Terms and Concepts for Section 8 1

Age. Age classification is based on the age of the person at his or her last birthday as of March 2009. 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).

Income sources

Retirement benefits. Include Social Security benefits, Railroad Retirement income, government employee pensions, and private pensions or annuities.

Social Security. Includes retired-worker benefits, dependents' or survivor benefits, disability benefits, and transitionally insured benefits.

Government employee pensions. Government employee pensions include regular payments from federal government (civil service), military, and state or local governments.

Private pensions and annuities. Private pensions and annuities include regular payments from companies or unions, annuities or paid-up insurance policies, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), Keogh, or 401(k) payments. Nonregular (nonannuitized or lump-sum) withdrawals from IRA, Keogh, and 401(k) plans are not included as income.

Earnings. Include wages and salaries and self-employment. Wages and salaries is defined as total money earnings received for work performed as an employee during the income year. It includes wages, salary, Armed Forces pay, commissions, tips, piece-rate payments, and cash bonuses earned, before deductions are made for taxes, bonds, pensions, union dues, and so forth. Earnings for self-employed persons in incorporated businesses are considered wage and salary. Self-employment is the combined income from farm and nonfarm self-employment.

Asset income. Includes income from interest, dividends, rent, royalties, and estates and trusts. Interest includes payments people receive (or have credited to their accounts) from bonds, treasury notes, IRAs, certificates of deposit, interest-bearing savings and checking accounts, and all other investments that pay interest. Dividends include income from stock holdings and mutual fund shares. The CPS does not include capital gains from the sale of stock holdings as income. Rents, royalties, and estates and trusts includes net income from the rental of a house, store, or other property, receipts from boarders or lodgers, net royalty income, and periodic payments from estate or trust funds.

Public Assistance. Includes Supplemental Security Income and other monetary public assistance programs. Noncash benefits are not included.

Notes

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

Tables

Relative Importance of Income Sources for Aged Units Table 8.A1 Percentage distribution of units, by source of income and age, 2008
Proportion of income Aged 55–61 Aged 62–64 Aged 65 or older
Total 65–69 70–74 75–79 80 or older
Earnings
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 16.4 31.0 73.2 51.3 69.0 81.3 91.9
1–19 1.7 4.5 4.8 6.4 6.1 5.1 2.1
20–39 2.3 4.9 4.6 6.7 6.1 4.3 1.8
40–59 4.7 6.5 5.0 8.8 6.8 3.6 1.1
60–79 7.9 10.6 5.5 11.0 6.2 3.1 1.1
80 or more 67.0 42.5 6.9 15.8 5.8 2.6 1.9
50 or more 77.5 56.1 14.9 31.4 15.4 7.3 3.5
90 or more 59.9 35.9 5.0 11.5 3.7 1.9 1.6
100 24.2 13.5 2.4 5.2 1.7 1.4 0.9
Mean proportion 74.1 53.7 14.6 29.6 15.4 8.1 3.8
Mean proportion (recipients only) 88.6 77.9 54.5 60.9 49.6 43.4 47.6
Number (thousands) 17,452 5,603 27,966 8,075 6,002 5,496 8,393
Retirement benefits
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 75.2 44.6 7.5 14.2 5.8 4.7 3.9
1–19 5.6 9.1 4.7 9.2 5.0 2.7 1.4
20–39 4.6 9.5 8.2 12.8 9.0 6.6 4.4
40–59 3.6 7.3 9.0 10.4 10.4 8.6 6.9
60–79 2.0 5.6 11.2 10.0 12.5 11.9 10.9
80 or more 9.0 24.0 59.5 43.4 57.3 65.5 72.5
50 or more 12.7 33.2 75.2 58.5 74.7 81.9 87.1
90 or more 7.9 21.0 52.2 37.5 50.3 56.9 64.6
100 5.5 12.2 29.4 20.1 28.4 32.2 37.1
Mean proportion 13.9 34.6 73.3 59.2 73.0 78.7 83.4
Mean proportion (recipients only) 56.0 62.3 79.2 69.0 77.6 82.6 86.8
Number (thousands) 17,452 5,603 27,966 8,075 6,002 5,496 8,393
Social Security
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 87.2 56.1 10.4 18.3 8.7 7.1 6.2
1–19 2.5 11.1 9.2 14.3 9.2 7.1 5.6
20–39 2.3 9.7 15.0 18.5 16.9 13.7 11.0
40–59 1.8 5.9 15.3 14.4 16.8 15.6 14.7
60–79 1.3 4.2 13.6 9.9 13.8 15.7 15.5
80 or more 4.9 13.0 36.6 24.6 34.6 40.7 47.0
50 or more 7.1 19.7 57.2 41.0 56.1 63.5 69.5
90 or more 4.5 11.5 30.7 20.6 28.8 33.9 39.5
100 3.6 7.8 19.9 13.3 19.1 21.9 25.4
Mean proportion 7.6 22.5 58.1 44.9 57.7 63.1 67.7
Mean proportion (recipients only) 59.4 51.2 64.8 55.0 63.2 67.9 72.2
Number (thousands) 17,452 5,603 27,966 8,075 6,002 5,496 8,393
Government employee pensions
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 92.8 86.7 85.5 85.8 84.8 85.0 86.0
1–19 2.1 2.8 2.9 3.6 2.9 2.8 2.4
20–39 2.0 3.7 3.6 3.4 4.0 3.8 3.3
40–59 1.5 2.9 3.7 3.0 4.3 4.3 3.6
60–79 0.5 1.6 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.2 2.7
80 or more 1.1 2.2 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.8 1.9
50 or more 2.3 5.0 6.1 5.8 5.7 6.3 6.6
90 or more 0.8 1.3 0.9 1.0 0.7 1.0 0.9
100 0.4 0.7 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3
Mean proportion 3.0 6.0 6.6 6.3 6.7 6.8 6.7
Mean proportion (recipients only) 41.6 44.9 45.4 44.1 43.9 45.7 47.7
Number (thousands) 17,452 5,603 27,966 8,075 6,002 5,496 8,393
Private pensions or annuities
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 91.8 82.7 70.9 72.4 70.4 69.6 70.9
1–19 3.2 6.5 12.2 11.6 12.7 12.9 11.9
20–39 1.8 4.9 9.6 8.6 9.4 10.3 10.2
40–59 1.0 3.2 4.9 5.2 4.9 5.0 4.5
60–79 0.6 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.4
80 or more 1.6 1.3 0.9 0.6 1.1 0.7 1.1
50 or more 2.6 4.2 4.4 4.7 4.3 4.3 4.1
90 or more 1.3 1.0 0.5 0.3 0.7 0.6 0.6
100 0.7 0.6 0.3 0.1 0.4 0.3 0.3
Mean proportion 3.3 5.8 8.2 7.8 8.4 8.5 8.4
Mean proportion (recipients only) 39.8 33.6 28.3 28.1 28.4 27.9 28.8
Number (thousands) 17,452 5,603 27,966 8,075 6,002 5,496 8,393
Income from assets
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 44.0 42.0 44.4 41.8 45.1 44.6 46.1
1–19 49.9 49.8 42.1 46.7 42.1 40.6 38.5
20–39 2.7 3.8 7.1 5.7 7.0 7.3 8.5
40–59 1.5 1.8 3.6 3.2 3.4 4.1 3.8
60–79 0.5 1.1 1.8 1.8 1.4 1.8 2.0
80 or more 1.4 1.5 1.1 0.8 1.0 1.6 1.0
50 or more 2.4 3.3 4.4 3.8 3.9 5.0 4.8
90 or more 1.3 1.1 0.7 0.5 0.7 0.8 0.7
100 1.1 1.1 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.6
Mean proportion 4.6 5.6 7.9 7.2 7.4 8.6 8.4
Mean proportion (recipients only) 8.1 9.6 14.2 12.3 13.4 15.6 15.7
Number (thousands) 17,452 5,603 27,966 8,075 6,002 5,496 8,393
Cash public assistance
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 94.7 95.0 95.9 96.4 94.8 96.2 96.1
1–19 1.1 1.6 1.2 1.2 1.6 0.9 1.2
20–39 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.8 1.3 0.7 0.8
40–59 0.5 0.6 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3
60–79 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.2 0 0.2 0.2
80 or more 2.7 1.7 1.5 1.2 1.8 1.6 1.5
50 or more 3.2 2.3 1.7 1.5 1.9 1.9 1.7
90 or more 2.6 1.7 1.4 1.1 1.7 1.6 1.4
100 2.4 1.5 1.4 1.1 1.7 1.5 1.3
Mean proportion 3.4 2.6 2.1 1.8 2.5 2.2 2.0
Mean proportion (recipients only) 64.4 52.5 51.7 49.7 48.9 57.4 52.4
Number (thousands) 17,452 5,603 27,966 8,075 6,002 5,496 8,393
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 Income Sources for Aged Units Table 8.A2 Percentage distribution of units, by source of income, marital status, and age, 2008
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
Earnings
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
0 8.2 18.9 58.5 39.4 57.4 70.7 84.2 26.9 46.1 83.6 64.9 79.4 88.2 94.8
1–19 1.5 4.3 7.2 7.6 8.0 8.7 4.2 2.0 4.7 3.1 5.1 4.4 2.7 1.4
20–39 2.7 6.3 7.6 8.7 9.4 6.9 4.0 1.8 3.0 2.5 4.4 3.1 2.6 1.0
40–59 5.7 9.2 8.0 11.2 9.3 5.8 2.2 3.4 3.2 3.0 6.1 4.6 2.2 0.7
60–79 10.6 14.9 9.0 14.7 8.6 4.5 3.0 4.5 5.2 3.0 6.8 4.0 2.3 0.4
80 or more 71.4 46.3 9.8 18.5 7.3 3.5 2.4 61.4 37.7 4.8 12.8 4.5 2.0 1.7
50 or more 85.4 65.4 23.0 39.1 20.7 10.9 6.8 67.6 44.4 9.1 22.6 10.6 5.0 2.3
90 or more 62.8 37.4 6.4 12.3 4.0 2.4 1.9 56.1 34.1 4.0 10.6 3.4 1.6 1.5
100 19.8 10.8 2.5 4.4 1.6 1.7 0.9 29.8 16.9 2.3 6.1 1.8 1.1 0.9
Mean proportion 80.6 61.8 22.2 36.4 20.7 12.1 7.0 65.8 43.5 9.2 21.9 10.7 5.5 2.6
Mean proportion (recipients only) 87.8 76.3 53.5 60.1 48.5 41.3 44.4 90.0 80.9 56.2 62.3 51.7 47.0 51.1
Number (thousands) 9,732 3,120 11,593 4,302 2,845 2,179 2,267 7,720 2,483 16,373 3,774 3,157 3,317 6,126
Retirement benefits
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
0 74.5 43.8 7.7 13.1 5.0 4.8 3.6 76.0 45.5 7.3 15.5 6.5 4.6 4.0
1–19 7.9 13.2 7.7 13.0 7.5 3.6 1.9 2.8 3.9 2.5 4.8 2.8 2.1 1.2
20–39 6.3 13.0 11.7 15.9 11.7 8.9 6.5 2.4 5.0 5.7 9.2 6.5 5.1 3.6
40–59 4.3 8.4 11.4 12.6 13.1 10.7 7.8 2.7 5.9 7.3 7.9 8.0 7.3 6.6
60–79 2.1 5.9 13.1 10.7 14.3 14.6 14.5 1.9 5.2 9.9 9.3 10.8 10.2 9.6
80 or more 4.9 15.7 48.4 34.6 48.4 57.4 65.7 14.2 34.5 67.3 53.3 65.4 70.8 75.1
50 or more 8.9 25.6 67.2 51.5 68.9 77.1 85.2 17.5 42.9 80.9 66.5 79.9 85.1 87.9
90 or more 4.1 13.1 41.0 28.9 41.4 48.9 55.8 12.8 30.9 60.2 47.4 58.3 62.1 67.9
100 2.4 6.0 18.2 12.5 19.0 21.3 24.9 9.4 20.1 37.3 28.7 37.0 39.4 41.7
Mean proportion 11.0 28.5 66.0 53.4 67.9 74.1 79.8 17.6 42.2 78.4 65.8 77.7 81.7 84.8
Mean proportion (recipients only) 43.0 50.7 71.6 61.5 71.5 77.9 82.8 73.3 77.4 84.5 77.8 83.1 85.7 88.3
Number (thousands) 9,732 3,120 11,593 4,302 2,845 2,179 2,267 7,720 2,483 16,373 3,774 3,157 3,317 6,126
Social Security
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
0 88.2 57.9 10.4 17.1 7.7 5.9 5.6 86.1 53.9 10.4 19.8 9.6 7.9 6.4
1–19 3.7 15.8 13.8 19.7 12.1 9.8 8.4 1.0 5.1 5.9 8.1 6.5 5.4 4.6
20–39 3.3 12.5 20.4 23.0 22.6 18.7 14.3 0.9 6.2 11.2 13.4 11.9 10.5 9.8
40–59 1.8 4.7 17.2 15.2 19.0 17.5 18.3 1.6 7.5 13.9 13.4 14.8 14.4 13.4
60–79 0.9 3.3 14.1 9.4 13.9 16.9 20.7 1.8 5.3 13.1 10.4 13.7 14.9 13.6
80 or more 2.1 5.8 24.1 15.7 24.7 31.2 32.7 8.5 22.1 45.5 34.9 43.5 46.9 52.2
50 or more 3.9 11.0 46.2 32.0 47.3 56.3 62.3 11.2 30.7 65.0 51.4 64.1 68.2 72.1
90 or more 1.7 4.9 19.1 12.5 20.4 24.6 24.9 7.9 19.8 38.8 30.0 36.3 40.0 45.0
100 1.3 2.9 10.4 6.9 11.1 12.6 13.7 6.6 14.0 26.6 20.7 26.2 28.0 29.7
Mean proportion 5.0 15.5 49.2 38.0 51.3 56.9 60.3 10.9 31.3 64.4 52.8 63.4 67.1 70.4
Mean proportion (recipients only) 41.9 36.7 54.9 45.8 55.5 60.5 63.9 78.3 67.9 71.8 65.8 70.2 72.9 75.3
Number (thousands) 9,732 3,120 11,593 4,302 2,845 2,179 2,267 7,720 2,483 16,373 3,774 3,157 3,317 6,126
Government employee pensions
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
0 91.4 84.7 82.5 83.5 82.1 81.6 81.8 94.5 89.3 87.6 88.3 87.3 87.3 87.6
1–19 3.0 4.0 4.4 5.0 4.4 3.6 4.0 0.9 1.4 1.9 1.9 1.5 2.3 1.9
20–39 2.6 4.8 4.8 4.3 4.8 5.2 5.1 1.2 2.2 2.8 2.4 3.3 2.9 2.6
40–59 1.6 3.5 4.3 3.3 4.9 5.7 4.0 1.3 2.3 3.3 2.7 3.7 3.4 3.5
60–79 0.6 1.6 2.7 2.6 2.8 2.6 3.0 0.5 1.7 2.3 2.3 2.0 2.0 2.6
80 or more 0.7 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.0 1.3 2.1 1.7 3.2 2.1 2.4 2.2 2.2 1.8
50 or more 1.9 4.3 6.1 5.4 5.8 6.4 7.4 2.9 5.9 6.2 6.3 5.7 6.2 6.3
90 or more 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.5 0.8 1.2 2.1 1.2 1.7 1.2 1.3 0.9
100 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.7 1.2 0.4 0.5 0.3 0.5 0.4
Mean proportion 3.0 5.9 7.1 6.4 7.0 7.7 7.9 3.1 6.0 6.2 6.2 6.4 6.2 6.2
Mean proportion (recipients only) 34.5 38.5 40.5 38.7 39.2 42.2 43.5 55.8 56.5 50.4 52.7 50.0 49.1 50.0
Number (thousands) 9,732 3,120 11,593 4,302 2,845 2,179 2,267 7,720 2,483 16,373 3,774 3,157 3,317 6,126
Private pensions or annuities
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
0 91.0 78.5 64.3 66.9 64.1 64.8 59.3 92.8 87.9 75.6 78.6 76.0 72.7 75.1
1–19 4.1 8.3 15.5 14.4 16.5 15.5 16.3 2.0 4.2 9.8 8.5 9.2 11.1 10.3
20–39 2.0 6.7 12.1 10.6 11.1 11.9 16.4 1.6 2.6 7.8 6.4 8.0 9.3 7.9
40–59 1.1 3.5 5.7 5.7 6.1 5.5 5.6 0.9 2.8 4.3 4.6 3.9 4.7 4.2
60–79 0.7 1.9 1.8 2.0 1.6 2.0 1.4 0.5 0.8 1.3 1.1 1.5 1.2 1.4
80 or more 1.1 1.0 0.6 0.4 0.7 0.3 1.0 2.3 1.8 1.1 0.8 1.5 1.0 1.1
50 or more 2.2 4.6 4.7 5.1 4.5 4.4 4.4 3.1 3.8 4.1 4.3 4.1 4.3 4.0
90 or more 0.8 0.7 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.6 1.8 1.3 0.7 0.4 1.0 0.8 0.6
100 0.4 0.3 0.1 0 0.1 0.1 0.2 1.1 0.9 0.4 0.2 0.6 0.5 0.3
Mean proportion 3.0 6.6 9.5 8.9 9.3 9.3 11.1 3.6 4.8 7.3 6.4 7.6 7.9 7.4
Mean proportion (recipients only) 33.2 30.9 26.7 27.0 26.0 26.4 27.3 50.1 39.5 30.0 30.1 31.6 29.1 29.7
Number (thousands) 9,732 3,120 11,593 4,302 2,845 2,179 2,267 7,720 2,483 16,373 3,774 3,157 3,317 6,126
Income from assets
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
0 34.3 32.0 33.8 32.7 34.2 34.5 34.8 56.3 54.7 51.8 52.1 55.0 51.3 50.3
1–19 59.8 59.9 51.7 55.4 51.6 48.4 47.9 37.4 37.2 35.2 36.9 33.5 35.4 35.0
20–39 3.4 4.3 7.8 6.2 7.6 8.5 10.4 1.8 3.1 6.7 5.1 6.5 6.5 7.8
40–59 1.3 1.9 3.7 3.0 4.1 4.4 3.6 1.7 1.5 3.6 3.4 2.7 3.9 3.9
60–79 0.4 1.0 2.0 2.0 1.5 2.1 2.5 0.6 1.3 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.7 1.8
80 or more 0.8 0.9 1.1 0.7 1.1 2.1 0.7 2.2 2.2 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.2 1.1
50 or more 1.6 2.8 4.4 3.8 4.2 6.0 4.4 3.5 3.9 4.3 3.8 3.5 4.4 5.0
90 or more 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.4 0.7 1.5 0.3 2.1 1.7 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.4 0.8
100 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.5 1.1 0.3 1.7 1.7 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.7
Mean proportion 4.3 5.5 8.6 7.5 8.3 10.3 9.5 4.9 5.7 7.4 6.8 6.5 7.6 8.1
Mean proportion (recipients only) 6.5 8.1 13.0 11.2 12.7 15.7 14.5 11.2 12.6 15.3 14.1 14.5 15.5 16.2
Number (thousands) 9,732 3,120 11,593 4,302 2,845 2,179 2,267 7,720 2,483 16,373 3,774 3,157 3,317 6,126
Cash public assistance
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
0 97.0 97.0 97.6 98.0 96.5 98.1 97.7 91.7 92.5 94.8 94.5 93.3 95.0 95.5
1–19 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.4 0.8 0.6 1.1 2.3 1.4 1.3 1.7 1.0 1.4
20–39 0.7 0.7 0.4 0.4 0.8 0 0.3 0.8 0.7 1.2 1.3 1.8 1.2 1.0
40–59 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.1 0.3 0.8 0.8 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4
60–79 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0 0 0.1 0.3 0.5 0.2 0.3 0 0.3 0.2
80 or more 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.4 0.9 1.0 1.0 5.3 3.2 2.0 2.1 2.6 2.0 1.6
50 or more 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.5 0.9 1.0 1.2 6.1 4.1 2.4 2.7 2.8 2.5 1.8
90 or more 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.4 0.8 1.0 1.0 5.1 3.1 2.0 2.1 2.5 2.0 1.6
100 0.5 0.4 0.6 0.4 0.8 0.9 0.8 4.8 2.9 1.9 1.9 2.4 1.8 1.5
Mean proportion 1.2 1.2 1.1 0.7 1.4 1.1 1.4 6.2 4.4 2.8 3.1 3.5 2.9 2.3
Mean proportion (recipients only) 41.5 40.7 44.4 34.2 40.6 56.9 58.0 74.7 58.4 54.0 56.1 52.8 57.6 51.3
Number (thousands) 9,732 3,120 11,593 4,302 2,845 2,179 2,267 7,720 2,483 16,373 3,774 3,157 3,317 6,126
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 Income Sources for Aged Units Table 8.A3 Percentage distribution of units, by source of income, Social Security beneficiary status, marital status, and age, 2008
Proportion of income Beneficiary units Nonbeneficiary units
All units Married couples Nonmarried persons All units Married couples Nonmarried persons
55–61 62–64 65 or older 55–61 62–64 65 or older 55–61 62–64 65 or older 55–61 62–64 65 or older 55–61 62–64 65 or older 55–61 62–64 65 or older
Earnings
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 59.9 55.3 76.8 34.7 36.8 62.5 87.1 76.6 86.9 10.1 12.0 42.1 4.6 5.9 23.8 17.2 20.1 55.1
1–19 3.3 7.0 5.2 4.5 7.2 8.0 2.0 6.8 3.3 1.5 2.6 1.0 1.1 2.3 1.0 2.0 3.0 0.9
20–39 6.7 6.8 5.0 9.9 9.8 8.2 3.2 3.3 2.7 1.7 3.4 1.7 1.7 3.8 2.3 1.6 2.8 1.3
40–59 9.0 9.2 5.4 14.9 13.1 8.5 2.8 4.7 3.1 4.1 4.4 2.3 4.5 6.3 3.1 3.5 1.9 1.7
60–79 12.0 12.3 5.4 21.3 18.4 8.8 1.9 5.3 3.0 7.3 9.3 5.9 9.1 12.4 10.6 5.0 5.1 2.7
80 or more 9.1 9.4 2.2 14.7 14.7 4.0 3.0 3.3 0.9 75.4 68.4 47.0 79.0 69.4 59.3 70.8 67.1 38.4
50 or more 25.7 25.4 10.3 43.6 38.2 17.4 6.4 10.8 5.3 85.1 80.1 53.9 91.0 85.2 70.8 77.5 73.1 41.9
90 or more 3.0 3.2 0.6 5.2 5.0 1.0 0.7 1.1 0.3 68.2 61.5 42.7 70.6 61.0 52.1 65.1 62.3 36.0
100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27.7 24.1 23.1 22.4 18.7 24.1 34.6 31.3 22.4
Mean proportion 23.3 24.2 10.3 38.9 36.1 17.0 6.5 10.6 5.5 81.5 76.8 51.7 86.2 80.6 67.1 75.4 71.7 40.8
Mean proportion (recipients only) 58.0 54.2 44.4 59.5 57.1 45.4 50.3 45.3 42.4 90.6 87.3 89.3 90.4 85.7 88.0 91.0 89.8 90.9
Number (thousands) 2,225 2,460 25,053 1,152 1,315 10,385 1,073 1,145 14,667 15,227 3,143 2,913 8,580 1,805 1,208 6,647 1,338 1,705
Retirement benefits
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 86.2 79.4 71.5 84.5 75.7 74.2 88.3 84.4 69.6
1–19 13.9 14.7 4.7 22.2 23.0 7.7 5.0 5.2 2.6 4.4 4.6 4.5 5.9 6.1 7.9 2.5 2.7 2.2
20–39 14.9 14.5 8.8 24.0 20.0 12.6 5.1 8.1 6.2 3.1 5.6 2.9 3.9 7.9 3.9 2.0 2.4 2.2
40–59 13.2 12.6 9.8 17.8 13.7 12.4 8.3 11.3 7.9 2.2 3.1 2.5 2.5 4.5 2.8 1.8 1.3 2.3
60–79 8.7 10.1 12.2 9.7 10.8 14.4 7.7 9.3 10.7 1.0 2.0 2.5 1.1 2.3 2.1 0.9 1.7 2.8
80 or more 49.2 48.1 64.5 26.2 32.5 52.9 73.9 66.0 72.7 3.1 5.2 16.0 2.1 3.5 9.2 4.5 7.6 20.9
50 or more 64.6 65.0 81.5 44.5 50.9 73.4 86.1 81.2 87.3 5.1 8.4 20.5 4.1 7.2 13.2 6.4 10.0 25.7
90 or more 45.7 42.9 56.6 23.7 27.7 44.8 69.2 60.3 65.0 2.4 3.8 14.1 1.4 2.4 8.1 3.7 5.8 18.3
100 34.1 25.0 32.0 14.8 12.7 20.0 54.8 39.0 40.5 1.3 2.3 6.8 0.7 1.1 2.9 2.1 4.0 9.7
Mean proportion 67.1 66.1 79.5 50.7 54.2 72.1 84.6 79.9 84.7 6.1 9.8 20.0 5.6 9.8 13.7 6.8 9.9 24.4
Mean proportion (recipients only) 67.1 66.1 79.5 50.7 54.2 72.1 84.6 79.9 84.7 44.3 47.7 70.2 36.3 40.2 53.3 57.8 63.6 80.4
Number (thousands) 2,225 2,460 25,053 1,152 1,315 10,385 1,073 1,145 14,667 15,227 3,143 2,913 8,580 1,805 1,208 6,647 1,338 1,705
Government employee pensions
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 90.9 84.6 85.4 88.1 81.1 81.9 93.8 88.6 88.0 93.1 88.4 86.1 91.8 87.3 87.8 94.6 89.9 84.8
1–19 2.1 3.4 3.1 2.9 5.3 4.6 1.2 1.3 2.1 2.1 2.4 1.5 3.0 3.1 3.1 0.8 1.4 0.3
20–39 3.4 4.3 3.8 4.8 5.2 5.1 1.8 3.2 2.8 1.8 3.2 1.9 2.3 4.6 1.7 1.0 1.5 2.0
40–59 2.4 4.3 4.0 2.5 4.8 4.5 2.2 3.7 3.6 1.4 1.9 1.7 1.5 2.5 2.3 1.1 1.0 1.3
60–79 0.9 2.3 2.6 1.4 2.5 2.9 0.3 1.9 2.3 0.5 1.1 1.5 0.5 0.9 1.2 0.5 1.4 1.8
80 or more 0.4 1.1 1.1 0.2 1.0 1.0 0.5 1.3 1.2 1.3 3.0 7.3 0.8 1.7 3.8 1.9 4.8 9.8
50 or more 2.1 5.2 5.7 2.2 5.5 6.0 1.9 4.9 5.4 2.4 4.9 10.1 1.9 3.4 6.5 3.0 6.8 12.7
90 or more 0 0.4 0.3 0 0.3 0.2 0 0.4 0.3 0.9 2.1 6.5 0.5 1.0 3.1 1.4 3.5 8.9
100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.5 1.2 2.8 0.2 0.3 1.2 0.8 2.3 4.0
Mean proportion 3.3 6.4 6.2 4.1 7.2 7.2 2.5 5.5 5.5 3.0 5.6 9.9 2.8 5.0 6.6 3.1 6.5 12.2
Mean proportion (recipients only) 36.3 41.4 42.6 34.2 38.1 39.4 40.5 47.9 46.0 42.7 48.6 70.8 34.5 39.0 54.3 58.6 64.9 80.2
Number (thousands) 2,225 2,460 25,053 1,152 1,315 10,385 1,073 1,145 14,667 15,227 3,143 2,913 8,580 1,805 1,208 6,647 1,338 1,705
Private pensions or annuities
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 83.7 71.8 69.0 80.0 64.6 61.7 87.7 80.2 74.2 93.0 91.1 87.4 92.5 88.7 87.1 93.7 94.4 87.7
1–19 7.5 11.5 13.1 11.5 15.0 16.6 3.3 7.5 10.7 2.5 2.5 3.8 3.1 3.4 5.6 1.7 1.3 2.5
20–39 4.9 7.9 10.5 4.7 10.8 13.2 5.3 4.5 8.6 1.3 2.5 1.8 1.6 3.8 2.4 1.0 0.9 1.3
40–59 2.4 5.8 5.4 2.4 6.0 6.3 2.4 5.7 4.8 0.8 1.2 0.6 1.0 1.7 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.4
60–79 0.9 2.2 1.6 1.1 2.9 1.9 0.7 1.5 1.3 0.6 0.8 0.9 0.6 1.2 0.8 0.5 0.2 1.0
80 or more 0.5 0.6 0.3 0.3 0.7 0.2 0.7 0.6 0.4 1.8 1.9 5.5 1.2 1.2 3.3 2.5 2.8 7.1
50 or more 2.1 5.8 4.1 2.2 6.9 4.7 2.0 4.5 3.6 2.7 3.0 6.8 2.2 2.9 4.4 3.3 3.2 8.4
90 or more 0.1 0.2 0 0 0.2 0 0.2 0.2 0.1 1.4 1.5 4.7 0.9 1.0 2.8 2.1 2.2 6.0
100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.8 1.0 2.6 0.5 0.6 0.8 1.2 1.6 3.9
Mean proportion 4.3 8.4 8.4 4.7 10.1 10.0 3.9 6.5 7.2 3.1 3.8 7.1 2.8 4.1 5.2 3.5 3.4 8.4
Mean proportion (recipients only) 26.4 29.8 27.0 23.4 28.4 26.1 31.6 32.7 27.9 44.3 42.9 56.6 36.8 36.6 40.7 55.9 60.1 68.3
Number (thousands) 2,225 2,460 25,053 1,152 1,315 10,385 1,073 1,145 14,667 15,227 3,143 2,913 8,580 1,805 1,208 6,647 1,338 1,705
Income from assets
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 64.8 47.6 43.7 52.3 35.4 32.9 78.3 61.7 51.3 41.0 37.7 50.4 31.8 29.5 41.8 52.7 48.6 56.5
1–19 32.1 43.9 42.8 44.0 56.0 52.5 19.5 30.0 35.8 52.5 54.5 35.9 61.9 62.7 44.4 40.3 43.4 29.9
20–39 1.5 4.0 7.4 2.6 3.8 8.0 0.3 4.1 7.0 2.9 3.6 4.6 3.5 4.7 5.7 2.1 2.3 3.8
40–59 0.7 2.3 3.7 0.6 2.1 3.8 0.8 2.6 3.7 1.6 1.3 2.4 1.4 1.8 2.3 1.8 0.7 2.6
60–79 0.6 1.8 1.9 0.3 2.1 2.2 0.9 1.4 1.7 0.5 0.6 0.8 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.6 1.3 1.2
80 or more 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.2 0.6 0.5 0.2 0.3 0.5 1.6 2.3 5.9 0.9 1.2 5.7 2.5 3.8 6.0
50 or more 1.0 3.3 4.0 0.7 3.8 4.2 1.4 2.6 3.9 2.6 3.3 7.3 1.7 2.1 6.6 3.8 5.0 7.8
90 or more 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 1.5 2.0 5.6 0.9 1.2 5.3 2.4 3.1 5.8
100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.3 1.9 5.4 0.8 1.1 5.2 2.0 3.1 5.5
Mean proportion 2.2 5.2 7.6 2.7 5.8 8.5 1.8 4.5 7.0 4.9 5.9 10.2 4.5 5.3 10.1 5.4 6.7 10.2
Mean proportion (recipients only) 6.3 9.9 13.5 5.6 8.9 12.6 8.1 11.8 14.4 8.3 9.5 20.5 6.6 7.5 17.3 11.5 13.1 23.5
Number (thousands) 2,225 2,460 25,053 1,152 1,315 10,385 1,073 1,145 14,667 15,227 3,143 2,913 8,580 1,805 1,208 6,647 1,338 1,705
Cash public assistance
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 91.7 95.1 97.3 94.4 97.3 98.4 88.8 92.5 96.5 95.1 95.0 84.0 97.4 96.9 90.4 92.2 92.5 79.5
1–19 3.8 2.5 1.2 2.7 1.4 0.9 5.0 3.9 1.5 0.7 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 2.1 0.5 0.9 0.1
20–39 2.5 1.1 0.9 1.8 0.8 0.4 3.3 1.5 1.3 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.1 0.5
40–59 1.4 0.7 0.4 0.6 0 0.2 2.3 1.6 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.1 0.3 0.7 0.1 0.5 0.2 0.1
60–79 0.4 0.5 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.1 0.5 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.5 0.2 0.1 0 0.3 0.3 0.8
80 or more 0.1 0.1 0 0.1 0.2 0 0.1 0 0 3.1 3.0 14.0 0.7 0.9 6.9 6.1 6.0 19.0
50 or more 1.2 0.9 0.2 0.8 0.6 0.1 1.7 1.3 0.3 3.5 3.4 14.5 0.9 1.0 6.9 6.8 6.5 19.9
90 or more 0.1 0.1 0 0.1 0.1 0 0.1 0 0 3.0 3.0 13.9 0.7 0.9 6.8 5.9 5.8 18.9
100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.8 2.7 13.0 0.6 0.8 6.2 5.6 5.4 17.8
Mean proportion 2.2 1.4 0.7 1.4 0.8 0.3 3.0 2.0 0.9 3.6 3.6 14.6 1.2 1.5 7.3 6.7 6.4 19.8
Mean proportion (recipients only) 26.0 27.7 24.2 24.6 29.9 22.0 26.8 26.8 24.9 73.9 71.8 91.2 46.3 47.5 75.7 85.9 85.5 96.3
Number (thousands) 2,225 2,460 25,053 1,152 1,315 10,385 1,073 1,145 14,667 15,227 3,143 2,913 8,580 1,805 1,208 6,647 1,338 1,705
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 Income Sources for Units 65 or Older Table 8.A4 Percentage distribution of units, by source of income, race, Hispanic origin, and marital status, 2008
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
Earnings
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
0 73.0 58.8 83.7 75.8 56.2 82.6 71.1 53.8 87.5 73.6 58.9 83.0
1–19 5.1 7.4 3.3 3.3 6.7 2.1 3.2 4.3 2.2 2.6 3.7 1.8
20–39 4.9 7.8 2.7 2.8 5.9 1.7 2.4 4.0 0.9 3.6 5.3 2.5
40–59 5.1 7.9 2.9 5.0 9.8 3.3 3.4 5.3 1.6 4.3 7.8 2.0
60–79 5.5 8.8 3.0 4.6 9.7 2.9 7.1 11.9 2.5 5.0 8.5 2.7
80 or more 6.5 9.2 4.4 8.6 11.7 7.5 12.8 20.7 5.3 11.0 15.8 8.0
50 or more 14.5 22.2 8.7 15.9 27.9 11.7 21.6 35.1 8.8 18.3 29.0 11.6
90 or more 4.6 5.9 3.6 6.9 8.2 6.4 9.3 13.5 5.2 8.9 11.4 7.3
100 2.1 2.1 2.0 4.6 5.1 4.4 4.8 7.3 2.5 6.2 7.5 5.3
Mean proportion 14.4 21.7 8.9 15.1 25.2 11.6 19.6 31.7 8.2 17.5 26.8 11.5
Mean proportion (recipients only) 53.1 52.6 54.2 62.5 57.6 66.7 67.9 68.5 65.6 66.3 65.2 68.0
Number (thousands) 24,079 10,357 13,723 2,631 679 1,952 847 412 436 1,916 744 1,173
Retirement benefits
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
0 6.6 7.1 6.1 10.1 8.3 10.8 22.6 21.8 23.4 15.6 14.6 16.3
1–19 4.9 7.8 2.7 3.0 6.2 1.9 4.6 8.3 1.1 3.5 6.8 1.4
20–39 8.4 11.7 5.9 6.2 11.9 4.2 8.8 13.3 4.5 7.1 10.5 5.0
40–59 9.3 11.6 7.6 6.9 10.4 5.7 5.3 7.5 3.2 6.6 8.5 5.4
60–79 11.8 13.5 10.5 7.4 10.2 6.4 7.9 8.7 7.2 7.2 8.3 6.4
80 or more 59.0 48.3 67.1 66.3 53.0 70.9 50.8 40.4 60.6 60.0 51.3 65.5
50 or more 75.5 67.7 81.4 76.6 66.5 80.2 61.8 53.3 69.8 70.0 63.9 73.9
90 or more 51.5 40.7 59.6 60.8 46.1 65.9 46.8 36.6 56.4 55.6 47.5 60.7
100 27.4 17.1 35.2 46.8 31.5 52.1 28.7 20.0 36.9 44.1 33.4 51.0
Mean proportion 73.4 66.3 78.8 76.1 67.9 78.9 61.0 54.4 67.4 70.0 64.4 73.5
Mean proportion (recipients only) 78.6 71.4 83.9 84.7 74.1 88.5 78.9 69.5 87.9 82.9 75.4 87.8
Number (thousands) 24,079 10,357 13,723 2,631 679 1,952 847 412 436 1,916 744 1,173
Social Security
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
0 9.3 9.7 9.0 15.0 12.6 15.8 24.9 24.2 25.6 17.9 17.3 18.3
1–19 9.6 14.0 6.3 6.1 12.2 4.0 6.9 10.6 3.4 4.9 9.6 1.9
20–39 15.5 20.5 11.7 10.8 18.6 8.2 12.9 20.4 5.9 10.5 15.8 7.2
40–59 15.7 17.5 14.4 13.0 16.5 11.8 8.8 10.2 7.6 10.1 12.5 8.6
60–79 14.1 14.5 13.8 10.1 10.8 9.8 9.9 10.0 9.8 8.5 8.7 8.3
80 or more 35.7 23.7 44.7 45.0 29.4 50.5 36.5 24.6 47.8 48.1 36.1 55.7
50 or more 57.1 46.3 65.2 60.3 47.1 65.0 50.9 40.1 61.1 60.8 50.7 67.2
90 or more 29.5 18.6 37.7 40.2 24.6 45.6 33.1 21.6 44.0 43.3 31.2 51.0
100 18.2 9.6 24.7 33.6 19.9 38.4 22.0 12.9 30.6 36.3 24.0 44.2
Mean proportion 57.9 49.2 64.5 61.6 51.1 65.2 51.7 43.5 59.5 61.9 53.4 67.3
Mean proportion (recipients only) 63.9 54.5 70.9 72.4 58.4 77.5 68.9 57.3 80.0 75.4 64.6 82.3
Number (thousands) 24,079 10,357 13,723 2,631 679 1,952 847 412 436 1,916 744 1,173
Government employee pensions
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
0 85.1 82.1 87.3 87.6 83.9 88.8 90.3 89.8 90.8 92.6 87.9 95.6
1–19 3.2 4.7 2.1 1.2 2.4 0.8 1.5 2.0 1.1 1.2 2.6 0.3
20–39 3.8 4.8 3.0 2.5 4.7 1.7 2.2 2.5 2.0 2.6 4.1 1.6
40–59 3.7 4.3 3.3 3.8 4.2 3.6 3.1 3.1 3.1 2.3 3.3 1.6
60–79 2.5 2.8 2.3 2.6 3.3 2.3 1.8 1.5 2.0 0.6 1.2 0.2
80 or more 1.7 1.3 2.0 2.4 1.4 2.8 1.0 1.0 1.1 0.8 0.9 0.7
50 or more 6.1 6.1 6.1 7.1 6.8 7.2 4.2 4.0 4.4 2.4 3.3 1.9
90 or more 0.8 0.5 1.1 1.8 0.9 2.1 0.4 0.2 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.3
100 0.2 0.1 0.3 1.1 0.5 1.3 0.3 0 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.3
Mean proportion 6.6 7.2 6.2 6.9 7.3 6.7 4.6 4.5 4.6 3.1 4.8 2.1
Mean proportion (recipients only) 44.4 40.1 49.0 55.4 45.8 60.1 47.0 44.1 50.0 42.4 39.4 47.5
Number (thousands) 24,079 10,357 13,723 2,631 679 1,952 847 412 436 1,916 744 1,173
Private pensions or annuities
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
0 69.6 63.6 74.1 78.8 69.0 82.2 82.5 75.2 89.4 85.4 79.4 89.2
1–19 13.0 15.9 10.8 6.5 11.8 4.7 8.3 12.7 4.2 5.6 8.0 4.0
20–39 10.0 12.4 8.2 7.7 10.2 6.8 4.8 6.3 3.4 4.5 7.2 2.8
40–59 5.1 5.8 4.5 4.4 6.4 3.6 3.0 4.0 2.0 2.7 3.6 2.1
60–79 1.6 1.8 1.4 1.2 1.6 1.1 0.7 1.4 0.1 0.8 1.1 0.6
80 or more 0.8 0.5 1.0 1.4 1.0 1.5 0.7 0.4 0.9 1.1 0.7 1.3
50 or more 4.3 4.6 4.1 4.8 5.5 4.6 3.1 4.2 2.0 2.7 3.0 2.5
90 or more 0.5 0.3 0.6 0.8 0.2 1.0 0.7 0.4 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.8
100 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.6 0.2 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.7
Mean proportion 8.5 9.6 7.6 7.3 9.3 6.6 4.7 6.3 3.2 4.7 6.0 3.9
Mean proportion (recipients only) 27.8 26.5 29.3 34.5 30.1 37.2 27.0 25.3 30.5 32.3 29.3 35.8
Number (thousands) 24,079 10,357 13,723 2,631 679 1,952 847 412 436 1,916 744 1,173
Income from assets
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
0 40.6 31.1 47.7 72.7 61.2 76.7 55.8 49.3 62.0 73.7 65.2 79.1
1–19 44.5 53.4 37.8 23.4 33.5 19.9 35.2 41.9 28.9 21.1 30.0 15.4
20–39 7.8 8.3 7.5 2.0 2.8 1.7 4.3 4.8 3.9 2.1 2.0 2.1
40–59 4.0 3.9 4.1 0.9 1.5 0.7 2.3 2.2 2.3 1.0 0.8 1.1
60–79 1.9 2.1 1.8 0.5 0.7 0.4 1.6 1.9 1.4 1.2 0.5 1.6
80 or more 1.2 1.2 1.2 0.5 0.2 0.6 0.8 0 1.5 1.0 1.6 0.7
50 or more 4.8 4.8 4.7 1.3 1.3 1.3 3.2 3.2 3.2 2.4 2.4 2.4
90 or more 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.4 0.2 0.5 0.7 0 1.4 0.9 1.3 0.7
100 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.7 0 1.4 0.7 0.9 0.5
Mean proportion 8.6 9.2 8.2 2.5 3.5 2.2 5.7 5.3 6.0 3.6 3.8 3.5
Mean proportion (recipients only) 14.5 13.3 15.6 9.1 8.9 9.3 12.8 10.5 15.7 13.7 10.8 16.6
Number (thousands) 24,079 10,357 13,723 2,631 679 1,952 847 412 436 1,916 744 1,173
Cash public assistance
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
0 96.9 98.0 96.0 91.2 97.0 89.2 85.8 89.4 82.3 88.3 92.5 85.7
1–19 1.0 0.9 1.1 2.7 1.8 3.0 1.2 1.8 0.7 2.6 3.1 2.4
20–39 0.7 0.3 1.0 2.0 0.5 2.6 1.5 1.7 1.4 2.9 1.8 3.6
40–59 0.2 0.2 0.3 1.2 0.6 1.4 0.6 0.9 0.3 0.8 0.3 1.1
60–79 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.7
80 or more 1.0 0.6 1.4 2.7 0.2 3.5 10.4 5.8 14.7 4.5 1.5 6.5
50 or more 1.2 0.6 1.7 3.2 0.2 4.3 11.1 6.7 15.3 5.7 2.2 7.8
90 or more 1.0 0.5 1.3 2.6 0.2 3.4 10.4 5.8 14.7 4.4 1.5 6.3
100 0.9 0.5 1.3 2.4 0.2 3.1 9.1 4.3 13.6 4.1 1.4 5.9
Mean proportion 1.5 0.8 2.0 4.2 0.8 5.4 11.6 7.3 15.7 6.4 2.9 8.7
Mean proportion (recipients only) 48.1 41.1 50.7 47.9 25.9 50.1 81.6 68.6 89.0 55.2 38.4 60.8
Number (thousands) 24,079 10,357 13,723 2,631 679 1,952 847 412 436 1,916 744 1,173
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 Income Sources for Units 65 or Older Table 8.A5 Percentage distribution of units, by source of income, marital status, and quintile of total money income, 2008
Proportion of income All units Married couples Nonmarried persons
First Second Third Fourth Fifth First Second Third Fourth Fifth First Second Third Fourth Fifth
Earnings
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
0 96.1 91.1 80.8 63.3 37.6 86.6 78.1 58.7 42.3 28.1 96.5 96.1 89.4 79.4 59.0
1–19 1.0 3.0 4.3 6.3 9.1 2.8 5.5 8.6 9.3 9.7 1.0 1.5 3.6 3.7 5.3
20–39 0.2 2.1 4.0 8.3 7.9 3.0 5.4 11.7 10.3 7.1 0.1 0.7 2.5 4.2 4.5
40–59 0.3 1.4 4.3 7.4 11.2 1.9 5.1 8.1 11.7 12.6 0.2 0.3 1.7 4.7 7.5
60–79 0.2 0.7 2.3 7.9 15.6 1.5 2.5 7.8 14.4 18.4 0.3 0.2 0.5 3.4 10.0
80 or more 2.2 1.8 4.3 6.8 18.7 4.2 3.3 5.1 11.9 24.1 1.8 1.2 2.3 4.6 13.6
50 or more 2.6 2.9 8.6 18.5 40.0 6.4 8.2 16.8 33.3 49.2 2.3 1.4 3.4 10.4 26.8
90 or more 2.1 1.7 4.1 5.6 11.0 3.8 2.9 3.9 8.1 13.0 1.7 1.2 2.3 4.5 9.8
100 1.7 1.3 2.8 3.0 3.1 2.6 2.0 2.1 3.0 2.8 1.6 1.0 2.0 2.7 4.3
Mean proportion 2.7 3.8 9.6 18.7 36.9 7.2 9.5 18.5 31.1 44.1 2.3 1.9 4.5 10.9 25.3
Mean proportion (recipients only) 68.9 42.2 49.8 50.9 59.1 53.5 43.4 44.7 54.0 61.3 65.9 47.8 42.5 52.8 61.6
Number (thousands) 4,973 5,764 5,764 5,727 5,738 2,202 2,360 2,337 2,356 2,338 2,759 3,408 3,407 3,409 3,390
Retirement benefits
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
0 12.9 3.4 4.6 6.1 11.0 10.7 3.4 4.6 8.1 12.1 15.0 3.9 3.2 4.9 10.7
1–19 0.3 0.4 0.7 2.5 18.9 0.5 0.6 1.9 7.5 27.7 0.4 0 0.4 1.1 10.2
20–39 0.9 1.3 4.0 11.6 22.4 2.1 3.4 9.4 19.9 23.2 0.9 1.0 1.2 5.9 19.0
40–59 2.1 3.8 10.3 13.3 14.5 3.6 8.4 13.5 16.0 15.1 2.4 2.0 4.5 14.0 12.7
60–79 5.0 8.1 13.2 16.9 11.9 7.8 12.7 19.1 17.4 8.1 5.0 5.5 10.2 14.4 13.4
80 or more 78.8 82.9 67.3 49.5 21.3 75.2 71.7 51.4 31.1 13.8 76.3 87.5 80.5 59.8 34.0
50 or more 85.0 93.6 86.1 73.0 39.4 85.8 89.4 78.0 55.1 28.5 82.4 94.3 93.5 81.5 52.7
90 or more 73.6 76.4 58.5 40.6 14.7 70.9 62.9 41.9 22.3 8.7 70.3 82.4 72.4 50.1 27.4
100 57.4 48.0 27.8 14.0 3.4 45.4 27.1 13.0 5.9 1.0 55.7 59.6 41.9 23.0 9.7
Mean proportion 82.6 89.6 81.1 69.8 44.4 82.1 83.9 72.5 56.6 35.9 80.1 91.7 88.6 76.9 55.1
Mean proportion (recipients only) 94.9 92.7 85.0 74.4 49.9 92.0 86.8 76.0 61.6 40.9 94.2 95.4 91.6 80.8 61.6
Number (thousands) 4,973 5,764 5,764 5,727 5,738 2,202 2,360 2,337 2,356 2,338 2,759 3,408 3,407 3,409 3,390
Social Security
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
0 15.5 5.2 7.1 9.4 15.7 12.8 4.7 6.9 10.8 17.0 18.3 5.2 5.5 8.2 16.4
1–19 0.6 0.9 2.3 7.0 33.9 0.8 1.4 4.3 15.7 46.0 0.9 0.4 1.1 4.0 22.4
20–39 1.2 2.6 7.5 25.4 36.5 2.5 6.2 18.1 41.8 32.1 1.3 1.5 3.0 10.8 37.4
40–59 2.5 6.4 23.3 31.9 10.5 4.7 14.4 37.5 25.4 3.2 2.5 3.0 8.2 35.7 17.9
60–79 6.1 16.1 24.3 18.6 1.7 10.5 28.7 26.8 3.8 0.7 5.5 8.7 22.2 25.0 2.8
80 or more 74.1 68.9 35.6 7.7 1.7 68.7 44.7 6.4 2.4 1.0 71.6 81.2 60.0 16.3 3.1
50 or more 81.6 88.9 72.8 39.5 6.3 82.4 81.9 52.9 13.6 2.4 78.3 91.7 87.3 59.9 10.1
90 or more 68.2 58.5 26.1 4.4 0.9 62.2 30.3 3.5 1.5 0.7 65.6 73.7 47.7 9.7 2.4
100 53.0 35.8 12.9 1.6 0.3 38.0 13.4 1.2 0.5 0.2 51.7 52.4 26.7 5.4 1.4
Mean proportion 78.9 82.4 65.0 44.4 22.2 77.8 71.7 49.3 31.8 16.8 75.9 87.9 78.7 54.1 27.2
Mean proportion (recipients only) 93.4 86.9 69.9 49.0 26.3 89.2 75.2 53.0 35.7 20.3 92.9 92.7 83.2 59.0 32.5
Number (thousands) 4,973 5,764 5,764 5,727 5,738 2,202 2,360 2,337 2,356 2,338 2,759 3,408 3,407 3,409 3,390
Government employee pensions
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
0 97.8 94.1 87.5 76.6 73.0 96.7 90.2 79.6 74.4 72.4 97.9 96.9 92.1 82.4 70.7
1–19 0.9 1.5 2.3 2.9 6.9 1.3 2.5 3.7 5.0 9.4 0.6 1.2 1.7 2.4 3.3
20–39 0.2 1.7 3.2 5.6 6.8 0.8 2.9 6.4 6.7 6.8 0 0.8 2.5 3.9 6.2
40–59 0.2 1.2 3.8 7.1 6.0 0.5 2.4 5.8 7.4 5.2 0.3 0.4 1.7 6.1 7.6
60–79 0.3 0.8 1.4 4.7 4.9 0.3 1.3 2.9 4.1 4.9 0.4 0.2 1.2 2.0 7.3
80 or more 0.6 0.6 1.8 3.2 2.6 0.5 0.8 1.6 2.5 1.3 0.8 0.4 0.8 3.2 5.0
50 or more 1.0 1.9 5.2 11.9 10.0 1.0 3.2 7.5 10.1 8.2 1.3 0.9 2.7 8.6 16.6
90 or more 0.5 0.4 1.1 1.5 0.9 0.3 0.1 0.7 0.9 0.2 0.7 0.3 0.6 1.9 2.6
100 0.5 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0 0.7 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.3
Mean proportion 1.1 2.4 5.8 11.7 11.3 1.3 3.9 8.6 11.4 10.0 1.3 1.2 3.3 8.9 15.6
Mean proportion (recipients only) 48.9 40.8 46.5 49.9 41.9 37.6 40.0 42.1 44.3 36.3 62.1 37.7 42.0 50.8 53.1
Number (thousands) 4,973 5,764 5,764 5,727 5,738 2,202 2,360 2,337 2,356 2,338 2,759 3,408 3,407 3,409 3,390
Private pensions or annuities
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
0 94.7 80.5 64.0 57.3 61.3 87.2 65.4 51.5 54.4 64.6 95.4 90.2 74.2 57.0 64.9
1–19 2.2 11.4 14.9 13.1 17.9 8.0 17.3 15.0 18.3 18.4 1.3 6.3 14.1 14.0 11.9
20–39 1.0 5.6 13.8 16.4 10.1 2.9 13.8 21.2 13.3 8.8 0.8 2.1 8.5 17.2 9.1
40–59 0.3 1.3 5.5 10.3 6.5 0.8 2.2 10.2 10.8 4.3 0.1 0.6 1.6 9.7 8.8
60–79 0.3 0.5 1.0 2.1 3.5 0.3 0.8 1.6 2.5 3.6 0.4 0.2 0.8 1.1 3.8
80 or more 1.4 0.6 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.4 0.6 0.7 0.2 1.9 0.6 0.7 0.9 1.4
50 or more 1.9 1.6 3.2 7.4 7.3 1.6 1.7 5.7 8.2 5.9 2.4 1.2 1.9 4.8 10.0
90 or more 1.1 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.1 0.8 0.1 0.3 0.3 0 1.5 0.4 0.6 0.7 0.4
100 0.9 0.2 0.3 0.1 0 0.3 0.1 0 0 0 1.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0
Mean proportion 2.2 4.3 9.7 13.4 10.8 2.9 7.8 14.2 13.3 9.0 2.6 2.2 5.9 12.9 12.1
Mean proportion (recipients only) 41.6 22.3 26.8 31.4 27.8 23.0 22.5 29.3 29.1 25.3 56.0 22.4 23.1 30.1 34.4
Number (thousands) 4,973 5,764 5,764 5,727 5,738 2,202 2,360 2,337 2,356 2,338 2,759 3,408 3,407 3,409 3,390
Income from assets
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
0 76.3 59.0 43.1 30.5 17.1 62.8 42.0 30.5 24.3 11.2 79.5 70.3 51.7 37.9 24.9
1–19 18.5 35.1 44.7 54.1 54.8 31.0 51.0 58.7 58.6 57.8 15.4 26.7 40.0 44.6 45.7
20–39 1.5 4.3 8.2 10.1 10.8 2.3 5.8 8.1 11.2 11.3 1.6 2.0 6.2 10.6 11.9
40–59 0.6 1.2 3.2 3.6 9.1 0.8 0.9 2.2 3.5 10.8 0.4 0.6 1.8 5.3 9.1
60–79 0.2 0.2 0.7 1.3 6.2 0.3 0.3 0.4 2.3 6.5 0.2 0.4 0.1 1.3 5.9
80 or more 2.8 0.2 0.2 0.4 2.1 2.7 0 0.1 0.1 2.4 2.8 0.1 0.2 0.3 2.4
50 or more 3.3 0.9 1.8 3.4 12.3 3.1 0.5 0.9 3.9 13.8 3.2 0.9 1.0 3.1 13.1
90 or more 2.7 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.4 2.7 0 0.1 0 0.6 2.7 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.6
100 2.7 0.1 0 0.2 0.1 2.7 0 0.1 0 0 2.7 0.1 0.1 0 0.4
Mean proportion 4.3 3.3 6.5 8.4 16.5 5.0 4.1 6.3 9.5 18.0 4.2 2.0 4.4 9.0 16.6
Mean proportion (recipients only) 18.2 8.0 11.4 12.1 19.9 13.4 7.1 9.1 12.5 20.3 20.5 6.8 9.2 14.4 22.1
Number (thousands) 4,973 5,764 5,764 5,727 5,738 2,202 2,360 2,337 2,356 2,338 2,759 3,408 3,407 3,409 3,390
Cash public assistance
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
0 85.4 96.0 98.3 99.3 99.2 91.9 98.6 99.0 98.8 99.3 80.9 93.7 97.8 99.0 99.6
1–19 3.3 1.2 0.7 0.5 0.7 2.2 0.5 0.7 0.9 0.7 4.9 1.2 0.6 0.4 0.3
20–39 2.8 1.2 0.5 0.2 0.1 1.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0 3.3 2.2 0.7 0.3 0
40–59 0.8 0.6 0.3 0 0 0.7 0.3 0.1 0 0 1.2 0.3 0.7 0.2 0
60–79 0.6 0.2 0.1 0 0 0.2 0.1 0 0 0 0.4 0.5 0.2 0 0
80 or more 7.2 0.8 0.2 0 0 3.8 0.1 0 0 0 9.3 2.0 0 0.1 0
50 or more 8.1 1.1 0.3 0 0 4.1 0.2 0 0 0 10.2 2.6 0.3 0.2 0
90 or more 7.0 0.8 0.2 0 0 3.7 0.1 0 0 0 9.1 1.9 0 0.1 0
100 6.6 0.7 0.2 0 0 3.3 0.1 0 0 0 8.8 1.7 0 0.1 0
Mean proportion 9.0 1.7 0.5 0.1 0.1 4.8 0.5 0.2 0.2 0 11.6 3.2 0.7 0.3 0
Mean proportion (recipients only) 61.9 42.0 32.6 14.9 9.5 58.4 32.2 18.3 14.7 2.7 60.8 50.9 33.6 30.2 5.1
Number (thousands) 4,973 5,764 5,764 5,727 5,738 2,202 2,360 2,337 2,356 2,338 2,759 3,408 3,407 3,409 3,390
NOTES: Units with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.
Quintile limits are $12,082, $19,877, $31,303, and $55,889 for all units; $23,637, $35,794, $53,180, and $86,988 for married couples; and $9,929, $14,265, $20,187, and $32,937 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 Family Income Sources for Aged Persons Table 8.B1 Percentage distribution, by source of family income, sex, and age, 2008
Proportion of family income All persons Men Women
55–61 62–64 65 or older 55–61 62–64 65 or older 55–61 62–64 65 or older
Earnings
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 13.0 26.8 61.5 11.9 22.9 57.0 14.1 30.3 64.9
1–19 2.5 5.3 6.1 2.1 4.3 6.7 2.9 6.1 5.6
20–39 3.8 6.5 6.5 3.0 6.4 7.4 4.5 6.6 5.9
40–59 6.8 8.6 7.2 6.1 8.5 8.4 7.4 8.7 6.4
60–79 11.2 14.0 8.5 10.4 13.9 9.5 11.9 14.1 7.8
80 or more 62.7 38.8 10.1 66.5 44.0 11.0 59.2 34.2 9.5
50 or more 77.8 57.1 22.4 80.5 61.9 24.8 75.3 52.8 20.6
90 or more 53.6 30.6 6.3 57.6 35.0 6.7 49.9 26.7 5.9
100 18.3 10.2 2.5 19.8 10.9 2.7 16.9 9.6 2.3
Mean proportion 73.4 53.7 21.5 75.9 58.5 23.8 70.9 49.5 19.7
Mean proportion (recipients only) 84.3 73.4 55.8 86.2 75.9 55.4 82.5 70.9 56.1
Number (thousands) 25,093 8,311 37,148 12,116 3,930 16,037 12,978 4,381 21,110
Retirement benefits
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 66.5 37.3 7.7 71.0 42.9 8.1 62.3 32.2 7.4
1–19 9.1 12.9 7.9 8.5 13.3 8.7 9.7 12.6 7.3
20–39 7.7 12.4 11.4 6.5 11.5 12.7 8.8 13.2 10.5
40–59 5.6 9.2 10.7 4.8 8.8 11.6 6.3 9.6 10.0
60–79 3.1 6.9 12.2 2.4 5.9 12.3 3.7 7.7 12.1
80 or more 8.1 21.3 50.0 6.9 17.6 46.6 9.2 24.6 52.6
50 or more 13.7 32.7 67.5 11.4 27.8 64.6 15.8 37.0 69.7
90 or more 6.7 17.7 42.8 5.7 15.0 39.4 7.6 20.2 45.3
100 3.9 9.3 21.3 3.7 8.1 18.9 4.2 10.4 23.2
Mean proportion 15.9 34.9 66.7 13.4 30.2 64.3 18.2 39.1 68.6
Mean proportion (recipients only) 47.4 55.6 72.3 46.4 52.9 70.0 48.2 57.7 74.0
Number (thousands) 25,093 8,311 37,148 12,116 3,930 16,037 12,978 4,381 21,110
Social Security
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 79.1 47.7 10.4 83.7 56.2 11.0 74.9 40.2 10.0
1–19 6.7 15.9 13.5 5.4 15.4 15.2 8.0 16.3 12.3
20–39 5.7 13.6 18.3 4.0 11.3 20.2 7.3 15.8 16.8
40–59 3.0 7.4 16.0 2.2 5.4 16.3 3.7 9.3 15.7
60–79 1.6 4.8 13.4 1.4 3.5 13.1 1.8 6.1 13.5
80 or more 3.9 10.5 28.5 3.4 8.2 24.2 4.4 12.5 31.8
50 or more 6.9 18.6 49.1 5.9 14.1 44.8 7.9 22.7 52.4
90 or more 3.3 8.8 23.0 2.8 7.1 19.1 3.7 10.2 26.0
100 2.3 5.7 13.8 2.2 4.9 11.1 2.4 6.4 15.8
Mean proportion 8.8 22.7 51.7 7.1 17.9 48.2 10.3 27.1 54.3
Mean proportion (recipients only) 42.0 43.5 57.7 43.4 40.8 54.2 41.1 45.3 60.3
Number (thousands) 25,093 8,311 37,148 12,116 3,930 16,037 12,978 4,381 21,110
Government employee pensions
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 91.0 85.4 84.3 91.6 85.4 83.9 90.4 85.4 84.6
1–19 3.0 4.1 3.9 2.8 4.1 4.1 3.1 4.0 3.9
20–39 2.6 4.4 4.1 2.5 4.3 4.1 2.7 4.5 4.1
40–59 1.8 2.8 3.9 1.6 3.2 3.9 2.1 2.4 3.9
60–79 0.8 1.7 2.3 0.6 1.5 2.5 0.9 1.9 2.2
80 or more 0.8 1.6 1.4 0.8 1.4 1.6 0.8 1.7 1.3
50 or more 2.3 4.6 5.5 2.1 4.2 5.8 2.6 4.9 5.2
90 or more 0.5 0.8 0.7 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.4 0.8 0.6
100 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.2
Mean proportion 3.3 5.8 6.5 3.1 5.6 6.8 3.5 5.9 6.3
Mean proportion (recipients only) 36.5 39.5 41.3 36.3 38.6 41.9 36.6 40.2 40.9
Number (thousands) 25,093 8,311 37,148 12,116 3,930 16,037 12,978 4,381 21,110
Private pensions or annuities
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 88.4 79.0 68.8 90.2 79.9 66.1 86.6 78.3 70.8
1–19 5.5 9.1 14.3 4.7 8.2 15.1 6.2 9.9 13.6
20–39 2.6 6.0 10.0 2.0 5.8 11.1 3.1 6.2 9.2
40–59 1.6 3.3 4.8 1.2 2.9 5.5 1.9 3.7 4.2
60–79 0.8 1.5 1.5 0.6 1.8 1.7 1.0 1.2 1.3
80 or more 1.3 1.1 0.7 1.3 1.5 0.5 1.2 0.7 0.8
50 or more 2.6 4.1 4.0 2.2 4.4 4.4 3.0 3.9 3.7
90 or more 1.0 0.7 0.4 1.0 1.0 0.3 0.9 0.5 0.4
100 0.5 0.4 0.1 0.6 0.5 0.1 0.4 0.3 0.2
Mean proportion 3.7 6.2 8.2 3.2 6.4 9.0 4.2 6.0 7.6
Mean proportion (recipients only) 31.9 29.4 26.4 32.8 31.7 26.6 31.2 27.4 26.2
Number (thousands) 25,093 8,311 37,148 12,116 3,930 16,037 12,978 4,381 21,110
Income from assets
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 38.9 38.0 39.9 39.7 36.7 37.4 38.1 39.2 41.9
1–19 54.7 53.0 46.7 54.1 54.9 48.9 55.3 51.2 45.1
20–39 3.4 4.4 7.1 3.4 4.0 7.1 3.4 4.8 7.1
40–59 1.5 2.1 3.6 1.3 2.0 3.8 1.7 2.3 3.5
60–79 0.5 1.2 1.7 0.5 1.0 1.8 0.6 1.2 1.6
80 or more 1.0 1.3 0.9 1.1 1.3 0.9 0.9 1.2 0.8
50 or more 2.0 3.4 4.1 2.0 3.3 4.4 2.1 3.6 3.9
90 or more 0.9 1.0 0.5 1.0 1.0 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.5
100 0.8 0.9 0.4 0.8 0.9 0.4 0.7 0.9 0.4
Mean proportion 4.5 6.1 7.8 4.4 5.8 8.2 4.7 6.3 7.5
Mean proportion (recipients only) 7.4 9.8 13.0 7.3 9.2 13.1 7.5 10.4 12.9
Number (thousands) 25,093 8,311 37,148 12,116 3,930 16,037 12,978 4,381 21,110
Cash public assistance
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 94.1 94.6 95.2 94.6 95.1 96.3 93.7 94.1 94.3
1–19 2.5 2.7 2.2 2.5 2.3 1.8 2.5 3.1 2.6
20–39 1.1 1.0 1.2 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.2 1.0 1.4
40–59 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.2 0.7 0.3 0.5
60–79 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.2
80 or more 1.5 1.1 0.9 1.3 1.0 0.6 1.7 1.1 1.1
50 or more 1.9 1.5 1.1 1.7 1.4 0.8 2.2 1.6 1.4
90 or more 1.4 1.1 0.9 1.2 1.0 0.6 1.6 1.1 1.1
100 1.3 0.9 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.5 1.5 1.0 1.0
Mean proportion 2.4 2.0 1.7 2.1 1.8 1.2 2.7 2.1 2.1
Mean proportion (recipients only) 41.6 36.1 35.4 39.5 37.2 33.0 43.2 35.2 36.6
Number (thousands) 25,093 8,311 37,148 12,116 3,930 16,037 12,978 4,381 21,110
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 Family Income Sources for Persons 65 or Older Table 8.B2 Percentage distribution, by income source, sex, and age, 2008
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
Earnings
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
0 44.3 59.1 69.7 77.9 40.0 54.6 67.5 76.4 48.2 62.7 71.3 78.7
1–19 7.5 7.5 6.0 3.3 7.3 7.9 7.4 4.0 7.7 7.2 4.9 2.9
20–39 8.2 7.8 5.9 3.9 8.5 8.8 7.3 4.3 7.9 7.0 4.9 3.6
40–59 10.3 8.5 5.7 3.7 10.7 10.6 6.9 4.0 10.0 7.0 4.8 3.5
60–79 12.6 8.8 6.1 5.2 14.4 9.1 5.6 5.6 11.0 8.5 6.5 4.9
80 or more 17.1 8.3 6.6 6.2 19.1 9.1 5.3 5.8 15.3 7.6 7.6 6.4
50 or more 34.9 21.6 15.8 13.4 38.7 23.9 14.8 13.3 31.4 19.8 16.6 13.4
90 or more 11.2 4.9 3.6 3.4 12.3 4.7 3.3 3.2 10.3 5.1 3.8 3.6
100 4.2 2.0 1.8 1.6 4.6 1.8 1.8 1.7 3.8 2.1 1.8 1.4
Mean proportion 33.0 21.0 15.5 12.6 36.4 23.1 15.1 12.8 30.0 19.3 15.8 12.4
Mean proportion (recipients only) 59.3 51.3 51.1 56.8 60.6 50.8 46.6 54.4 57.9 51.8 54.9 58.4
Number (thousands) 11,648 8,414 7,194 9,891 5,558 3,693 3,107 3,680 6,090 4,721 4,088 6,211
Retirement benefits
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
0 12.7 6.2 5.4 4.7 13.8 5.4 5.5 4.4 11.7 6.7 5.4 5.0
1–19 11.7 7.5 6.0 5.3 12.8 9.0 5.1 5.3 10.6 6.3 6.8 5.2
20–39 14.7 12.2 9.7 8.3 16.1 12.9 10.5 9.1 13.3 11.7 9.1 7.8
40–59 11.7 12.0 10.7 8.5 11.9 13.9 12.0 8.6 11.5 10.6 9.7 8.4
60–79 11.4 12.9 13.2 11.7 10.0 13.5 13.6 13.4 12.7 12.5 12.9 10.7
80 or more 37.8 49.2 54.9 61.5 35.2 45.3 53.4 59.2 40.2 52.2 56.1 62.9
50 or more 54.9 67.7 73.7 77.7 51.0 65.3 72.8 77.4 58.4 69.5 74.4 77.9
90 or more 32.1 41.8 46.5 53.3 29.3 39.0 45.1 50.3 34.7 43.9 47.6 55.1
100 15.3 20.6 22.7 28.0 13.7 19.2 21.2 24.5 16.8 21.6 23.9 30.2
Mean proportion 56.2 67.2 71.4 75.4 53.3 65.3 70.8 74.4 58.8 68.7 71.7 76.0
Mean proportion (recipients only) 64.4 71.6 75.5 79.1 61.9 69.1 75.0 77.8 66.6 73.6 75.8 79.9
Number (thousands) 11,648 8,414 7,194 9,891 5,558 3,693 3,107 3,680 6,090 4,721 4,088 6,211
Social Security
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
0 16.4 8.7 7.5 7.0 17.6 8.1 7.4 6.9 15.2 9.1 7.6 7.0
1–19 17.9 12.7 11.1 10.8 19.6 14.3 11.4 12.4 16.3 11.5 10.9 9.9
20–39 20.4 20.3 17.5 14.5 21.8 22.5 19.1 16.3 19.1 18.6 16.3 13.4
40–59 15.2 17.4 16.5 15.2 14.3 18.3 17.0 17.0 16.0 16.7 16.2 14.1
60–79 10.4 14.0 15.5 14.7 8.8 13.4 15.5 17.3 11.8 14.5 15.5 13.2
80 or more 19.8 26.9 31.7 37.8 17.9 23.4 29.5 30.1 21.5 29.7 33.4 42.4
50 or more 36.8 49.0 54.8 59.7 32.9 45.1 52.8 55.7 40.3 52.1 56.3 62.1
90 or more 15.9 21.8 25.4 30.7 14.1 19.2 23.2 22.9 17.6 23.8 27.0 35.3
100 9.6 13.0 14.8 18.6 8.3 11.5 13.1 13.2 10.8 14.2 16.1 21.8
Mean proportion 41.8 51.9 56.1 60.0 38.9 49.5 54.6 55.7 44.4 53.8 57.2 62.5
Mean proportion (recipients only) 49.9 56.8 60.7 64.5 47.2 53.8 59.0 59.8 52.4 59.2 61.9 67.2
Number (thousands) 11,648 8,414 7,194 9,891 5,558 3,693 3,107 3,680 6,090 4,721 4,088 6,211
Government employee pensions
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
0 84.6 83.6 84.2 84.7 84.9 83.6 83.5 83.0 84.3 83.6 84.7 85.7
1–19 4.5 3.9 3.7 3.4 4.6 3.9 3.6 3.7 4.5 3.9 3.8 3.3
20–39 3.9 4.3 4.4 3.9 3.7 4.0 4.6 4.3 4.2 4.6 4.2 3.7
40–59 3.1 4.5 4.1 4.0 3.0 4.5 4.4 4.1 3.3 4.6 3.9 3.9
60–79 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.7 2.3 2.7 2.2 1.9 2.6 2.1
80 or more 1.5 1.3 1.2 1.6 1.5 1.3 1.6 2.2 1.6 1.3 0.9 1.3
50 or more 5.0 5.4 5.6 6.0 5.1 5.7 5.8 6.9 4.9 5.2 5.5 5.4
90 or more 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.8 0.5 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.5
100 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1
Mean proportion 6.2 6.7 6.6 6.6 6.1 6.7 7.0 7.5 6.3 6.6 6.2 6.0
Mean proportion (recipients only) 40.4 40.6 41.4 43.0 40.4 41.0 42.4 44.3 40.3 40.3 40.6 42.1
Number (thousands) 11,648 8,414 7,194 9,891 5,558 3,693 3,107 3,680 6,090 4,721 4,088 6,211
Private pensions or annuities
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
0 69.8 68.4 67.5 68.9 69.3 66.0 66.3 61.2 70.2 70.3 68.5 73.4
1–19 13.7 14.5 15.1 14.1 13.9 15.8 14.9 16.1 13.5 13.4 15.3 12.9
20–39 9.5 10.1 10.4 10.4 9.5 10.5 11.0 14.1 9.5 9.7 10.0 8.2
40–59 5.0 4.8 4.9 4.5 5.3 5.3 5.6 5.9 4.6 4.4 4.4 3.6
60–79 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.3 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.6 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.0
80 or more 0.6 0.7 0.4 0.9 0.3 0.5 0.3 1.1 0.9 0.8 0.5 0.9
50 or more 4.4 3.8 4.1 3.6 4.7 4.1 4.5 4.4 4.2 3.6 3.8 3.2
90 or more 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.5 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.4
100 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 0 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.2
Mean proportion 8.0 8.4 8.4 8.3 8.1 8.8 9.0 10.6 7.9 8.0 7.9 6.9
Mean proportion (recipients only) 26.5 26.5 25.8 26.6 26.4 25.9 26.6 27.4 26.5 26.9 25.1 25.9
Number (thousands) 11,648 8,414 7,194 9,891 5,558 3,693 3,107 3,680 6,090 4,721 4,088 6,211
Income from assets
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
0 38.2 40.8 39.4 41.7 36.1 38.5 37.7 38.0 40.1 42.6 40.6 43.9
1–19 50.3 46.5 45.1 43.9 52.5 48.2 46.2 46.3 48.3 45.1 44.2 42.5
20–39 6.0 6.8 8.0 8.1 5.8 6.8 7.4 9.3 6.2 6.7 8.5 7.4
40–59 3.2 3.6 4.3 3.7 3.3 4.1 4.7 3.6 3.1 3.2 4.0 3.7
60–79 1.7 1.4 2.0 1.9 1.7 1.5 2.2 2.1 1.7 1.4 1.8 1.7
80 or more 0.6 1.0 1.3 0.7 0.6 1.0 1.8 0.7 0.7 1.0 1.0 0.8
50 or more 3.5 4.0 5.0 4.2 3.6 4.3 6.1 4.2 3.4 3.8 4.2 4.3
90 or more 0.4 0.7 0.7 0.4 0.3 0.8 1.0 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.5 0.5
100 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.5 0.7 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.3 0.4
Mean proportion 7.0 7.6 9.0 8.0 7.2 7.9 9.7 8.7 6.9 7.3 8.5 7.6
Mean proportion (recipients only) 11.4 12.7 14.8 13.8 11.3 12.9 15.5 14.0 11.5 12.7 14.3 13.6
Number (thousands) 11,648 8,414 7,194 9,891 5,558 3,693 3,107 3,680 6,090 4,721 4,088 6,211
Cash public assistance
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
0 95.8 94.0 95.2 95.4 97.3 95.0 95.8 96.7 94.5 93.2 94.6 94.6
1–19 2.0 2.8 2.2 2.1 1.4 2.3 2.3 1.4 2.5 3.1 2.2 2.5
20–39 1.1 1.4 1.1 1.1 0.7 1.4 0.7 1.0 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.2
40–59 0.2 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.1 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.6
60–79 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 0 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.3
80 or more 0.7 1.3 1.0 0.8 0.4 0.8 0.8 0.6 1.0 1.6 1.1 0.9
50 or more 1.0 1.4 1.2 1.0 0.6 0.9 1.0 0.7 1.4 1.9 1.4 1.2
90 or more 0.7 1.3 0.9 0.8 0.4 0.8 0.8 0.6 1.0 1.6 1.1 0.8
100 0.6 1.1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.9 1.5 1.0 0.7
Mean proportion 1.4 2.2 1.8 1.6 0.8 1.6 1.4 1.2 2.0 2.6 2.1 1.8
Mean proportion (recipients only) 34.1 36.4 37.0 34.4 30.8 32.2 34.3 35.4 35.6 38.8 38.5 34.0
Number (thousands) 11,648 8,414 7,194 9,891 5,558 3,693 3,107 3,680 6,090 4,721 4,088 6,211
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 Family Income Sources for Persons 65 or Older Table 8.B3 Percentage distribution, by income source, sex, and marital status, 2008
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
Earnings
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
0 56.5 67.6 71.2 60.3 65.9 53.0 67.4 71.4 67.2 62.6 61.1 67.6 71.2 56.2 68.6
1–19 7.8 4.0 3.6 5.0 4.9 7.7 4.0 3.3 4.0 5.8 7.9 4.0 3.7 5.5 4.2
20–39 8.4 4.3 3.9 5.6 3.4 8.7 4.0 3.3 5.1 3.2 7.9 4.4 4.0 5.9 3.6
40–59 8.6 5.6 5.4 6.9 4.0 9.3 6.0 6.3 6.3 4.4 7.7 5.4 5.2 7.3 3.6
60–79 9.1 7.7 7.3 9.7 5.5 10.5 6.9 7.2 7.5 5.1 7.4 8.0 7.3 11.0 5.8
80 or more 9.6 10.9 8.5 12.5 16.3 10.7 11.8 8.6 9.9 18.9 8.0 10.5 8.5 14.0 14.1
50 or more 23.2 21.5 18.8 25.3 24.2 26.0 21.7 18.9 20.5 26.7 19.5 21.4 18.7 28.2 22.1
90 or more 5.8 6.8 4.5 8.2 12.8 6.4 7.4 3.4 6.0 16.2 5.1 6.5 4.8 9.6 10.1
100 2.1 3.0 1.7 4.0 6.4 2.3 3.8 1.4 3.7 7.8 1.8 2.8 1.8 4.2 5.2
Mean proportion 22.7 19.9 17.1 24.0 22.9 25.1 20.3 17.1 19.5 25.6 19.5 19.8 17.1 26.7 20.7
Mean proportion (recipients only) 52.2 61.5 59.5 60.5 67.3 53.5 62.3 59.6 59.4 68.4 50.1 61.2 59.5 61.0 66.1
Number (thousands) 20,378 16,769 10,785 3,573 1,545 11,553 4,484 2,063 1,339 691 8,825 12,285 8,721 2,233 854
Retirement benefits
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
0 6.9 8.7 6.0 11.0 15.4 7.6 9.5 4.8 8.9 18.8 6.0 8.4 6.3 12.3 12.8
1–19 8.0 7.8 7.4 8.2 6.9 8.9 8.3 8.8 6.8 7.1 6.9 7.7 7.1 9.0 6.7
20–39 12.5 10.2 9.6 12.3 9.1 13.6 10.3 10.9 10.6 9.7 11.1 10.1 9.3 13.4 8.6
40–59 12.1 9.1 9.0 10.1 7.7 12.5 9.3 10.4 9.2 6.4 11.5 9.0 8.6 10.7 8.8
60–79 13.6 10.5 10.5 10.8 10.5 13.3 9.7 10.1 9.3 9.8 13.9 10.8 10.6 11.7 11.0
80 or more 46.9 53.7 57.4 47.5 50.4 44.1 52.9 55.0 55.3 48.2 50.7 54.1 58.0 42.9 52.2
50 or more 66.5 68.7 72.7 62.9 64.2 63.7 66.8 70.3 68.3 60.1 70.1 69.4 73.2 59.7 67.6
90 or more 39.2 47.0 50.3 41.4 43.7 36.8 46.2 48.3 48.5 41.3 42.4 47.4 50.8 37.2 45.6
100 16.4 27.3 29.0 23.7 24.8 15.6 27.3 27.9 29.6 22.0 17.5 27.3 29.3 20.1 27.0
Mean proportion 65.5 68.2 71.6 63.4 63.5 63.2 67.1 70.3 69.0 60.2 68.5 68.6 71.9 60.1 66.2
Mean proportion (recipients only) 70.4 74.7 76.2 71.3 75.1 68.4 74.1 73.8 75.7 74.1 72.9 74.9 76.8 68.6 75.9
Number (thousands) 20,378 16,769 10,785 3,573 1,545 11,553 4,484 2,063 1,339 691 8,825 12,285 8,721 2,233 854
Social Security
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
0 9.3 11.8 8.6 14.6 21.0 10.2 13.1 8.4 11.6 24.7 8.2 11.3 8.7 16.3 18.0
1–19 14.6 12.2 11.9 12.9 10.5 15.6 14.1 15.6 12.7 10.6 13.4 11.5 11.0 13.0 10.4
20–39 21.0 14.9 14.3 16.9 14.8 21.8 16.0 17.0 15.8 14.0 19.9 14.5 13.7 17.6 15.4
40–59 17.8 13.7 14.1 14.1 11.9 17.4 13.7 15.8 13.7 9.8 18.4 13.7 13.7 14.3 13.6
60–79 14.4 12.1 12.4 11.4 12.7 13.6 11.9 13.3 10.3 10.9 15.5 12.1 12.2 12.0 14.1
80 or more 22.8 35.4 38.6 30.1 29.2 21.4 31.3 29.9 35.8 30.0 24.7 36.9 40.7 26.7 28.5
50 or more 45.2 53.9 57.8 48.5 46.5 43.0 49.5 50.9 53.1 43.9 48.2 55.5 59.4 45.8 48.7
90 or more 17.8 29.3 32.0 24.6 25.0 16.7 25.1 23.9 28.4 25.1 19.2 30.9 33.9 22.4 24.9
100 9.4 19.1 20.7 15.5 17.4 8.8 16.8 16.6 18.2 15.3 10.1 20.0 21.7 13.8 19.1
Mean proportion 48.6 55.4 58.8 50.7 48.6 46.9 51.7 53.2 54.9 46.5 51.0 56.7 60.1 48.1 50.2
Mean proportion (recipients only) 53.6 62.7 64.4 59.3 61.5 52.2 59.5 58.0 62.1 61.8 55.5 63.9 65.9 57.5 61.2
Number (thousands) 20,378 16,769 10,785 3,573 1,545 11,553 4,484 2,063 1,339 691 8,825 12,285 8,721 2,233 854
Government employee pensions
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
0 81.9 87.2 86.7 87.2 89.3 82.4 87.8 87.5 88.2 88.4 81.3 87.0 86.5 86.5 89.9
1–19 5.0 2.6 3.2 2.2 0.4 4.9 1.8 2.7 1.2 0.6 5.1 3.0 3.4 2.7 0.3
20–39 4.8 3.3 3.7 3.0 1.7 4.7 2.5 3.2 1.9 1.5 4.9 3.6 3.9 3.7 1.8
40–59 4.5 3.1 3.3 2.9 3.2 4.3 2.8 2.8 2.6 2.9 4.7 3.3 3.4 3.1 3.5
60–79 2.6 2.0 1.7 2.4 2.4 2.6 2.2 1.8 2.4 2.4 2.7 1.9 1.7 2.3 2.5
80 or more 1.2 1.7 1.4 2.4 3.0 1.1 2.9 2.1 3.7 4.2 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.6 1.9
50 or more 5.7 5.2 4.7 6.2 6.4 5.6 6.4 5.1 7.6 7.7 5.9 4.8 4.7 5.3 5.3
90 or more 0.4 1.0 0.6 1.8 2.2 0.3 1.8 0.8 2.7 3.2 0.4 0.7 0.5 1.3 1.4
100 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.7 0.1 0.4 0.2 0.7 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.8
Mean proportion 7.1 5.8 5.5 6.5 6.5 6.9 6.5 5.6 7.2 7.5 7.3 5.5 5.5 6.1 5.8
Mean proportion (recipients only) 39.0 45.3 41.4 50.7 60.8 38.8 53.2 44.7 61.3 64.7 39.3 42.5 40.7 45.2 57.1
Number (thousands) 20,378 16,769 10,785 3,573 1,545 11,553 4,484 2,063 1,339 691 8,825 12,285 8,721 2,233 854
Private pensions or annuities
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
0 63.5 75.2 73.3 78.6 76.2 64.0 71.5 62.8 77.5 82.1 62.8 76.6 75.8 79.2 71.5
1–19 16.3 11.8 13.4 9.7 8.3 16.5 11.4 15.0 8.8 7.3 16.0 11.9 13.0 10.2 9.2
20–39 12.4 7.2 7.6 6.7 6.7 11.8 9.1 11.2 7.7 5.3 13.1 6.5 6.7 6.1 7.9
40–59 5.5 3.9 3.9 3.3 6.0 5.4 5.7 7.7 4.6 4.0 5.6 3.2 3.0 2.5 7.5
60–79 1.8 1.2 1.2 1.0 1.2 1.7 1.7 2.5 1.2 0.7 1.8 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.5
80 or more 0.6 0.8 0.6 0.7 1.6 0.5 0.6 0.8 0.1 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.6 1.1 2.4
50 or more 4.5 3.5 3.3 3.2 6.1 4.4 4.6 6.0 3.4 3.7 4.5 3.1 2.6 3.1 8.1
90 or more 0.3 0.5 0.4 0.6 1.1 0.2 0.4 0.7 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.3 0.9 1.8
100 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.4 0 0.2 0.3 0 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.7 0.4
Mean proportion 9.6 6.6 6.7 6.0 8.1 9.3 8.3 10.8 6.6 5.5 9.9 6.0 5.8 5.7 10.2
Mean proportion (recipients only) 26.2 26.7 25.2 28.0 34.2 25.8 29.2 29.1 29.4 30.8 26.7 25.6 23.8 27.2 35.8
Number (thousands) 20,378 16,769 10,785 3,573 1,545 11,553 4,484 2,063 1,339 691 8,825 12,285 8,721 2,233 854
Income from assets
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
0 32.7 48.8 47.6 49.7 47.9 33.0 48.8 45.8 52.5 44.5 32.3 48.8 48.0 48.0 50.6
1–19 52.9 39.3 40.4 38.4 38.2 53.0 38.3 40.2 36.4 41.5 52.7 39.6 40.5 39.6 35.6
20–39 7.8 6.2 6.7 5.5 6.3 7.6 5.9 7.0 5.4 5.4 8.2 6.3 6.6 5.6 6.9
40–59 3.8 3.4 3.1 3.9 4.3 3.7 4.1 4.2 3.4 3.8 3.9 3.1 2.8 4.2 4.6
60–79 1.9 1.5 1.4 1.6 2.7 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.3 3.4 2.0 1.4 1.3 1.8 2.1
80 or more 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.9 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.3 1.0 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.1
50 or more 4.3 3.9 3.7 4.0 5.1 4.2 4.8 5.1 3.7 6.3 4.4 3.5 3.4 4.2 4.0
90 or more 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.9 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.4 0
100 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0
Mean proportion 8.6 6.9 6.9 7.0 7.8 8.4 7.6 8.1 6.7 8.7 8.7 6.6 6.6 7.1 7.1
Mean proportion (recipients only) 12.7 13.4 13.1 13.8 15.0 12.5 14.9 14.9 14.0 15.6 12.9 12.9 12.7 13.7 14.4
Number (thousands) 20,378 16,769 10,785 3,573 1,545 11,553 4,484 2,063 1,339 691 8,825 12,285 8,721 2,233 854
Cash public assistance
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
0 97.0 93.0 93.5 92.5 92.4 96.8 95.1 95.0 95.6 95.6 97.1 92.2 93.2 90.7 89.9
1–19 1.5 3.1 3.0 3.2 2.6 1.6 2.2 2.2 2.2 1.7 1.4 3.4 3.2 3.8 3.4
20–39 0.7 1.8 1.7 2.2 2.4 0.7 1.6 1.7 1.5 1.5 0.6 1.9 1.7 2.6 3.0
40–59 0.1 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.8 0.6 0.9 1.2
60–79 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2
80 or more 0.7 1.2 1.1 1.3 1.8 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.4 1.1 0.7 1.4 1.2 1.8 2.3
50 or more 0.7 1.6 1.4 1.7 2.3 0.7 0.9 0.9 0.7 1.2 0.8 1.9 1.5 2.3 3.1
90 or more 0.6 1.2 1.0 1.3 1.8 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.4 1.1 0.7 1.4 1.2 1.8 2.3
100 0.6 1.0 0.9 1.3 1.3 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.7 0.6 1.2 1.0 1.8 1.7
Mean proportion 1.1 2.5 2.2 2.7 3.1 1.1 1.6 1.5 1.3 1.8 1.1 2.8 2.3 3.5 4.1
Mean proportion (recipients only) 35.7 35.3 33.6 35.8 40.8 33.6 32.0 30.5 28.9 40.5 38.7 36.0 34.2 37.7 41.0
Number (thousands) 20,378 16,769 10,785 3,573 1,545 11,553 4,484 2,063 1,339 691 8,825 12,285 8,721 2,233 854
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 Family Income Sources for Persons 65 or Older Table 8.B4 Percentage distribution, by source of family income, family Social Security beneficiary status, sex, and marital status, 2008
Proportion of family income Persons in beneficiary families Persons in nonbeneficiary families
All Men Women All Men Women
Total Married Non- married Total Married Non- married Total Married Non- married Total Married Non- married Total Married Non- married Total Married Non- married
Earnings
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 65.3 59.9 72.0 61.2 56.8 72.8 68.4 63.9 71.7 29.0 23.2 34.5 23.6 19.6 31.7 33.4 29.1 35.7
1–19 6.6 8.4 4.4 7.4 8.5 4.4 6.1 8.4 4.4 1.3 1.6 1.0 1.3 1.4 1.0 1.3 1.9 1.0
20–39 7.0 8.9 4.6 8.0 9.3 4.4 6.3 8.5 4.7 2.3 2.9 1.7 2.6 3.3 1.3 2.1 2.3 1.9
40–59 7.7 9.1 6.0 9.0 10.0 6.5 6.7 8.0 5.8 3.2 3.8 2.6 3.1 3.4 2.5 3.3 4.3 2.7
60–79 8.5 9.1 7.8 9.5 10.4 7.0 7.8 7.3 8.1 8.4 9.8 7.1 9.1 10.6 6.1 7.9 8.5 7.5
80 or more 4.8 4.5 5.2 5.0 5.0 4.9 4.8 4.0 5.4 55.8 58.7 53.0 60.3 61.6 57.5 52.1 53.9 51.1
50 or more 17.4 18.4 16.1 19.2 20.7 15.2 16.1 15.5 16.5 65.9 70.2 61.8 70.6 73.6 64.6 62.0 64.7 60.6
90 or more 1.2 1.1 1.4 1.1 1.1 0.9 1.4 1.1 1.6 49.4 51.9 47.1 52.5 53.4 50.7 46.9 49.4 45.6
100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24.2 22.5 25.8 25.0 22.9 29.0 23.5 21.7 24.4
Mean proportion 16.7 18.2 14.8 18.5 20.1 14.1 15.4 15.8 15.0 62.6 66.6 58.7 67.1 69.7 61.8 58.8 61.5 57.4
Mean proportion (recipients only) 48.1 45.4 52.8 47.5 46.5 51.7 48.6 43.7 53.2 88.1 86.7 89.6 87.8 86.7 90.5 88.3 86.7 89.2
Number (thousands) 33,283 18,484 14,799 14,276 10,379 3,897 19,007 8,106 10,901 3,865 1,894 1,971 1,761 1,174 587 2,103 720 1,384
Retirement benefits
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 74.0 74.2 73.9 73.9 74.7 72.3 74.2 73.4 74.6
1–19 8.3 8.2 8.4 9.0 9.0 9.0 7.7 7.1 8.1 5.2 6.6 3.8 6.7 8.2 3.6 4.0 4.1 3.9
20–39 12.4 13.4 11.1 13.8 14.7 11.5 11.3 11.8 11.0 3.3 3.2 3.4 3.1 3.3 2.8 3.4 3.0 3.6
40–59 11.6 12.9 9.9 12.7 13.5 10.3 10.8 12.1 9.8 3.3 3.9 2.7 3.3 3.5 2.8 3.3 4.5 2.7
60–79 13.3 14.7 11.6 13.5 14.5 10.8 13.1 14.9 11.8 2.7 3.0 2.3 2.8 2.9 2.4 2.6 3.2 2.3
80 or more 54.5 50.8 59.1 51.0 48.3 58.4 57.1 54.1 59.3 11.5 9.0 13.9 10.3 7.4 16.2 12.5 11.8 12.9
50 or more 73.4 71.8 75.5 70.6 69.5 73.7 75.6 74.8 76.1 16.2 14.3 18.1 15.3 12.4 21.1 17.0 17.3 16.8
90 or more 46.6 42.5 51.7 43.2 40.3 51.1 49.1 45.3 51.9 9.8 7.3 12.1 8.6 6.0 13.8 10.7 9.4 11.4
100 23.3 17.9 30.2 20.8 17.2 30.5 25.2 18.7 30.0 4.2 2.6 5.6 3.1 1.9 5.6 5.0 3.8 5.6
Mean proportion 72.6 70.8 74.9 70.4 68.9 74.1 74.3 73.1 75.2 16.2 14.4 17.9 15.2 12.7 20.1 17.0 17.1 17.0
Mean proportion (recipients only) 72.6 70.8 74.9 70.4 68.9 74.1 74.3 73.1 75.2 62.3 55.7 68.7 58.1 50.2 72.6 65.9 64.2 66.9
Number (thousands) 33,283 18,484 14,799 14,276 10,379 3,897 19,007 8,106 10,901 3,865 1,894 1,971 1,761 1,174 587 2,103 720 1,384
Government employee pensions
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 84.0 81.3 87.3 83.4 81.7 88.0 84.4 80.8 87.1 87.3 88.0 86.6 87.8 88.5 86.3 86.9 87.2 86.8
1–19 4.2 5.3 2.9 4.3 5.2 2.0 4.1 5.4 3.2 1.7 2.6 0.8 2.2 3.0 0.5 1.3 1.8 1.0
20–39 4.3 5.1 3.4 4.4 5.0 2.7 4.3 5.2 3.6 2.2 1.6 2.8 1.4 1.5 1.1 2.9 1.7 3.5
40–59 4.1 4.7 3.4 4.2 4.5 3.2 4.1 4.9 3.4 1.8 2.2 1.5 1.6 2.1 0.5 2.1 2.2 2.0
60–79 2.4 2.7 2.0 2.5 2.7 2.2 2.3 2.7 1.9 1.9 2.3 1.6 2.2 2.1 2.5 1.7 2.7 1.2
80 or more 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.0 1.9 0.9 1.0 0.8 5.0 3.4 6.6 4.9 2.8 9.1 5.1 4.4 5.5
50 or more 5.2 5.6 4.6 5.5 5.5 5.5 4.9 5.7 4.3 8.1 6.9 9.3 8.1 6.1 11.9 8.2 8.1 8.2
90 or more 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.8 0.2 0.2 0.2 4.2 2.4 5.9 4.1 2.0 8.3 4.3 3.1 5.0
100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.7 1.0 2.4 1.5 0.6 3.3 1.8 1.5 2.0
Mean proportion 6.3 7.1 5.3 6.6 6.9 5.7 6.1 7.3 5.1 8.1 6.7 9.3 7.8 6.0 11.4 8.3 7.8 8.5
Mean proportion (recipients only) 39.3 37.9 41.8 39.9 37.9 48.0 38.8 37.9 39.8 63.5 56.0 69.9 63.9 52.3 83.3 63.1 61.4 64.0
Number (thousands) 33,283 18,484 14,799 14,276 10,379 3,897 19,007 8,106 10,901 3,865 1,894 1,971 1,761 1,174 587 2,103 720 1,384
Private pensions or annuities
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 66.5 61.1 73.3 63.4 61.4 68.6 68.9 60.7 75.0 88.1 86.8 89.4 88.1 86.9 90.5 88.1 86.7 88.9
1–19 15.4 17.4 12.9 16.3 17.7 12.6 14.7 17.1 13.0 4.4 5.3 3.5 5.1 6.1 3.2 3.7 4.0 3.6
20–39 11.0 13.4 7.9 12.2 12.9 10.3 10.1 14.1 7.1 1.9 2.3 1.6 2.1 2.4 1.4 1.8 2.1 1.6
40–59 5.2 6.0 4.3 6.1 5.9 6.4 4.6 6.0 3.6 0.8 1.2 0.4 0.9 1.0 0.6 0.7 1.4 0.3
60–79 1.6 1.9 1.2 1.9 1.9 2.0 1.3 1.8 1.0 0.7 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.8 0 0.8 0.7 0.9
80 or more 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.3 4.1 3.7 4.6 3.3 2.8 4.3 4.8 5.1 4.7
50 or more 3.9 4.4 3.2 4.5 4.5 4.5 3.4 4.3 2.7 5.2 4.9 5.5 4.3 3.9 4.9 6.0 6.5 5.7
90 or more 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.5 3.1 3.9 2.7 2.3 3.4 4.2 4.4 4.1
100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.4 0.6 2.3 0.8 0.4 1.7 1.9 0.8 2.5
Mean proportion 8.5 10.0 6.7 9.5 9.8 8.8 7.8 10.2 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.8 5.0 4.9 5.2 6.4 7.0 6.1
Mean proportion (recipients only) 25.5 25.6 25.2 26.0 25.3 28.1 25.0 25.9 23.9 48.4 43.2 54.7 41.8 37.2 54.4 54.0 52.7 54.8
Number (thousands) 33,283 18,484 14,799 14,276 10,379 3,897 19,007 8,106 10,901 3,865 1,894 1,971 1,761 1,174 587 2,103 720 1,384
Income from assets
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 38.9 31.7 48.0 36.6 32.1 48.6 40.7 31.2 47.8 48.6 42.0 54.9 43.8 40.5 50.5 52.6 44.5 56.8
1–19 47.5 53.7 39.8 49.5 53.7 38.3 46.0 53.6 40.4 40.0 45.1 35.1 43.9 46.7 38.2 36.8 42.5 33.7
20–39 7.4 8.1 6.6 7.4 7.8 6.4 7.4 8.5 6.7 4.4 5.6 3.3 4.9 6.0 2.6 4.0 4.8 3.6
40–59 3.8 4.0 3.6 4.0 3.9 4.2 3.7 4.1 3.3 2.1 2.0 2.1 2.5 2.0 3.5 1.7 2.2 1.5
60–79 1.9 2.1 1.6 2.0 2.1 2.0 1.7 2.1 1.5 0.5 0.1 0.9 0.3 0.1 0.8 0.6 0 1.0
80 or more 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.4 4.4 5.2 3.7 4.6 4.7 4.4 4.3 6.0 3.4
50 or more 3.9 4.1 3.7 4.2 4.1 4.7 3.7 4.2 3.3 5.6 6.1 5.1 5.8 5.6 6.1 5.4 6.8 4.7
90 or more 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 4.1 4.7 3.6 4.1 4.2 3.9 4.1 5.3 3.4
100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.8 4.5 3.2 3.7 4.1 3.0 3.9 5.1 3.3
Mean proportion 7.7 8.5 6.8 8.1 8.3 7.5 7.5 8.6 6.6 8.4 9.4 7.4 9.0 9.2 8.7 7.8 9.8 6.8
Mean proportion (recipients only) 12.7 12.4 13.1 12.8 12.3 14.5 12.6 12.6 12.6 16.3 16.2 16.3 16.1 15.4 17.6 16.5 17.6 15.7
Number (thousands) 33,283 18,484 14,799 14,276 10,379 3,897 19,007 8,106 10,901 3,865 1,894 1,971 1,761 1,174 587 2,103 720 1,384
Cash public assistance
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 96.3 97.7 94.4 97.0 97.6 95.4 95.7 98.0 94.1 85.6 89.5 81.8 91.2 90.4 92.8 80.9 88.0 77.2
1–19 2.0 1.4 2.8 1.7 1.5 2.3 2.3 1.3 3.0 3.8 2.3 5.3 2.3 2.6 1.7 5.1 1.8 6.9
20–39 1.2 0.6 1.9 0.9 0.7 1.7 1.3 0.5 1.9 1.5 1.2 1.7 1.0 1.1 0.9 1.8 1.4 2.0
40–59 0.4 0.2 0.7 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.1 0.8 0.2 0 0.3 0.1 0 0.2 0.3 0 0.4
60–79 0.1 0 0.2 0.1 0 0.2 0.1 0 0.2 0.6 0.2 1.0 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.9 0.2 1.3
80 or more 0 0 0.1 0 0 0.1 0 0 0 8.4 6.9 9.9 5.3 5.8 4.1 11.0 8.6 12.3
50 or more 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.4 9.0 7.0 11.0 5.5 5.9 4.6 12.0 8.8 13.7
90 or more 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 0 0 0 8.4 6.9 9.8 5.3 5.8 4.1 11.0 8.6 12.2
100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.5 6.1 8.8 4.8 5.1 4.1 9.8 7.7 10.8
Mean proportion 0.8 0.4 1.3 0.6 0.5 1.1 0.9 0.4 1.3 9.6 7.5 11.6 5.9 6.4 4.9 12.7 9.3 14.5
Mean proportion (recipients only) 21.4 18.7 22.8 20.7 18.6 23.5 21.7 18.7 22.5 66.5 71.2 64.0 67.0 66.7 67.6 66.4 76.9 63.5
Number (thousands) 33,283 18,484 14,799 14,276 10,379 3,897 19,007 8,106 10,901 3,865 1,894 1,971 1,761 1,174 587 2,103 720 1,384
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 Family Income Sources for Persons 65 or Older Table 8.B5 Percentage distribution, by source of family income, race, Hispanic origin, and sex, 2008
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
Earnings
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
0 62.8 57.7 66.6 58.6 56.2 60.2 38.8 39.6 38.2 49.3 47.4 50.7
1–19 6.3 6.9 5.8 5.4 6.3 4.9 3.1 3.4 2.8 2.9 3.0 2.8
20–39 6.7 7.5 6.0 6.0 7.3 5.2 3.8 3.8 3.8 5.1 5.3 5.0
40–59 7.2 8.4 6.3 7.1 8.6 6.1 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.6 10.5 7.2
60–79 8.0 9.3 7.1 10.4 9.4 11.0 15.1 14.5 15.5 11.8 12.2 11.5
80 or more 9.1 10.2 8.2 12.5 12.1 12.7 31.1 30.5 31.4 22.3 21.6 22.8
50 or more 20.8 23.7 18.6 26.8 26.5 27.1 51.0 50.0 51.7 38.9 39.5 38.5
90 or more 5.5 6.0 5.0 8.3 8.4 8.2 20.3 19.5 20.9 14.5 13.4 15.4
100 2.1 2.3 1.9 4.7 5.3 4.4 7.2 6.4 7.8 8.2 7.4 8.8
Mean proportion 20.1 22.9 18.0 24.9 25.3 24.6 45.2 44.0 46.1 35.4 35.9 35.0
Mean proportion (recipients only) 54.0 54.1 53.9 60.1 57.7 61.8 73.8 72.8 74.5 69.7 68.2 70.9
Number (thousands) 32,209 14,047 18,162 3,150 1,227 1,923 1,257 525 732 2,651 1,139 1,513
Retirement benefits
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
0 6.7 7.3 6.1 10.3 9.6 10.7 26.6 23.8 28.6 18.3 16.4 19.7
1–19 7.7 8.7 6.9 7.6 6.4 8.3 15.5 14.7 16.0 11.7 12.1 11.3
20–39 11.3 12.7 10.2 11.1 11.0 11.1 15.9 16.9 15.2 13.5 14.5 12.7
40–59 11.0 11.8 10.3 9.2 10.9 8.2 7.7 8.2 7.4 9.2 10.0 8.6
60–79 12.6 12.5 12.6 9.8 11.1 9.0 7.6 8.0 7.3 7.6 7.2 7.9
80 or more 50.8 46.9 53.9 51.9 50.9 52.6 26.6 28.4 25.4 39.8 39.8 39.8
50 or more 68.9 65.4 71.7 65.6 65.9 65.3 37.2 39.5 35.6 52.0 51.3 52.5
90 or more 43.2 39.5 46.0 47.0 45.2 48.1 23.7 25.1 22.7 35.9 36.5 35.4
100 20.4 17.7 22.4 34.3 34.0 34.6 12.9 14.5 11.7 26.1 25.3 26.7
Mean proportion 67.8 64.9 70.0 66.7 67.0 66.4 41.5 44.0 39.7 54.2 54.7 53.9
Mean proportion (recipients only) 72.6 70.0 74.6 74.3 74.2 74.4 56.5 57.8 55.6 66.4 65.5 67.1
Number (thousands) 32,209 14,047 18,162 3,150 1,227 1,923 1,257 525 732 2,651 1,139 1,513
Social Security
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
0 9.2 10.1 8.5 14.5 13.7 15.0 28.7 25.7 30.9 20.9 19.4 22.0
1–19 13.5 15.5 12.0 11.9 10.8 12.6 18.9 17.7 19.7 13.4 14.0 13.0
20–39 18.4 20.5 16.9 15.8 16.5 15.4 20.1 22.4 18.5 16.0 17.8 14.6
40–59 16.4 16.6 16.3 13.8 15.9 12.5 8.5 8.9 8.3 11.5 12.4 10.9
60–79 13.8 13.3 14.2 10.8 12.2 9.9 7.3 8.4 6.5 8.8 8.2 9.3
80 or more 28.6 23.9 32.2 33.2 30.9 34.6 16.5 16.9 16.2 29.3 28.2 30.1
50 or more 50.0 45.0 53.8 49.8 49.4 50.0 27.6 28.8 26.8 43.5 41.7 44.9
90 or more 22.8 18.7 26.0 29.0 25.9 31.0 14.3 13.9 14.5 26.0 24.9 26.8
100 13.0 10.1 15.2 23.7 22.0 24.8 9.2 9.6 9.0 20.6 18.9 21.8
Mean proportion 52.3 48.3 55.4 53.0 52.6 53.2 33.2 35.1 31.8 46.8 46.3 47.2
Mean proportion (recipients only) 57.6 53.8 60.6 62.0 61.0 62.6 46.5 47.3 46.0 59.2 57.4 60.6
Number (thousands) 32,209 14,047 18,162 3,150 1,227 1,923 1,257 525 732 2,651 1,139 1,513
Government employee pensions
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
0 83.9 83.3 84.3 86.5 86.9 86.4 89.4 91.0 88.3 91.3 91.1 91.5
1–19 4.2 4.3 4.1 2.0 2.4 1.8 3.1 2.1 3.9 2.6 2.3 2.8
20–39 4.2 4.2 4.2 3.7 3.2 4.0 2.8 2.7 2.8 3.1 3.4 2.9
40–59 3.9 3.9 4.0 3.6 3.9 3.4 2.4 2.3 2.5 1.9 1.6 2.1
60–79 2.4 2.6 2.2 2.4 2.3 2.5 1.6 1.4 1.8 0.6 0.7 0.4
80 or more 1.4 1.7 1.2 1.8 1.5 2.0 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.8 0.3
50 or more 5.5 6.0 5.2 5.8 5.4 6.1 2.8 2.5 2.9 1.9 2.4 1.5
90 or more 0.6 0.7 0.5 1.2 1.1 1.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.2
100 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.6 0.6 0.7 0 0 0 0.1 0.2 0
Mean proportion 6.6 6.9 6.3 6.5 6.0 6.7 4.0 3.6 4.3 3.0 3.4 2.7
Mean proportion (recipients only) 40.8 41.6 40.1 48.0 46.0 49.2 37.8 39.8 36.7 34.2 37.6 31.6
Number (thousands) 32,209 14,047 18,162 3,150 1,227 1,923 1,257 525 732 2,651 1,139 1,513
Private pensions or annuities
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
0 67.4 65.1 69.2 77.4 72.5 80.5 81.1 77.6 83.5 83.8 81.3 85.7
1–19 15.0 15.7 14.5 8.9 10.4 7.9 10.5 11.9 9.4 7.8 8.9 6.9
20–39 10.5 11.3 9.9 7.5 10.3 5.6 5.1 6.1 4.4 4.3 5.0 3.7
40–59 5.0 5.7 4.4 4.1 4.7 3.7 2.7 3.4 2.1 3.0 3.5 2.5
60–79 1.6 1.8 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.1 0.3 0.7 0 0.7 0.8 0.6
80 or more 0.6 0.5 0.7 1.0 0.9 1.2 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.6
50 or more 4.1 4.5 3.7 4.0 3.8 4.2 2.4 3.1 1.8 2.0 2.4 1.7
90 or more 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.4 0.7 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.5
100 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.3 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.3
Mean proportion 8.5 9.2 8.0 6.9 8.1 6.1 4.3 5.2 3.6 4.3 5.0 3.8
Mean proportion (recipients only) 26.1 26.4 25.9 30.5 29.6 31.4 22.6 23.2 22.0 26.4 26.5 26.4
Number (thousands) 32,209 14,047 18,162 3,150 1,227 1,923 1,257 525 732 2,651 1,139 1,513
Income from assets
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
0 36.7 34.2 38.6 69.3 67.8 70.3 44.5 45.0 44.1 66.9 66.7 67.1
1–19 48.7 51.0 47.0 27.2 27.3 27.1 47.4 46.3 48.2 28.6 29.4 28.0
20–39 7.8 7.7 7.8 1.7 2.6 1.1 5.1 5.4 5.0 1.9 1.8 2.0
40–59 4.0 4.1 3.9 1.0 1.3 0.8 1.7 2.2 1.4 1.0 0.5 1.4
60–79 1.9 2.0 1.8 0.5 0.7 0.4 1.2 1.2 1.2 0.7 0.6 0.8
80 or more 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.1 0 0.1 0.8 0.9 0.6
50 or more 4.5 4.7 4.3 1.2 1.6 1.0 2.3 2.6 2.1 1.7 1.8 1.7
90 or more 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.2 0 0 0 0.6 0.8 0.5
100 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.2 0 0 0 0.4 0.3 0.5
Mean proportion 8.5 8.8 8.3 2.4 3.0 2.0 4.7 4.9 4.6 3.2 3.0 3.3
Mean proportion (recipients only) 13.4 13.4 13.4 7.8 9.5 6.7 8.5 9.0 8.1 9.7 9.1 10.1
Number (thousands) 32,209 14,047 18,162 3,150 1,227 1,923 1,257 525 732 2,651 1,139 1,513
Cash public assistance
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
0 96.2 97.0 95.6 88.7 93.0 86.0 86.7 89.2 84.9 87.3 89.2 86.0
1–19 1.7 1.5 1.9 5.4 4.0 6.3 5.6 3.6 7.1 5.4 4.9 5.8
20–39 0.9 0.8 1.1 3.0 1.8 3.7 2.2 2.7 1.8 3.3 3.4 3.2
40–59 0.3 0.1 0.3 1.4 0.6 1.9 0.5 0.4 0.6 1.0 0.4 1.5
60–79 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0 0.3 0.6 0.4 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.8
80 or more 0.7 0.5 0.9 1.3 0.5 1.8 4.4 3.7 4.8 2.2 1.5 2.7
50 or more 0.9 0.7 1.1 1.8 0.5 2.6 5.0 4.0 5.6 3.2 2.2 3.9
90 or more 0.7 0.5 0.9 1.3 0.5 1.8 4.4 3.7 4.8 2.0 1.3 2.6
100 0.7 0.4 0.8 1.2 0.5 1.6 2.8 2.5 2.9 1.8 1.0 2.3
Mean proportion 1.4 1.0 1.6 3.4 1.8 4.5 6.3 5.4 6.9 4.5 3.3 5.3
Mean proportion (recipients only) 35.7 32.7 37.3 30.4 25.2 32.0 47.3 49.8 45.9 35.3 30.6 38.1
Number (thousands) 32,209 14,047 18,162 3,150 1,227 1,923 1,257 525 732 2,651 1,139 1,513
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 Family Income Sources for Persons 65 or Older Table 8.B6 Percentage distribution, by source of family income, race, Hispanic origin, sex, and marital status, 2008
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
Earnings
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 54.1 67.7 62.1 70.1 45.9 68.9 57.5 61.0 37.0 49.8 40.4 36.3 46.6 48.7 52.2 49.7
1–19 7.9 4.2 8.1 4.1 9.1 2.9 8.7 3.7 3.7 2.0 3.2 2.5 3.2 2.7 3.6 2.3
20–39 8.8 3.9 8.1 4.4 9.4 4.8 8.7 4.1 3.8 4.0 4.6 3.0 6.0 4.1 5.9 4.3
40–59 9.2 6.1 7.5 5.3 10.7 6.1 7.4 5.7 9.6 2.9 11.2 5.8 12.9 6.0 10.6 5.0
60–79 10.1 7.0 6.8 7.3 12.6 5.5 10.7 11.0 16.2 7.8 16.4 14.8 12.3 12.1 10.5 12.2
80 or more 9.9 11.1 7.4 8.8 12.4 11.8 7.1 14.5 29.7 33.5 24.2 37.6 18.9 26.4 17.3 26.5
50 or more 24.6 21.1 18.2 18.9 31.2 20.8 21.7 28.7 52.1 41.9 47.7 55.0 37.6 42.8 33.1 42.1
90 or more 5.8 6.6 4.6 5.3 7.9 8.9 5.0 9.2 18.2 24.4 15.8 25.2 10.5 18.5 12.3 17.5
100 2.0 3.3 1.5 2.2 4.9 5.9 2.7 4.9 6.3 7.0 7.2 8.4 6.4 9.1 6.0 10.6
Mean proportion 24.0 19.7 18.4 17.6 29.5 20.1 21.3 25.6 45.2 39.2 41.7 49.8 34.8 37.8 31.1 37.5
Mean proportion (recipients only) 52.4 61.1 48.6 59.0 54.4 64.7 50.0 65.7 71.7 78.0 70.0 78.1 65.2 73.7 65.0 74.7
Number (thousands) 10,317 3,730 7,924 10,237 674 552 456 1,467 416 109 335 398 733 406 604 908
Retirement benefits
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 6.9 8.5 5.3 6.8 7.9 11.7 5.2 12.5 23.3 25.8 23.3 33.1 13.9 21.0 14.3 23.4
1–19 8.7 8.8 6.8 6.9 8.4 4.0 5.9 9.1 14.4 16.0 10.4 20.8 11.8 12.8 8.7 13.0
20–39 13.4 10.8 10.8 9.8 14.5 6.8 11.7 11.0 19.0 8.7 18.6 12.4 14.2 15.1 12.5 12.8
40–59 12.7 9.4 11.6 9.4 11.7 9.9 10.0 7.6 9.6 2.8 11.2 4.3 11.8 6.7 11.2 6.9
60–79 13.6 9.7 14.3 11.3 13.1 8.7 10.7 8.5 7.1 11.6 9.0 6.0 8.6 4.7 8.0 7.8
80 or more 44.8 52.8 51.3 55.8 44.3 58.9 56.4 51.4 26.6 35.1 27.5 23.6 39.8 39.7 45.3 36.1
50 or more 64.9 66.8 71.4 71.9 61.2 71.7 70.4 63.7 37.4 47.4 40.2 31.6 53.9 46.5 58.5 48.4
90 or more 37.2 45.8 42.7 48.5 38.0 54.0 49.9 47.5 23.7 30.5 24.7 21.0 36.6 36.3 40.7 31.9
100 15.1 24.9 16.7 26.9 25.4 44.4 34.4 34.6 11.9 24.1 11.7 11.8 25.3 25.5 28.3 25.6
Mean proportion 64.0 67.1 69.3 70.6 63.3 71.6 71.7 64.8 42.8 48.4 45.2 35.1 56.4 51.6 60.1 49.8
Mean proportion (recipients only) 68.8 73.4 73.2 75.8 68.8 81.0 75.7 74.0 55.9 65.2 58.9 52.4 65.6 65.2 70.1 64.9
Number (thousands) 10,317 3,730 7,924 10,237 674 552 456 1,467 416 109 335 398 733 406 604 908
Social Security
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 9.4 12.1 7.5 9.3 11.9 15.9 6.9 17.5 25.7 25.8 25.3 35.7 16.9 23.9 17.7 25.0
1–19 15.5 15.4 13.4 10.9 15.4 5.2 12.0 12.8 17.8 17.4 15.6 23.2 15.2 11.8 12.3 13.5
20–39 21.9 16.6 19.7 14.7 20.1 12.0 21.0 13.7 25.6 10.0 25.0 13.0 17.8 17.8 15.0 14.4
40–59 17.6 13.9 18.6 14.5 18.1 13.2 18.2 10.7 9.2 8.0 11.4 5.7 13.9 9.6 14.0 8.8
60–79 13.9 11.6 16.0 12.8 11.3 13.3 10.5 9.7 7.4 12.3 8.2 5.0 8.8 7.1 11.0 8.2
80 or more 21.7 30.2 24.8 37.9 23.2 40.4 31.5 35.6 14.4 26.5 14.5 17.5 27.4 29.8 30.1 30.2
50 or more 43.7 48.5 49.0 57.6 41.5 59.0 49.5 50.1 25.6 41.1 28.3 25.5 43.2 39.0 47.8 43.1
90 or more 16.7 24.1 19.1 31.4 19.7 33.6 27.4 32.1 12.7 18.7 12.9 15.9 24.0 26.5 26.5 27.0
100 8.4 14.9 9.5 19.6 16.2 29.1 22.2 25.6 7.8 16.5 7.1 10.6 18.3 20.1 20.7 22.6
Mean proportion 47.4 51.0 51.5 58.4 47.1 59.3 55.0 52.7 33.0 43.0 34.3 29.6 46.8 45.4 49.7 45.6
Mean proportion (recipients only) 52.3 58.0 55.7 64.4 53.5 70.5 59.0 63.8 44.5 57.9 45.9 46.1 56.3 59.7 60.3 60.7
Number (thousands) 10,317 3,730 7,924 10,237 674 552 456 1,467 416 109 335 398 733 406 604 908
Government employee pensions
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 82.0 87.1 81.0 86.8 83.8 90.5 82.0 87.7 89.8 95.6 86.1 90.3 88.2 96.2 86.0 95.2
1–19 5.2 1.8 5.3 3.2 3.0 1.7 2.8 1.4 2.2 1.7 4.4 3.4 3.6 0 4.4 1.7
20–39 4.7 2.7 4.9 3.6 5.0 1.0 5.9 3.4 3.3 0.5 3.6 2.1 4.5 1.4 5.1 1.5
40–59 4.3 2.8 4.8 3.3 4.1 3.6 4.3 3.1 2.4 1.9 2.9 2.1 1.9 1.1 3.1 1.4
60–79 2.7 2.4 2.7 1.8 3.0 1.4 3.3 2.2 1.6 0.3 1.6 2.0 1.0 0.3 0.8 0.2
80 or more 1.2 3.1 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.8 1.7 2.1 0.8 0 1.5 0.1 0.8 1.0 0.7 0
50 or more 5.6 6.8 5.9 4.7 5.9 4.9 6.8 5.9 3.1 0.3 3.4 2.5 2.6 2.0 2.0 1.1
90 or more 0.3 1.9 0.4 0.6 0.7 1.5 1.0 1.4 0.2 0 0.2 0 0.3 0.5 0.4 0
100 0.1 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.2 1.0 0.4 0.7 0 0 0 0 0.1 0.5 0.1 0
Mean proportion 7.0 6.9 7.4 5.4 6.9 4.9 8.0 6.3 4.2 1.3 5.2 3.5 4.0 2.1 4.6 1.4
Mean proportion (recipients only) 38.6 53.5 39.0 41.4 43.0 52.3 44.5 51.3 41.0 29.3 37.3 35.9 34.2 56.4 32.9 28.9
Number (thousands) 10,317 3,730 7,924 10,237 674 552 456 1,467 416 109 335 398 733 406 604 908
Private pensions or annuities
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 63.3 70.0 61.8 74.9 68.7 77.0 70.2 83.7 75.3 86.5 75.9 90.0 78.5 86.2 79.2 90.1
1–19 16.9 12.3 16.5 12.9 12.4 8.0 11.4 6.8 13.7 4.9 12.7 6.6 10.4 6.3 9.0 5.4
20–39 12.1 9.1 13.4 7.1 10.1 10.6 10.7 4.0 6.8 3.2 7.7 1.7 5.7 3.8 6.5 1.8
40–59 5.5 6.1 5.8 3.3 6.4 2.6 5.2 3.3 2.9 5.3 3.1 1.3 4.1 2.5 3.8 1.7
60–79 1.8 2.0 1.8 1.0 1.6 0.7 1.8 0.9 0.9 0 0.1 0 0.9 0.7 1.0 0.3
80 or more 0.4 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.8 1.0 0.7 1.3 0.4 0 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.6 0.6
50 or more 4.4 4.8 4.6 3.0 4.9 2.5 4.5 4.1 3.0 3.8 2.6 1.1 2.3 2.4 2.4 1.2
90 or more 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.4 0 1.0 0 0.9 0.4 0 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.3
100 0 0.2 0 0.2 0 0.6 0 0.6 0.4 0 0.5 0 0 0.2 0.3 0.3
Mean proportion 9.4 8.7 10.2 6.3 9.0 7.1 8.5 5.4 5.5 4.1 5.6 2.0 5.5 4.0 5.6 2.5
Mean proportion (recipients only) 25.7 28.9 26.7 25.0 28.9 30.7 28.6 33.0 22.2 30.6 23.1 19.7 25.7 28.8 27.0 25.5
Number (thousands) 10,317 3,730 7,924 10,237 674 552 456 1,467 416 109 335 398 733 406 604 908
Income from assets
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 30.5 44.3 30.0 45.3 61.1 75.9 60.0 73.5 41.9 56.6 44.3 43.9 63.2 73.2 60.0 71.8
1–19 54.4 41.7 54.1 41.5 34.2 18.8 35.7 24.4 49.7 33.2 46.8 49.5 32.4 23.9 36.0 22.7
20–39 8.2 6.2 8.6 7.3 2.2 3.0 1.7 1.0 4.7 7.8 7.3 3.0 2.0 1.6 1.9 2.0
40–59 4.0 4.6 4.2 3.6 1.5 1.0 1.3 0.7 2.2 2.2 0.7 2.0 0.9 0 1.3 1.5
60–79 2.0 2.0 2.1 1.6 0.7 0.6 1.0 0.2 1.4 0.2 0.9 1.5 0.5 0.7 0 1.4
80 or more 1.0 1.2 1.1 0.8 0.2 0.6 0.2 0.3 0 0 0 0.2 1.1 0.5 0.8 0.5
50 or more 4.5 5.4 4.8 3.9 1.3 1.9 1.5 0.9 3.2 0.2 1.5 2.6 2.0 1.3 1.4 1.9
90 or more 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.2 0.6 0 0.2 0 0 0 0.1 0.9 0.5 0.6 0.5
100 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.4 0 0.2 0 0 0 0.1 0.5 0.2 0.6 0.5
Mean proportion 9.0 8.4 9.3 7.4 3.3 2.7 3.2 1.6 5.1 4.5 4.5 4.6 3.5 2.1 3.3 3.4
Mean proportion (recipients only) 12.9 15.2 13.3 13.6 8.6 11.1 7.9 6.2 8.7 10.3 8.1 8.2 9.6 7.8 8.1 12.0
Number (thousands) 10,317 3,730 7,924 10,237 674 552 456 1,467 416 109 335 398 733 406 604 908
Cash public assistance
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 97.4 95.9 97.7 94.0 94.0 91.8 95.0 83.2 89.5 88.3 88.0 82.3 90.2 87.3 92.1 81.9
1–19 1.4 1.8 1.1 2.5 4.0 4.1 3.6 7.2 3.1 5.7 3.4 10.2 4.5 5.6 3.5 7.4
20–39 0.6 1.3 0.4 1.6 1.1 2.6 0.9 4.6 2.8 2.6 2.8 1.0 3.6 3.1 2.6 3.6
40–59 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.5 0.9 0.3 0.4 2.3 0.5 0 0.6 0.6 0.2 0.7 0 2.6
60–79 0 0.2 0 0.3 0 0 0 0.4 0.5 0 0.5 1.0 0.5 1.1 0.6 0.9
80 or more 0.5 0.5 0.6 1.1 0 1.2 0 2.3 3.8 3.4 4.7 5.0 1.1 2.1 1.2 3.7
50 or more 0.6 0.8 0.7 1.5 0 1.2 0 3.4 4.2 3.4 5.2 6.0 1.6 3.2 1.8 5.3
90 or more 0.5 0.4 0.6 1.1 0 1.2 0 2.3 3.8 3.4 4.7 5.0 1.1 1.6 1.2 3.5
100 0.5 0.4 0.6 1.0 0 1.2 0 2.1 2.3 3.4 2.9 3.0 0.8 1.6 1.2 3.0
Mean proportion 0.9 1.3 0.9 2.2 1.1 2.5 0.8 5.6 5.5 4.9 6.6 7.2 2.8 4.2 2.6 7.2
Mean proportion (recipients only) 33.4 31.7 38.5 36.9 18.8 31.0 15.6 33.5 52.2 41.6 55.0 40.8 28.5 33.5 33.1 39.6
Number (thousands) 10,317 3,730 7,924 10,237 674 552 456 1,467 416 109 335 398 733 406 604 908
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 Family Income Sources for Persons 65 or Older Table 8.B7 Percentage distribution, by source of family income and quintile of per-capita family total money income, 2008
Proportion of family income Total First Second Third Fourth Fifth
Earnings
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 61.5 79.2 77.7 64.1 50.8 36.5
1–19 6.1 3.8 4.5 6.1 7.4 8.5
20–39 6.5 3.8 4.4 8.2 8.8 7.3
40–59 7.2 3.4 4.2 7.3 9.6 11.6
60–79 8.5 3.2 3.7 7.1 11.9 16.3
80 or more 10.1 6.7 5.4 7.2 11.5 19.8
50 or more 22.4 11.4 11.1 18.2 28.8 42.3
90 or more 6.3 5.5 3.7 4.3 7.0 10.8
100 2.5 3.8 2.0 1.9 2.5 2.5
Mean proportion 21.5 11.8 11.5 18.3 27.1 38.2
Mean proportion (recipients only) 55.8 56.7 51.6 51.0 55.1 60.2
Number (thousands) 37,148 7,106 7,534 7,522 7,498 7,488
Retirement benefits
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 7.7 13.5 4.9 4.3 6.4 9.8
1–19 7.9 1.6 2.3 4.7 8.5 22.2
20–39 11.4 4.3 4.7 8.6 15.6 23.7
40–59 10.7 5.8 6.3 11.3 15.5 14.5
60–79 12.2 8.1 10.4 15.6 16.2 10.4
80 or more 50.0 66.6 71.4 55.5 37.9 19.3
50 or more 67.5 78.4 85.7 76.5 61.1 36.2
90 or more 42.8 60.9 64.9 45.7 29.9 13.1
100 21.3 42.4 35.6 17.2 9.5 3.0
Mean proportion 66.7 75.5 82.2 73.1 61.0 42.2
Mean proportion (recipients only) 72.3 87.3 86.4 76.4 65.1 46.8
Number (thousands) 37,148 7,106 7,534 7,522 7,498 7,488
Social Security
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 10.4 16.1 6.1 6.4 9.7 14.1
1–19 13.5 2.2 3.1 6.8 14.9 40.1
20–39 18.3 4.9 6.8 14.3 28.3 36.4
40–59 16.0 7.0 9.9 22.4 33.4 6.6
60–79 13.4 9.6 17.6 28.7 9.3 1.2
80 or more 28.5 60.2 56.4 21.4 4.5 1.5
50 or more 49.1 74.1 79.9 61.3 27.3 4.2
90 or more 23.0 53.8 46.1 12.9 2.7 1.0
100 13.8 37.2 25.6 5.4 1.3 0.5
Mean proportion 51.7 71.0 74.3 56.2 37.3 20.4
Mean proportion (recipients only) 57.7 84.5 79.2 60.1 41.3 23.7
Number (thousands) 37,148 7,106 7,534 7,522 7,498 7,488
Government employee pensions
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 84.3 96.5 92.9 85.1 76.4 71.2
1–19 3.9 1.3 2.3 3.1 4.6 8.3
20–39 4.1 0.8 2.2 4.7 6.1 6.7
40–59 3.9 0.5 1.6 3.9 7.5 5.7
60–79 2.3 0.5 0.6 2.3 2.9 5.3
80 or more 1.4 0.5 0.4 1.0 2.6 2.8
50 or more 5.5 1.2 1.8 4.6 9.2 10.3
90 or more 0.7 0.4 0.1 0.5 1.4 1.0
100 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.1
Mean proportion 6.5 1.4 2.5 6.0 10.4 11.8
Mean proportion (recipients only) 41.3 40.2 35.8 40.3 44.3 40.9
Number (thousands) 37,148 7,106 7,534 7,522 7,498 7,488
Private pensions or annuities
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 68.8 90.5 76.2 59.0 55.9 63.5
1–19 14.3 4.9 14.0 17.3 16.6 17.9
20–39 10.0 2.3 7.1 17.3 14.4 8.6
40–59 4.8 0.9 1.5 5.0 10.7 5.6
60–79 1.5 0.4 0.7 1.1 1.4 3.7
80 or more 0.7 1.0 0.4 0.3 1.0 0.7
50 or more 4.0 1.8 1.4 2.8 6.6 7.3
90 or more 0.4 0.9 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.1
100 0.1 0.5 0.1 0 0.1 0
Mean proportion 8.2 2.8 4.9 10.4 12.9 9.9
Mean proportion (recipients only) 26.4 29.3 20.7 25.3 29.1 27.3
Number (thousands) 37,148 7,106 7,534 7,522 7,498 7,488
Income from assets
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 39.9 69.6 53.3 36.0 27.3 15.1
1–19 46.7 25.9 41.2 54.4 56.0 55.0
20–39 7.1 1.7 4.3 7.3 10.6 11.4
40–59 3.6 0.6 0.8 1.9 4.4 10.2
60–79 1.7 0.2 0.4 0.1 1.5 6.3
80 or more 0.9 2.0 0.1 0.2 0.2 2.0
50 or more 4.1 2.3 0.6 1.1 3.4 13.0
90 or more 0.5 1.9 0.1 0.1 0 0.5
100 0.4 1.9 0 0 0 0.1
Mean proportion 7.8 3.8 3.3 5.6 8.9 17.3
Mean proportion (recipients only) 13.0 12.4 7.0 8.8 12.3 20.3
Number (thousands) 37,148 7,106 7,534 7,522 7,498 7,488
Cash public assistance
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 95.2 85.6 95.3 97.2 98.2 99.1
1–19 2.2 4.5 2.5 1.9 1.5 0.9
20–39 1.2 3.6 1.6 0.6 0.2 0
40–59 0.4 1.3 0.3 0.3 0 0
60–79 0.2 0.5 0.3 0 0 0
80 or more 0.9 4.6 0.1 0 0 0
50 or more 1.1 5.5 0.4 0.1 0 0
90 or more 0.9 4.5 0.1 0 0 0
100 0.8 3.9 0.1 0 0 0
Mean proportion 1.7 7.0 1.1 0.5 0.2 0
Mean proportion (recipients only) 35.4 48.5 23.4 17.6 12.2 3.9
Number (thousands) 37,148 7,106 7,534 7,522 7,498 7,488
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 $11,057, $16,072, $23,357, and $37,605.
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 Family Income Sources for Persons 65 or Older Table 8.B8 Percentage distribution, by source of family income, number of persons in family, and quintile of per-capita family total money income, 2008
Proportion of family income Total First Second Third Fourth Fifth
Earnings
Persons in 1-person families
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 82.9 96.7 94.4 86.5 76.1 56.7
1–19 3.3 0.9 2.4 3.9 4.8 4.9
20–39 2.9 0.4 1.4 3.3 4.6 5.0
40–59 3.1 0.2 0.6 2.7 4.9 7.8
60–79 3.1 0.2 0.1 1.0 4.0 11.1
80 or more 4.8 1.6 1.1 2.6 5.6 14.4
50 or more 9.2 2.0 1.2 4.8 12.2 28.8
90 or more 3.8 1.5 1.1 2.5 5.2 9.8
100 2.1 1.3 0.9 2.0 2.6 3.8
Mean proportion 9.3 2.1 2.0 5.9 12.6 27.0
Mean proportion (recipients only) 54.8 63.2 35.7 43.8 52.6 62.4
Number (thousands) 12,143 2,404 2,769 2,432 2,355 2,183
Persons in 2-person families
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 61.1 87.1 81.5 67.5 48.1 32.2
1–19 7.6 3.6 5.3 7.1 10.0 10.6
20–39 7.6 3.7 4.2 10.2 11.0 8.0
40–59 7.5 1.7 3.6 5.6 10.4 14.0
60–79 8.5 0.8 2.7 6.0 12.4 17.4
80 or more 7.5 3.0 2.6 3.4 8.1 17.7
50 or more 20.1 4.5 7.2 12.2 26.1 43.1
90 or more 4.5 2.9 2.0 2.4 4.9 9.0
100 1.7 1.9 1.2 1.3 2.3 1.7
Mean proportion 19.6 5.8 7.8 13.8 25.5 38.6
Mean proportion (recipients only) 50.4 45.1 42.3 42.5 49.1 56.9
Number (thousands) 19,435 3,234 3,727 3,863 4,032 4,578
Persons in families of 3 or more
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 16.1 33.3 19.6 8.9 6.9 2.9
1–19 6.7 8.9 7.4 7.1 3.8 5.3
20–39 10.6 9.4 13.0 11.4 9.2 10.1
40–59 15.4 12.3 15.7 21.5 17.1 8.2
60–79 20.2 13.2 17.0 22.8 26.6 24.6
80 or more 31.0 22.9 27.2 28.3 36.4 48.9
50 or more 59.6 42.1 51.3 63.8 73.6 77.9
90 or more 17.8 17.8 16.8 13.7 18.5 25.0
100 6.4 11.7 7.8 3.5 3.2 3.3
Mean proportion 54.4 40.8 49.9 57.0 63.9 69.5
Mean proportion (recipients only) 64.9 61.2 62.1 62.5 68.6 71.6
Number (thousands) 5,570 1,468 1,038 1,227 1,111 726
Retirement benefits
Persons in 1-person families
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 6.3 10.7 2.2 2.9 5.7 10.9
1–19 2.7 0.3 0.1 0.7 1.2 12.3
20–39 6.2 0.8 1.1 2.0 7.6 21.5
40–59 7.9 2.9 2.7 7.2 15.2 12.7
60–79 11.1 6.4 6.8 13.8 15.2 14.4
80 or more 65.9 78.9 87.1 73.4 55.1 28.2
50 or more 80.9 86.8 96.0 90.7 77.9 47.7
90 or more 58.1 72.9 80.3 63.3 45.7 21.3
100 33.7 54.9 53.2 29.8 17.8 7.0
Mean proportion 78.2 83.8 92.3 85.2 73.9 50.9
Mean proportion (recipients only) 83.4 93.9 94.4 87.7 78.4 57.1
Number (thousands) 12,143 2,404 2,769 2,432 2,355 2,183
Persons in 2-person families
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 5.6 10.8 2.8 2.9 4.8 7.0
1–19 7.2 0.6 0.5 1.3 5.5 24.0
20–39 12.0 1.7 3.7 8.1 16.7 25.3
40–59 11.4 4.5 6.3 11.1 16.5 16.1
60–79 13.5 7.6 12.3 17.8 19.5 9.7
80 or more 50.3 74.9 74.4 58.8 37.0 18.0
50 or more 69.6 86.2 90.4 82.7 63.8 34.8
90 or more 42.2 69.2 67.2 46.9 28.1 11.2
100 18.1 45.6 30.6 14.1 7.1 1.6
Mean proportion 68.2 81.8 85.6 77.0 62.8 41.7
Mean proportion (recipients only) 72.2 91.6 88.1 79.3 66.0 44.9
Number (thousands) 19,435 3,234 3,727 3,863 4,032 4,578
Persons in families of 3 or more
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 18.3 24.3 19.3 11.4 13.4 24.1
1–19 21.8 6.0 14.8 23.4 34.9 41.1
20–39 21.0 16.0 17.8 23.2 28.5 20.2
40–59 14.8 13.5 15.9 20.1 12.6 10.2
60–79 10.0 11.9 13.5 12.3 6.0 3.2
80 or more 14.1 28.3 18.7 9.6 4.7 1.1
50 or more 31.0 47.5 41.5 28.8 15.6 10.4
90 or more 11.3 23.2 15.5 7.1 3.0 1.1
100 5.6 14.8 6.9 1.6 0.4 0
Mean proportion 36.6 48.0 42.7 37.0 27.1 18.9
Mean proportion (recipients only) 44.8 63.5 52.9 41.8 31.3 24.9
Number (thousands) 5,570 1,468 1,038 1,227 1,111 726
Social Security
Persons in 1-person families
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 9.4 13.8 2.8 5.1 10.5 16.7
1–19 6.6 0.6 0.7 1.8 5.4 27.4
20–39 12.0 1.4 2.1 3.7 15.6 41.5
40–59 14.8 3.4 4.4 15.5 41.8 10.5
60–79 13.8 7.3 11.4 30.8 17.2 1.3
80 or more 43.4 73.5 78.7 43.0 9.5 2.6
50 or more 64.1 82.6 93.4 82.4 46.1 5.8
90 or more 36.3 66.7 68.9 29.7 5.6 1.9
100 23.6 50.5 43.8 14.0 2.7 1.3
Mean proportion 63.5 79.5 87.9 71.5 46.9 23.9
Mean proportion (recipients only) 70.1 92.2 90.4 75.3 52.4 28.6
Number (thousands) 12,143 2,404 2,769 2,432 2,355 2,183
Persons in 2-person families
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 7.8 12.7 3.9 4.6 7.3 10.6
1–19 13.6 1.0 1.0 2.9 11.6 43.5
20–39 21.0 2.4 6.3 16.0 35.6 37.6
40–59 17.4 5.6 11.0 27.8 35.9 5.7
60–79 15.0 10.7 23.8 34.5 6.9 1.4
80 or more 25.2 67.6 54.0 14.0 2.7 1.2
50 or more 48.2 82.0 84.2 63.6 23.0 4.1
90 or more 19.7 60.6 40.7 6.3 1.7 0.7
100 10.6 38.9 18.6 1.6 0.8 0.2
Mean proportion 51.0 77.3 75.8 55.9 37.2 20.4
Mean proportion (recipients only) 55.4 88.5 78.9 58.6 40.1 22.8
Number (thousands) 19,435 3,234 3,727 3,863 4,032 4,578
Persons in families of 3 or more
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 21.6 27.2 22.7 14.5 16.4 28.5
1–19 28.4 7.6 17.3 28.7 47.1 56.8
20–39 22.3 16.2 21.1 29.6 28.9 13.9
40–59 13.6 15.9 20.9 18.8 6.4 0.8
60–79 6.8 11.0 12.2 6.3 1.2 0
80 or more 7.4 22.1 5.8 2.1 0.1 0
50 or more 19.9 42.9 28.0 12.4 3.1 0.1
90 or more 5.7 17.6 4.8 0.5 0.1 0
100 3.7 12.0 2.5 0.3 0 0
Mean proportion 28.2 43.0 33.0 27.1 17.5 9.6
Mean proportion (recipients only) 35.9 59.0 42.6 31.7 20.9 13.4
Number (thousands) 5,570 1,468 1,038 1,227 1,111 726
Government employee pensions
Persons in 1-person families
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 86.5 97.4 96.3 88.8 77.1 69.9
1–19 2.2 1.1 1.4 2.0 2.9 3.9
20–39 3.1 0.2 0.9 3.6 4.8 6.8
40–59 3.6 0.4 0.7 3.0 7.8 7.0
60–79 2.3 0.5 0.5 1.3 2.8 7.2
80 or more 2.2 0.6 0.2 1.2 4.7 5.1
50 or more 6.4 1.3 0.8 3.8 11.7 16.1
90 or more 1.3 0.6 0.1 0.8 2.9 2.5
100 0.3 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.6 0.2
Mean proportion 6.6 1.3 1.4 4.8 12.1 15.5
Mean proportion (recipients only) 49.3 48.4 36.2 42.5 52.7 51.5
Number (thousands) 12,143 2,404 2,769 2,432 2,355 2,183
Persons in 2-person families
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 82.1 96.3 91.6 82.3 74.5 70.9
1–19 4.6 1.5 2.4 3.2 4.4 9.9
20–39 4.8 1.0 2.7 5.3 7.1 6.9
40–59 4.5 0.5 2.3 5.0 8.4 5.2
60–79 2.8 0.5 0.7 3.1 3.5 5.1
80 or more 1.2 0.2 0.3 1.1 2.0 2.1
50 or more 5.9 0.8 2.4 6.0 9.9 8.9
90 or more 0.4 0.1 0 0.4 0.8 0.4
100 0.1 0 0 0.1 0.2 0
Mean proportion 7.2 1.2 3.1 7.4 11.1 11.0
Mean proportion (recipients only) 40.0 32.8 36.8 41.9 43.4 37.8
Number (thousands) 19,435 3,234 3,727 3,863 4,032 4,578
Persons in families of 3 or more
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 87.1 95.3 88.9 86.6 82.2 76.4
1–19 5.5 1.1 4.2 5.0 8.7 12.1
20–39 3.7 1.4 3.6 4.6 4.8 5.0
40–59 2.3 0.7 1.6 1.9 3.5 5.3
60–79 0.9 0.4 0.7 1.7 0.7 1.1
80 or more 0.4 1.0 1.0 0 0 0
50 or more 1.9 1.7 2.3 2.0 1.4 1.9
90 or more 0.3 0.7 0.4 0 0 0
100 0.2 0.4 0.4 0 0 0
Mean proportion 3.8 2.1 3.6 4.0 4.6 5.8
Mean proportion (recipients only) 29.5 45.4 32.7 29.9 25.8 24.7
Number (thousands) 5,570 1,468 1,038 1,227 1,111 726
Private pensions or annuities
Persons in 1-person families
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 74.3 94.8 85.6 66.4 56.6 65.2
1–19 10.6 1.7 10.0 16.0 12.4 13.2
20–39 8.1 1.1 2.7 13.4 15.2 8.8
40–59 4.7 0.3 0.7 3.2 13.3 7.3
60–79 1.3 0.4 0.4 0.6 1.0 4.4
80 or more 1.0 1.7 0.5 0.5 1.4 1.1
50 or more 4.2 2.2 1.3 1.8 7.1 9.9
90 or more 0.6 1.5 0.3 0.4 0.9 0.1
100 0.4 1.1 0.2 0 0.4 0
Mean proportion 7.6 2.6 2.8 8.1 14.2 11.4
Mean proportion (recipients only) 29.5 49.0 19.4 24.2 32.7 32.8
Number (thousands) 12,143 2,404 2,769 2,432 2,355 2,183
Persons in 2-person families
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 63.7 89.1 70.2 50.9 52.2 61.5
1–19 15.6 5.9 16.5 17.1 16.7 19.3
20–39 12.7 2.9 10.6 23.1 16.5 9.1
40–59 5.6 0.9 1.4 7.4 11.6 5.5
60–79 1.9 0.4 1.0 1.2 2.1 3.9
80 or more 0.6 0.7 0.4 0.3 1.0 0.5
50 or more 4.7 1.9 1.7 3.7 8.1 7.0
90 or more 0.3 0.7 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.1
100 0 0.1 0.1 0 0 0
Mean proportion 9.7 2.9 6.3 13.3 14.4 10.3
Mean proportion (recipients only) 26.8 26.2 21.2 27.1 30.1 26.7
Number (thousands) 19,435 3,234 3,727 3,863 4,032 4,578
Persons in families of 3 or more
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 74.5 86.7 72.9 69.5 67.6 71.1
1–19 17.6 8.1 16.0 20.8 25.0 22.6
20–39 5.1 2.7 6.2 7.2 5.3 4.8
40–59 2.0 1.7 4.0 1.0 1.8 1.5
60–79 0.6 0.6 0.6 1.4 0.1 0
80 or more 0.1 0.3 0.3 0 0.1 0
50 or more 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.7 0.4 0.7
90 or more 0.1 0.3 0 0 0 0
100 0.1 0.3 0 0 0 0
Mean proportion 4.4 2.9 5.6 5.6 4.5 3.5
Mean proportion (recipients only) 17.3 22.1 20.8 18.4 13.8 12.0
Number (thousands) 5,570 1,468 1,038 1,227 1,111 726
Income from assets
Persons in 1-person families
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 47.2 75.2 62.2 41.6 31.0 21.0
1–19 38.3 20.0 32.7 46.4 48.5 45.2
20–39 7.5 1.9 3.4 8.9 12.2 12.3
40–59 4.1 0.4 1.0 2.5 6.5 11.4
60–79 1.9 0.2 0.5 0.2 1.7 7.6
80 or more 1.0 2.2 0.1 0.4 0 2.5
50 or more 4.8 2.6 1.1 1.9 4.0 16.2
90 or more 0.6 2.1 0.1 0.3 0 0.4
100 0.5 2.1 0.1 0 0 0.1
Mean proportion 8.1 3.7 2.9 6.3 10.2 19.3
Mean proportion (recipients only) 15.4 15.1 7.8 10.8 14.8 24.4
Number (thousands) 12,143 2,404 2,769 2,432 2,355 2,183
Persons in 2-person families
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 33.3 64.9 45.9 29.0 24.0 12.3
1–19 52.1 29.6 47.6 61.0 59.7 57.4
20–39 7.8 1.6 5.3 7.8 11.1 11.4
40–59 3.9 1.0 0.8 1.8 3.4 10.5
60–79 2.0 0.3 0.3 0.2 1.8 6.3
80 or more 1.0 2.5 0 0.2 0 2.0
50 or more 4.4 2.9 0.4 0.9 3.4 12.6
90 or more 0.6 2.5 0 0.1 0 0.6
100 0.4 2.5 0 0.1 0 0
Mean proportion 8.7 4.7 3.8 6.2 8.9 17.5
Mean proportion (recipients only) 13.1 13.4 7.0 8.7 11.7 20.0
Number (thousands) 19,435 3,234 3,727 3,863 4,032 4,578
Persons in families of 3 or more
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 47.5 70.5 55.6 47.2 31.2 14.7
1–19 46.5 27.4 40.8 49.5 58.5 69.6
20–39 3.7 1.5 3.0 2.4 5.3 8.7
40–59 1.6 0.1 0.2 0.8 3.7 4.7
60–79 0.4 0 0.4 0 0 2.3
80 or more 0.4 0.6 0 0 1.3 0
50 or more 1.6 0.6 0.4 0.5 2.5 5.8
90 or more 0.2 0.5 0 0 0.3 0
100 0.1 0.5 0 0 0 0
Mean proportion 3.9 1.8 2.2 2.4 6.1 9.5
Mean proportion (recipients only) 7.4 6.0 4.9 4.6 8.9 11.2
Number (thousands) 5,570 1,468 1,038 1,227 1,111 726
Cash public assistance
Persons in 1-person families
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 95.5 83.8 96.4 98.2 99.5 99.6
1–19 1.3 4.6 1.1 0.4 0.1 0.4
20–39 1.3 3.8 1.5 0.7 0.2 0
40–59 0.5 1.5 0.2 0.6 0 0
60–79 0.2 0.3 0.5 0 0 0
80 or more 1.3 6.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0
50 or more 1.6 7.1 0.7 0.2 0.1 0
90 or more 1.3 6.0 0.2 0.1 0.1 0
100 1.2 5.4 0.2 0.1 0.1 0
Mean proportion 2.1 8.6 1.2 0.6 0.2 0
Mean proportion (recipients only) 46.8 52.7 33.2 33.8 40.8 3.4
Number (thousands) 12,143 2,404 2,769 2,432 2,355 2,183
Persons in 2-person families
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 96.8 89.1 96.9 98.5 98.5 99.3
1–19 1.3 2.5 1.3 1.0 1.2 0.6
20–39 0.7 1.9 1.3 0.3 0.3 0.1
40–59 0.3 1.1 0.4 0.2 0 0
60–79 0.1 0.4 0.2 0 0 0
80 or more 0.8 4.9 0 0 0 0
50 or more 0.9 5.4 0.2 0 0 0
90 or more 0.8 4.8 0 0 0 0
100 0.7 4.3 0 0 0 0
Mean proportion 1.3 6.5 0.8 0.2 0.2 0
Mean proportion (recipients only) 42.1 60.2 25.7 16.6 13.8 4.7
Number (thousands) 19,435 3,234 3,727 3,863 4,032 4,578
Persons in families of 3 or more
Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 88.8 80.8 86.3 91.0 94.3 96.0
1–19 7.6 8.6 10.4 7.8 5.7 4.0
20–39 2.7 6.9 3.2 1.1 0 0
40–59 0.4 1.4 0.1 0 0 0
60–79 0.2 0.9 0 0 0 0
80 or more 0.4 1.4 0 0 0 0
50 or more 0.8 3.0 0 0 0 0
90 or more 0.3 1.3 0 0 0 0
100 0.2 0.6 0 0 0 0
Mean proportion 2.1 5.4 2.0 1.0 0.3 0.1
Mean proportion (recipients only) 18.7 28.1 14.6 11.6 5.6 3.2
Number (thousands) 5,570 1,468 1,038 1,227 1,111 726
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 $11,057, $16,072, $23,357, and $37,605.
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 Family Income Sources for Persons 65 or Older Table 8.B9 Percentage distribution, by source of family income, sex, and ratio of family total money income to the poverty threshold, 2008
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
Earnings
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
0 88.0 88.1 84.7 80.3 48.8 84.7 87.1 81.9 79.4 47.2 89.4 88.6 86.1 80.9 50.4
1–19 2.8 2.9 3.6 4.5 7.5 2.4 2.4 3.9 4.6 7.9 2.9 3.1 3.5 4.4 7.1
20–39 1.4 2.8 3.7 4.1 8.4 1.2 3.8 4.8 4.3 8.8 1.5 2.3 3.1 4.1 7.9
40–59 1.2 2.3 2.3 3.5 9.9 2.4 2.4 2.7 4.1 10.4 0.7 2.2 2.2 3.2 9.4
60–79 0.7 1.1 2.1 3.3 12.1 0.8 1.6 1.6 3.1 12.4 0.7 0.8 2.3 3.5 11.8
80 or more 5.8 2.9 3.5 4.3 13.4 8.5 2.7 5.0 4.6 13.3 4.8 3.1 2.8 4.0 13.4
50 or more 7.0 5.5 6.2 9.1 30.8 10.0 5.6 7.1 9.4 31.2 5.7 5.4 5.8 8.9 30.4
90 or more 5.3 2.6 2.9 3.5 7.7 8.5 2.4 4.0 3.7 7.6 4.0 2.6 2.4 3.4 7.8
100 4.2 1.6 2.1 2.4 2.5 6.2 1.4 2.8 2.4 2.6 3.4 1.7 1.8 2.4 2.3
Mean proportion 7.5 5.9 7.4 9.8 28.9 10.7 6.3 9.0 10.2 29.4 6.2 5.6 6.5 9.5 28.4
Mean proportion (recipients only) 62.8 49.2 48.1 49.4 56.4 69.8 49.0 49.9 49.3 55.7 58.6 49.3 47.0 49.5 57.2
Number (thousands) 3,234 2,355 2,560 5,075 23,923 936 745 847 1,993 11,517 2,299 1,610 1,713 3,082 12,406
Retirement benefits
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
0 17.3 6.5 5.3 5.3 7.3 21.1 6.8 6.9 5.5 7.7 15.8 6.3 4.4 5.3 6.9
1–19 0.4 0.8 0.8 1.1 11.9 0.7 0.8 1.2 1.2 11.7 0.3 0.8 0.7 1.1 12.0
20–39 1.9 2.7 3.2 4.0 16.1 2.5 2.7 3.5 4.1 16.3 1.6 2.8 3.0 4.0 15.8
40–59 4.1 4.0 5.1 6.1 13.9 3.4 5.0 4.6 6.5 14.1 4.3 3.5 5.4 5.9 13.6
60–79 6.1 8.4 8.2 10.8 14.1 5.0 10.0 8.2 10.0 13.8 6.5 7.6 8.1 11.3 14.4
80 or more 70.2 77.6 77.4 72.6 36.8 67.4 74.8 75.5 72.8 36.4 71.4 78.9 78.3 72.6 37.3
50 or more 78.8 88.3 89.6 86.9 57.4 75.0 87.9 87.1 86.6 56.7 80.4 88.6 90.8 87.1 58.1
90 or more 64.6 71.7 71.1 64.6 29.3 62.8 68.6 70.7 65.3 28.9 65.4 73.2 71.3 64.2 29.7
100 48.6 48.7 46.4 33.3 9.7 46.7 49.4 48.2 34.4 9.8 49.4 48.4 45.5 32.6 9.6
Mean proportion 76.0 85.2 85.6 82.8 58.2 72.5 84.1 83.9 82.7 57.7 77.4 85.7 86.4 82.9 58.7
Mean proportion (recipients only) 91.9 91.1 90.3 87.5 62.8 91.9 90.2 90.1 87.5 62.5 91.9 91.5 90.4 87.5 63.0
Number (thousands) 3,234 2,355 2,560 5,075 23,923 936 745 847 1,993 11,517 2,299 1,610 1,713 3,082 12,406
Social Security
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
0 19.9 8.0 6.6 7.4 10.4 23.1 8.7 8.4 7.4 11.0 18.7 7.7 5.8 7.4 9.9
1–19 0.8 1.4 1.1 2.0 20.2 1.1 1.0 1.2 1.7 20.6 0.6 1.6 1.0 2.1 19.9
20–39 2.5 3.0 4.3 5.3 26.1 2.5 2.8 4.1 5.3 26.5 2.5 3.2 4.4 5.2 25.8
40–59 4.8 5.5 7.0 9.3 20.9 3.9 6.4 6.1 8.8 20.0 5.1 5.1 7.4 9.6 21.6
60–79 7.1 10.2 11.9 19.5 13.4 5.9 11.8 11.9 17.0 13.2 7.6 9.4 11.9 21.1 13.5
80 or more 65.0 71.8 69.0 56.6 9.0 63.5 69.3 68.2 59.7 8.7 65.6 73.0 69.4 54.5 9.3
50 or more 74.9 85.4 86.0 81.6 31.3 72.1 85.5 84.7 82.3 30.5 76.1 85.4 86.7 81.2 31.9
90 or more 59.1 64.7 59.6 45.6 5.3 58.5 62.7 61.4 47.5 5.0 59.4 65.6 58.6 44.3 5.6
100 45.0 42.7 38.2 22.2 2.3 44.4 43.4 41.4 22.4 2.1 45.2 42.4 36.6 22.0 2.6
Mean proportion 72.0 81.5 80.8 74.6 38.0 69.5 80.8 80.1 75.5 37.3 73.0 81.8 81.2 74.0 38.7
Mean proportion (recipients only) 89.9 88.6 86.5 80.5 42.4 90.4 88.5 87.4 81.5 41.9 89.8 88.6 86.1 79.9 42.9
Number (thousands) 3,234 2,355 2,560 5,075 23,923 936 745 847 1,993 11,517 2,299 1,610 1,713 3,082 12,406
Government employee pensions
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
0 97.7 96.4 95.1 92.7 78.4 98.2 97.8 95.5 94.2 79.2 97.5 95.8 94.8 91.7 77.6
1–19 0.7 1.9 1.3 2.2 5.2 0.5 1.4 1.2 2.0 5.1 0.8 2.1 1.4 2.3 5.4
20–39 0.1 1.0 1.7 2.3 5.6 0.1 0.6 1.4 1.8 5.2 0.1 1.2 1.8 2.5 6.0
40–59 0.3 0.3 1.2 1.5 5.5 0 0 1.3 1.1 5.1 0.4 0.4 1.1 1.9 5.8
60–79 0.5 0.2 0.7 0.6 3.3 0.4 0 0.5 0.3 3.4 0.6 0.3 0.8 0.8 3.3
80 or more 0.6 0.3 0.1 0.8 2.0 0.8 0.3 0 0.6 2.1 0.5 0.3 0.1 0.9 1.8
50 or more 1.3 0.6 1.0 2.2 7.7 1.2 0.3 0.5 1.5 7.6 1.3 0.7 1.2 2.7 7.7
90 or more 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.5 0.8 0.8 0.3 0 0.3 0.9 0.4 0 0.1 0.6 0.8
100 0.5 0.1 0 0.2 0.1 0.7 0.3 0 0.1 0.1 0.4 0 0 0.4 0.2
Mean proportion 1.2 0.9 1.8 2.8 9.0 1.1 0.5 1.5 2.0 8.8 1.3 1.1 1.9 3.3 9.2
Mean proportion (recipients only) 54.5 26.2 36.3 38.5 41.7 63.9 23.0 34.1 35.5 42.3 51.7 27.0 37.3 39.9 41.2
Number (thousands) 3,234 2,355 2,560 5,075 23,923 936 745 847 1,993 11,517 2,299 1,610 1,713 3,082 12,406
Private pensions or annuities
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
0 94.6 90.9 86.2 77.0 59.5 95.8 91.6 90.3 77.1 58.4 94.1 90.6 84.1 77.0 60.6
1–19 1.7 5.6 9.6 13.5 17.5 1.5 4.4 5.7 14.1 17.7 1.7 6.1 11.5 13.1 17.2
20–39 1.4 1.4 2.5 7.1 13.5 1.4 1.9 2.7 6.2 13.9 1.4 1.2 2.4 7.6 13.1
40–59 0.3 1.1 1.0 1.4 6.8 0.4 1.1 0.7 1.4 7.3 0.3 1.1 1.2 1.5 6.5
60–79 0.4 0.1 0.6 0.5 2.1 0.2 0 0.6 0.8 2.2 0.5 0.2 0.6 0.3 1.9
80 or more 1.6 0.8 0.1 0.4 0.6 0.7 0.9 0 0.3 0.5 1.9 0.8 0.1 0.5 0.7
50 or more 2.2 1.5 1.3 1.3 5.4 1.1 1.3 1.1 1.5 5.7 2.6 1.6 1.4 1.2 5.1
90 or more 1.4 0.6 0 0.4 0.3 0.7 0.9 0 0.3 0.2 1.7 0.5 0 0.4 0.3
100 1.0 0.2 0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.4 0 0.1 0.1 1.4 0.1 0 0 0
Mean proportion 2.5 2.3 2.6 4.9 10.9 1.5 2.3 2.0 4.9 11.3 2.9 2.3 2.9 4.9 10.5
Mean proportion (recipients only) 47.2 25.3 18.8 21.4 26.9 36.7 28.1 21.1 21.4 27.1 50.2 24.2 18.1 21.4 26.7
Number (thousands) 3,234 2,355 2,560 5,075 23,923 936 745 847 1,993 11,517 2,299 1,610 1,713 3,082 12,406
Income from assets
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
0 74.1 68.6 63.3 50.9 27.7 71.7 72.7 66.4 53.4 27.4 75.0 66.7 61.7 49.3 28.0
1–19 18.9 29.0 31.6 43.0 54.6 19.4 25.3 29.1 42.3 55.4 18.6 30.8 32.9 43.5 53.9
20–39 1.7 1.5 3.9 4.3 9.3 1.8 1.6 2.6 2.9 9.0 1.7 1.4 4.5 5.2 9.7
40–59 0.8 0.5 0.8 1.2 5.1 0.9 0.2 0.8 0.9 5.0 0.8 0.7 0.9 1.4 5.2
60–79 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.4 2.5 0.4 0 0.8 0.3 2.4 0.2 0.4 0.1 0.4 2.6
80 or more 4.3 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.7 5.9 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.8 3.6 0 0 0.2 0.7
50 or more 4.7 0.7 0.7 0.9 5.4 6.3 0.5 1.5 0.7 5.3 4.0 0.8 0.3 1.0 5.5
90 or more 4.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 5.9 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.2 3.5 0 0 0.1 0.1
100 4.2 0.1 0.1 0 0 5.9 0.4 0.3 0 0 3.5 0 0 0 0
Mean proportion 6.0 1.8 2.9 3.8 10.0 7.8 1.3 2.8 3.1 9.9 5.3 2.0 2.9 4.2 10.1
Mean proportion (recipients only) 23.1 5.6 7.8 7.7 13.9 27.5 4.9 8.3 6.8 13.7 21.1 5.9 7.6 8.2 14.0
Number (thousands) 3,234 2,355 2,560 5,075 23,923 936 745 847 1,993 11,517 2,299 1,610 1,713 3,082 12,406
Cash public assistance
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
0 84.3 88.2 93.7 94.4 97.6 86.0 88.4 94.9 94.2 98.2 83.5 88.1 93.0 94.6 97.1
1–19 4.5 2.9 2.6 2.0 1.9 4.6 2.9 2.0 2.0 1.4 4.5 2.9 2.9 2.0 2.3
20–39 3.4 3.8 1.4 2.1 0.4 2.6 4.5 1.3 2.3 0.3 3.8 3.5 1.5 1.9 0.5
40–59 1.5 1.1 0.7 0.7 0 0.8 0.9 0.3 0.6 0 1.7 1.2 0.8 0.7 0.1
60–79 0.8 0.7 0.2 0.1 0 1.0 0.3 0 0.1 0 0.7 0.9 0.3 0.2 0
80 or more 5.5 3.3 1.5 0.8 0 5.0 3.1 1.4 0.9 0 5.7 3.5 1.5 0.7 0
50 or more 7.1 4.2 1.7 0.9 0 6.6 3.4 1.5 1.0 0 7.3 4.5 1.8 0.9 0
90 or more 5.4 3.2 1.5 0.8 0 4.8 2.9 1.4 0.9 0 5.7 3.3 1.5 0.7 0
100 4.9 2.6 1.5 0.6 0 4.2 2.5 1.4 0.7 0 5.2 2.7 1.5 0.5 0
Mean proportion 8.2 5.6 2.5 2.0 0.3 7.2 5.2 2.2 2.1 0.2 8.6 5.8 2.7 1.9 0.4
Mean proportion (recipients only) 52.2 47.6 39.8 35.4 13.0 51.5 44.5 42.6 36.3 12.9 52.4 49.0 38.8 34.8 13.1
Number (thousands) 3,234 2,355 2,560 5,075 23,923 936 745 847 1,993 11,517 2,299 1,610 1,713 3,082 12,406
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 2008.
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.