Income of the Population 55 or Older, 2008

Poverty Status of Aged Persons Based on Family Income

Poverty Status of Aged Persons Based on Family Income

Poverty Status of Persons 65 or Older Based on Family Income

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

Key Terms and Concepts for Section 11 1

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

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

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

Notes

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

Tables

Poverty Status of Aged Persons Based on Family Income Table 11.1 By Social Security beneficiary status, marital status, race, Hispanic origin, sex, and age, 2008
Sex and age Number (thousands) Percentage below poverty line Percentage below 125% of poverty line
All persons
All persons
55–61 25,796 8.9 11.9
62–64 8,493 9.9 13.3
65 or older 37,788 9.7 15.9
Men
55–61 12,489 8.6 11.4
62–64 4,017 9.4 12.3
65 or older 16,308 6.7 11.3
Women
55–61 13,307 9.2 12.4
62–64 4,476 10.5 14.3
65 or older 21,480 11.9 19.5
By beneficiary status
Beneficiary
All persons
55–61 2,270 17.6 26.8
62–64 3,318 10.7 15.6
65 or older 32,406 7.8 14.3
Men
55–61 1,096 13.6 22.1
62–64 1,400 10.9 14.9
65 or older 13,939 4.9 9.5
Women
55–61 1,174 21.2 31.3
62–64 1,918 10.6 16.1
65 or older 18,467 9.9 17.9
Nonbeneficiary
All persons
55–61 23,527 8.1 10.5
62–64 5,175 9.4 11.9
65 or older 5,382 21.2 25.8
Men
55–61 11,393 8.1 10.3
62–64 2,617 8.6 11.0
65 or older 2,369 17.4 21.4
Women
55–61 12,134 8.1 10.6
62–64 2,558 10.3 12.8
65 or older 3,012 24.2 29.2
By marital status
Married
All persons
55–61 17,499 4.5 6.1
62–64 5,856 5.1 7.4
65 or older 20,711 4.9 7.8
Men
55–61 8,907 4.9 6.5
62–64 3,071 5.0 7.1
65 or older 11,742 4.8 7.6
Women
55–61 8,591 4.2 5.8
62–64 2,785 5.3 7.7
65 or older 8,969 5.0 8.0
Nonmarried
All persons
55–61 8,297 18.2 24.0
62–64 2,637 20.6 26.6
65 or older 17,077 15.5 25.8
Men
55–61 3,581 17.9 23.5
62–64 947 23.5 29.3
65 or older 4,566 11.6 20.6
Women
55–61 4,716 18.4 24.5
62–64 1,690 19.0 25.0
65 or older 12,511 16.9 27.7
Widowed
All persons
55–61 1,208 22.1 28.3
62–64 636 22.1 27.1
65 or older 10,972 14.4 25.0
Men
55–61 268 19.8 25.0
62–64 116 29.6 35.2
65 or older 2,104 10.2 18.0
Women
55–61 939 22.7 29.2
62–64 520 20.5 25.3
65 or older 8,868 15.4 26.7
Divorced
All persons
55–61 4,138 16.5 21.9
62–64 1,223 17.3 21.9
65 or older 3,646 16.4 25.7
Men
55–61 1,792 16.2 21.5
62–64 473 20.5 23.9
65 or older 1,359 11.0 20.5
Women
55–61 2,346 16.8 22.3
62–64 750 15.3 20.6
65 or older 2,287 19.5 28.7
Never married
All persons
55–61 2,047 18.1 24.6
62–64 514 20.9 30.0
65 or older 1,574 17.6 28.3
Men
55–61 1,066 19.5 26.2
62–64 232 22.1 32.7
65 or older 710 16.8 28.0
Women
55–61 982 16.7 22.9
62–64 282 19.9 27.9
65 or older 864 18.1 28.6
By race
White alone
All persons
55–61 21,505 7.5 10.2
62–64 7,226 8.4 11.5
65 or older 32,714 8.5 14.3
Men
55–61 10,533 7.1 9.7
62–64 3,472 8.3 10.9
65 or older 14,259 5.8 9.9
Women
55–61 10,972 7.8 10.5
62–64 3,753 8.6 12.0
65 or older 18,456 10.5 17.7
Black alone
All persons
55–61 2,715 18.0 24.1
62–64 817 20.6 27.6
65 or older 3,229 20.0 29.9
Men
55–61 1,215 18.7 23.7
62–64 342 18.4 25.5
65 or older 1,261 14.0 23.0
Women
55–61 1,500 17.5 24.4
62–64 475 22.1 29.2
65 or older 1,969 23.8 34.3
Asian alone
All persons
55–61 1,078 11.1 12.0
62–64 295 13.3 14.3
65 or older 1,296 12.1 18.9
Men
55–61 507 10.8 11.0
62–64 125 12.7 13.4
65 or older 540 11.1 16.7
Women
55–61 571 11.4 12.9
62–64 169 13.7 14.9
65 or older 756 12.8 20.4
Hispanic origin
All persons
55–61 2,311 14.8 21.0
62–64 650 18.1 24.4
65 or older 2,717 19.3 31.3
Men
55–61 1,120 14.3 20.1
62–64 310 16.0 20.5
65 or older 1,168 15.8 26.8
Women
55–61 1,191 15.3 21.8
62–64 340 19.9 28.0
65 or older 1,549 22.0 34.7
NOTE: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2008.
Poverty Status of Persons 65 or Older Based on Family Income Table 11.2 By Social Security beneficiary status, marital status, race, Hispanic origin, sex, and age, 2008
Sex and age Number (thousands) Percentage below poverty line Percentage below 125% of poverty line
All persons
All persons
65–69 11,825 7.5 11.8
70–74 8,579 9.7 16.0
75–79 7,329 10.8 17.4
80 or older 10,054 11.5 19.6
Men
65–69 5,632 5.2 8.8
70–74 3,769 6.5 11.4
75–79 3,167 8.7 14.1
80 or older 3,740 7.4 12.5
Women
65–69 6,193 9.5 14.5
70–74 4,810 12.1 19.7
75–79 4,162 12.3 20.0
80 or older 6,314 13.9 23.8
By beneficiary status
Beneficiary
All persons
65–69 9,242 6.0 10.8
70–74 7,522 7.4 13.8
75–79 6,557 8.3 14.9
80 or older 9,085 9.4 17.9
Men
65–69 4,385 3.8 7.8
70–74 3,345 4.6 9.3
75–79 2,840 6.3 11.4
80 or older 3,369 5.4 10.5
Women
65–69 4,858 8.0 13.5
70–74 4,176 9.7 17.3
75–79 3,717 9.8 17.6
80 or older 5,716 11.8 22.2
Nonbeneficiary
All persons
65–69 2,583 12.6 15.3
70–74 1,057 25.6 32.3
75–79 772 32.0 39.1
80 or older 969 30.6 36.0
Men
65–69 1,247 10.3 12.4
70–74 424 21.6 27.4
75–79 327 30.1 37.9
80 or older 371 25.2 30.7
Women
65–69 1,336 14.7 18.0
70–74 633 28.3 35.7
75–79 445 33.4 40.0
80 or older 598 34.0 39.2
By marital status
Married
All persons
65–69 7,873 3.6 5.9
70–74 5,289 5.2 8.2
75–79 3,859 6.4 9.6
80 or older 3,690 5.6 9.1
Men
65–69 4,338 3.5 5.7
70–74 2,897 4.8 7.4
75–79 2,211 6.5 10.0
80 or older 2,296 5.4 9.2
Women
65–69 3,535 3.6 6.1
70–74 2,393 5.7 9.3
75–79 1,647 6.3 9.1
80 or older 1,394 5.8 9.1
Nonmarried
All persons
65–69 3,952 15.2 23.5
70–74 3,290 16.9 28.6
75–79 3,471 15.6 26.1
80 or older 6,364 14.9 25.7
Men
65–69 1,294 10.9 19.1
70–74 873 12.3 24.5
75–79 956 13.9 23.6
80 or older 1,444 10.4 17.8
Women
65–69 2,659 17.3 25.6
70–74 2,417 18.5 30.1
75–79 2,515 16.3 27.0
80 or older 4,920 16.2 28.0
Widowed
All persons
65–69 1,452 15.6 23.6
70–74 1,786 16.5 28.6
75–79 2,446 13.5 24.0
80 or older 5,288 13.9 24.7
Men
65–69 257 10.8 21.3
70–74 292 10.0 20.9
75–79 477 12.9 20.6
80 or older 1,078 8.9 15.2
Women
65–69 1,195 16.6 24.0
70–74 1,494 17.7 30.1
75–79 1,968 13.6 24.8
80 or older 4,210 15.2 27.1
Divorced
All persons
65–69 1,640 14.0 21.8
70–74 947 15.8 26.2
75–79 565 19.6 29.3
80 or older 494 21.7 33.6
Men
65–69 610 8.6 16.1
70–74 349 11.5 23.9
75–79 257 11.2 20.7
80 or older 142 20.0 31.2
Women
65–69 1,030 17.2 25.1
70–74 598 18.3 27.5
75–79 307 26.6 36.6
80 or older 352 22.4 34.6
Never married
All persons
65–69 541 15.8 24.1
70–74 365 21.4 35.4
75–79 299 20.2 31.3
80 or older 369 14.1 25.0
Men
65–69 292 15.9 21.7
70–74 156 22.4 38.3
75–79 140 19.6 35.4
80 or older 122 8.9 21.4
Women
65–69 249 15.8 26.9
70–74 209 20.6 33.3
75–79 159 20.7 27.7
80 or older 247 16.7 26.8
By race
White alone
All persons
65–69 10,093 6.3 10.1
70–74 7,327 8.3 14.2
75–79 6,336 9.9 16.4
80 or older 8,958 10.0 17.7
Men
65–69 4,873 4.5 7.6
70–74 3,249 5.6 9.9
75–79 2,757 8.2 13.1
80 or older 3,380 6.0 10.8
Women
65–69 5,220 8.0 12.5
70–74 4,078 10.6 17.7
75–79 3,579 11.3 18.9
80 or older 5,578 12.4 21.9
Black alone
All persons
65–69 1,051 15.6 23.8
70–74 803 20.2 30.4
75–79 652 18.3 28.2
80 or older 722 27.6 39.8
Men
65–69 443 10.5 18.1
70–74 333 15.2 24.8
75–79 262 11.3 21.7
80 or older 222 22.5 31.8
Women
65–69 608 19.4 28.0
70–74 470 23.8 34.4
75–79 391 23.0 32.6
80 or older 500 29.9 43.3
Asian alone
All persons
65–69 467 10.8 17.4
70–74 286 10.4 17.6
75–79 260 11.2 14.4
80 or older 284 16.8 26.9
Men
65–69 220 8.5 13.9
70–74 111 7.0 10.9
75–79 112 12.3 16.6
80 or older 97 20.1 30.0
Women
65–69 247 12.9 20.5
70–74 175 12.5 21.7
75–79 148 10.3 12.7
80 or older 187 15.1 25.2
Hispanic origin
All persons
65–69 950 15.4 25.2
70–74 677 20.9 35.0
75–79 511 21.8 32.6
80 or older 580 21.8 35.8
Men
65–69 436 13.0 22.3
70–74 280 16.5 31.4
75–79 214 20.9 31.1
80 or older 239 15.6 25.7
Women
65–69 514 17.4 27.6
70–74 397 23.9 37.6
75–79 296 22.4 33.7
80 or older 341 26.2 42.9
NOTE: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2008.
Poverty Status of Persons 65 or Older Based on Family Income Table 11.3 Social Security beneficiaries, by marital status, race, Hispanic origin, sex and age, 2008
Sex and age Number (thousands) Percentage below poverty line Percentage below 125% of poverty line
By marital status
Married
All persons 65 or older 17,671 2.9 5.7
65–69 6,195 2.2 4.6
70–74 4,655 2.7 5.6
75–79 3,491 3.7 6.7
80 or older 3,330 3.6 7.0
Men 65 or older 10,050 2.8 5.6
65–69 3,382 2.2 4.5
70–74 2,574 2.6 5.0
75–79 2,005 3.5 6.6
80 or older 2,089 3.5 7.0
Women 65 or older 7,621 3.0 5.9
65–69 2,813 2.1 4.7
70–74 2,081 2.8 6.3
75–79 1,486 4.0 6.8
80 or older 1,241 3.8 7.1
Nonmarried
All persons 65 or older 14,735 13.6 24.6
65–69 3,047 13.8 23.3
70–74 2,867 15.1 27.1
75–79 3,066 13.5 24.2
80 or older 5,755 12.8 24.1
Men 65 or older 3,888 10.2 19.8
65–69 1,002 9.0 18.7
70–74 771 11.4 23.9
75–79 835 13.0 22.9
80 or older 1,280 8.5 16.3
Women 65 or older 10,847 14.9 26.3
65–69 2,045 16.2 25.6
70–74 2,096 16.5 28.3
75–79 2,231 13.7 24.7
80 or older 4,475 14.1 26.4
Widowed
All persons 65 or older 9,836 12.4 23.4
65–69 1,176 14.0 23.0
70–74 1,585 14.8 26.7
75–79 2,225 11.3 22.2
80 or older 4,850 11.8 23.0
Men 65 or older 1,902 8.5 16.4
65–69 208 7.8 20.2
70–74 270 9.1 18.1
75–79 438 11.9 20.3
80 or older 985 7.0 13.3
Women 65 or older 7,934 13.4 25.1
65–69 968 15.4 23.6
70–74 1,314 16.0 28.4
75–79 1,786 11.2 22.7
80 or older 3,865 13.1 25.5
Divorced
All persons 65 or older 3,037 14.8 24.8
65–69 1,294 13.2 21.8
70–74 846 14.9 25.4
75–79 483 16.6 26.2
80 or older 415 17.4 31.1
Men 65 or older 1,177 9.7 20.3
65–69 511 8.1 16.4
70–74 316 11.7 25.0
75–79 229 8.3 18.9
80 or older 120 14.0 27.3
Women 65 or older 1,860 18.0 27.6
65–69 783 16.5 25.4
70–74 530 16.8 25.7
75–79 253 24.1 32.8
80 or older 294 18.8 32.7
Never married
All persons 65 or older 1,197 16.1 28.6
65–69 375 13.7 24.1
70–74 286 17.2 34.1
75–79 233 22.2 31.3
80 or older 304 13.6 26.8
Men 65 or older 511 16.0 29.3
65–69 199 11.7 19.7
70–74 125 19.6 39.4
75–79 99 25.4 37.2
80 or older 87 10.0 27.6
Women 65 or older 687 16.2 28.1
65–69 176 15.9 29.2
70–74 161 15.4 30.0
75–79 133 19.8 26.9
80 or older 217 15.0 26.5
By race
White alone
All persons 65 or older 28,552 6.7 12.8
65–69 8,036 5.0 9.3
70–74 6,535 6.3 12.1
75–79 5,759 7.6 13.9
80 or older 8,222 8.1 16.0
Men 65 or older 12,350 4.1 8.3
65–69 3,849 3.1 6.6
70–74 2,928 3.9 8.1
75–79 2,497 5.8 10.3
80 or older 3,077 4.3 9.0
Women 65 or older 16,202 8.7 16.2
65–69 4,187 6.7 11.7
70–74 3,607 8.3 15.4
75–79 3,262 8.9 16.7
80 or older 5,146 10.4 20.2
Black alone
All persons 65 or older 2,564 18.2 29.4
65–69 764 14.6 24.4
70–74 643 17.6 28.8
75–79 546 15.1 25.7
80 or older 612 26.1 39.7
Men 65 or older 1,013 11.6 22.0
65–69 324 8.7 18.9
70–74 265 11.5 21.7
75–79 229 9.0 19.7
80 or older 195 19.8 30.4
Women 65 or older 1,551 22.5 34.2
65–69 439 18.9 28.4
70–74 378 21.9 33.8
75–79 318 19.5 29.9
80 or older 416 29.1 44.0
Asian alone
All persons 65 or older 852 9.6 16.7
65–69 288 8.8 15.5
70–74 202 9.2 15.1
75–79 183 8.5 11.0
80 or older 179 12.5 26.5
Men 65 or older 377 10.0 15.4
65–69 141 8.4 12.6
70–74 85 8.6 11.5
75–79 84 11.1 16.2
80 or older 66 a a
Women 65 or older 475 9.3 17.8
65–69 147 9.1 18.2
70–74 117 9.5 17.7
75–79 99 6.3 6.6
80 or older 113 11.9 27.0
Hispanic origin
All persons 65 or older 1,996 16.0 30.3
65–69 664 14.2 26.1
70–74 509 16.1 32.5
75–79 395 18.1 31.1
80 or older 428 16.8 33.4
Men 65 or older 889 12.9 25.8
65–69 314 10.6 21.7
70–74 232 12.5 28.2
75–79 166 18.2 31.1
80 or older 176 12.6 24.8
Women 65 or older 1,107 18.5 33.9
65–69 350 17.5 30.1
70–74 277 19.1 36.1
75–79 229 18.0 31.0
80 or older 251 19.8 39.5
NOTE: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2008.
a. Fewer than 75,000 weighted cases.
Poverty Status of Persons 65 or Older in Beneficiary Families Based on Family Income Table 11.4 Persons in Social Security beneficiary families, by proportion of family income from Social Security, sex, and age, 2008
Sex and age Number (thousands) Percentage below poverty line Percentage below 125% of poverty line
Persons in families receiving less than 50 percent of income from Social Security
All persons 65 or older 15,028 1.1 2.1
65–69 5,460 1.0 1.9
70–74 3,557 0.9 1.8
75–79 2,715 1.2 2.3
80 or older 3,296 1.4 2.7
Men 65 or older 7,093 0.6 1.3
65–69 2,751 0.7 1.3
70–74 1,729 0.5 1.0
75–79 1,236 0.5 1.4
80 or older 1,376 0.7 1.2
Women 65 or older 7,935 1.5 2.9
65–69 2,708 1.4 2.6
70–74 1,828 1.2 2.5
75–79 1,479 1.7 3.1
80 or older 1,920 1.9 3.8
Persons in families receiving 50 to 89 percent of income from Social Security
All persons 65 or older 9,708 5.3 10.3
65–69 2,426 5.0 9.2
70–74 2,295 6.7 12.6
75–79 2,115 5.3 10.0
80 or older 2,872 4.3 9.7
Men 65 or older 4,126 3.1 7.2
65–69 1,044 2.9 5.7
70–74 957 4.2 10.3
75–79 919 3.0 7.1
80 or older 1,207 2.5 6.1
Women 65 or older 5,582 6.9 12.6
65–69 1,382 6.6 11.8
70–74 1,338 8.6 14.2
75–79 1,196 7.1 12.2
80 or older 1,665 5.6 12.3
Persons in families receiving 90 to 99 percent of income from Social Security
All persons 65 or older 3,427 13.3 28.4
65–69 737 11.0 26.8
70–74 735 14.7 26.5
75–79 761 13.1 26.4
80 or older 1,195 14.1 31.9
Men 65 or older 1,283 10.3 21.5
65–69 325 6.2 22.9
70–74 284 10.8 18.6
75–79 316 14.4 22.5
80 or older 357 9.8 21.7
Women 65 or older 2,144 15.2 32.6
65–69 412 14.7 29.8
70–74 450 17.1 31.5
75–79 445 12.2 29.2
80 or older 837 16.0 36.3
Persons in families receiving 100 percent of income from Social Security
All persons 65 or older 5,120 28.4 48.1
65–69 1,119 27.5 43.9
70–74 1,096 27.0 49.0
75–79 1,064 29.5 49.7
80 or older 1,841 29.2 49.1
Men 65 or older 1,775 23.4 41.6
65–69 459 22.2 39.7
70–74 424 21.9 39.7
75–79 406 25.4 44.8
80 or older 486 24.2 42.3
Women 65 or older 3,345 31.0 51.5
65–69 661 31.2 46.8
70–74 673 30.3 54.8
75–79 658 32.0 52.7
80 or older 1,354 30.9 51.5
NOTES: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2008.
Persons in families with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.