Income of the Population 55 or Older, 2012

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 2013. 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 SNAP benefits).

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, 2012
Sex and age Number (thousands) Percentage below poverty line Percentage below 125% of poverty line
  All persons
All persons  
55–61 28,278 10.9 14.3
62–64 10,213 10.1 14.4
65 or older 43,287 9.1 14.6
Men  
55–61 13,584 10.0 13.2
62–64 4,739 9.6 13.3
65 or older 19,298 6.6 10.9
Women  
55–61 14,694 11.7 15.4
62–64 5,474 10.6 15.3
65 or older 23,990 11.0 17.5
  By beneficiary status
  Beneficiary
All persons  
55–61 2,665 18.0 29.0
62–64 3,702 10.1 15.6
65 or older 36,355 7.0 12.7
Men  
55–61 1,259 17.3 27.7
62–64 1,684 10.6 15.8
65 or older 16,018 4.3 8.7
Women  
55–61 1,406 18.5 30.1
62–64 2,018 9.6 15.4
65 or older 20,337 9.1 15.9
  Nonbeneficiary
All persons  
55–61 25,613 10.1 12.8
62–64 6,511 10.2 13.7
65 or older 6,932 20.1 24.2
Men  
55–61 12,325 9.3 11.7
62–64 3,055 9.0 12.0
65 or older 3,279 18.3 21.5
Women  
55–61 13,288 11.0 13.8
62–64 3,456 11.2 15.3
65 or older 3,653 21.7 26.6
  By marital status
  Married
All persons  
55–61 18,242 4.9 6.8
62–64 6,616 6.2 9.0
65 or older 24,518 4.4 7.2
Men  
55–61 9,287 4.9 6.9
62–64 3,273 6.5 9.3
65 or older 13,770 4.5 7.3
Women  
55–61 8,955 4.9 6.7
62–64 3,343 5.9 8.8
65 or older 10,748 4.3 7.1
  Nonmarried
All persons  
55–61 10,036 21.7 28.0
62–64 3,597 17.3 24.2
65 or older 18,769 15.2 24.2
Men  
55–61 4,297 20.9 26.7
62–64 1,466 16.4 22.3
65 or older 5,527 12.1 19.9
Women  
55–61 5,739 22.3 28.9
62–64 2,131 18.0 25.6
65 or older 13,242 16.5 26.0
  Widowed
All persons  
55–61 1,268 21.1 29.9
62–64 668 12.3 19.6
65 or older 11,064 13.6 22.5
Men  
55–61 290 25.2 29.0
62–64 151 17.1 19.3
65 or older 2,327 10.1 17.6
Women  
55–61 978 19.9 30.1
62–64 518 10.9 19.8
65 or older 8,738 14.5 23.8
  Divorced
All persons  
55–61 4,871 20.3 26.0
62–64 1,767 16.3 23.1
65 or older 4,796 15.2 24.1
Men  
55–61 2,069 18.8 24.9
62–64 756 14.1 20.9
65 or older 1,861 12.2 19.2
Women  
55–61 2,801 21.4 26.8
62–64 1,011 18.0 24.8
65 or older 2,934 17.1 27.2
  Never married
All persons  
55–61 2,804 24.4 30.3
62–64 858 18.1 24.8
65 or older 1,903 19.8 28.5
Men  
55–61 1,454 25.4 31.0
62–64 439 16.9 23.0
65 or older 873 15.7 23.7
Women  
55–61 1,349 23.2 29.5
62–64 420 19.4 26.6
65 or older 1,030 23.2 32.6
  By race
  White alone
All persons  
55–61 23,171 9.3 12.5
62–64 8,489 8.7 12.4
65 or older 37,039 7.8 12.9
Men  
55–61 11,311 8.5 11.4
62–64 4,013 8.5 11.6
65 or older 16,635 5.6 9.5
Women  
55–61 11,860 10.2 13.6
62–64 4,476 8.9 13.2
65 or older 20,404 9.6 15.7
  Black alone
All persons  
55–61 3,180 22.1 27.9
62–64 1,072 19.3 27.6
65 or older 3,893 18.2 27.1
Men  
55–61 1,393 22.8 28.2
62–64 441 17.5 26.2
65 or older 1,633 14.0 20.8
Women  
55–61 1,787 21.5 27.7
62–64 631 20.6 28.7
65 or older 2,260 21.2 31.6
  Asian alone
All persons  
55–61 1,291 8.7 10.5
62–64 488 10.0 14.8
65 or older 1,669 12.3 17.1
Men  
55–61 575 8.3 10.1
62–64 211 8.9 11.5
65 or older 721 12.3 17.0
Women  
55–61 716 9.1 10.9
62–64 277 10.9 17.3
65 or older 948 12.2 17.2
  Hispanic origin
All persons  
55–61 2,859 17.9 24.0
62–64 877 22.7 28.5
65 or older 3,213 20.6 29.4
Men  
55–61 1,392 15.0 20.7
62–64 397 21.4 25.9
65 or older 1,378 19.1 26.6
Women  
55–61 1,467 20.6 27.2
62–64 481 23.8 30.7
65 or older 1,835 21.8 31.4
NOTE: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2012.
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, 2012
Sex and age Number (thousands) Percentage below poverty line Percentage below 125% of poverty line
  All persons
All persons  
65–69 14,437 7.8 11.6
70–74 10,264 8.1 12.9
75–79 7,598 9.4 16.0
80 or older 10,988 11.4 19.1
Men  
65–69 6,900 6.7 10.0
70–74 4,704 6.5 9.9
75–79 3,233 5.4 10.3
80 or older 4,460 7.7 13.7
Women  
65–69 7,537 8.9 13.0
70–74 5,561 9.4 15.5
75–79 4,364 12.4 20.1
80 or older 6,528 13.9 22.8
  By beneficiary status
  Beneficiary
All persons  
65–69 10,669 5.7 9.8
70–74 9,018 6.0 10.8
75–79 6,756 6.8 13.4
80 or older 9,913 9.2 17.2
Men  
65–69 5,017 4.3 8.0
70–74 4,123 4.5 7.7
75–79 2,890 3.1 8.1
80 or older 3,989 4.9 11.1
Women  
65–69 5,652 7.1 11.3
70–74 4,895 7.3 13.4
75–79 3,866 9.6 17.4
80 or older 5,925 12.1 21.3
  Nonbeneficiary
All persons  
65–69 3,769 13.8 16.6
70–74 1,247 22.7 28.2
75–79 842 30.1 36.3
80 or older 1,075 31.3 36.8
Men  
65–69 1,883 13.1 15.3
70–74 581 20.5 25.8
75–79 344 24.5 29.5
80 or older 472 31.5 35.4
Women  
65–69 1,886 14.4 17.9
70–74 666 24.7 30.3
75–79 498 33.9 41.0
80 or older 603 31.1 37.9
  By marital status
  Married
All persons  
65–69 9,429 4.0 6.1
70–74 6,503 3.9 6.6
75–79 4,446 5.0 8.2
80 or older 4,141 5.4 9.5
Men  
65–69 5,108 4.4 6.5
70–74 3,587 3.8 6.2
75–79 2,419 4.4 7.5
80 or older 2,656 5.6 9.9
Women  
65–69 4,321 3.6 5.6
70–74 2,916 3.9 7.0
75–79 2,027 5.6 9.0
80 or older 1,484 5.0 8.7
  Nonmarried
All persons  
65–69 5,008 15.0 21.8
70–74 3,761 15.3 23.9
75–79 3,152 15.7 26.9
80 or older 6,847 15.0 24.9
Men  
65–69 1,792 13.3 20.0
70–74 1,117 14.9 21.9
75–79 814 8.3 18.7
80 or older 1,804 10.8 19.1
Women  
65–69 3,216 16.0 22.9
70–74 2,644 15.5 24.8
75–79 2,338 18.3 29.7
80 or older 5,043 16.5 27.0
  Widowed
All persons  
65–69 1,657 12.8 18.2
70–74 1,853 12.0 20.7
75–79 2,014 15.6 25.3
80 or older 5,541 13.6 23.3
Men  
65–69 361 12.8 18.6
70–74 351 15.4 23.2
75–79 335 4.4 10.4
80 or older 1,280 9.3 17.6
Women  
65–69 1,296 12.8 18.1
70–74 1,502 11.3 20.1
75–79 1,679 17.8 28.2
80 or older 4,261 14.9 25.0
  Divorced
All persons  
65–69 2,180 14.8 21.4
70–74 1,259 15.5 24.4
75–79 702 14.3 27.6
80 or older 656 17.0 28.6
Men  
65–69 880 14.2 19.9
70–74 476 12.1 19.7
75–79 254 6.4 16.8
80 or older 251 10.8 18.1
Women  
65–69 1,300 15.1 22.4
70–74 782 17.6 27.3
75–79 448 18.7 33.8
80 or older 404 20.9 35.2
  Never married
All persons  
65–69 778 16.0 24.0
70–74 421 23.2 31.5
75–79 304 15.7 29.2
80 or older 400 26.3 33.8
Men  
65–69 370 10.7 18.6
70–74 201 21.2 25.9
75–79 150 15.2 30.2
80 or older 152 21.2 26.8
Women  
65–69 407 20.9 28.9
70–74 220 25.1 36.7
75–79 154 16.3 28.2
80 or older 249 29.5 38.0
  By race
  White alone
All persons  
65–69 12,191 6.7 10.0
70–74 8,720 6.8 11.3
75–79 6,572 7.9 13.7
80 or older 9,555 10.1 17.7
Men  
65–69 5,870 5.6 8.5
70–74 4,023 5.4 8.9
75–79 2,813 4.1 8.2
80 or older 3,929 6.8 12.6
Women  
65–69 6,322 7.8 11.4
70–74 4,698 7.9 13.3
75–79 3,759 10.6 17.8
80 or older 5,626 12.4 21.2
  Black alone
All persons  
65–69 1,375 15.1 21.6
70–74 956 17.6 25.3
75–79 650 19.9 33.2
80 or older 912 22.2 32.7
Men  
65–69 617 14.0 19.6
70–74 421 15.6 19.6
75–79 247 12.0 23.8
80 or older 348 13.4 22.2
Women  
65–69 758 16.1 23.3
70–74 535 19.1 29.8
75–79 404 24.8 38.9
80 or older 564 27.6 39.3
  Asian alone
All persons  
65–69 594 9.8 14.0
70–74 417 8.5 13.5
75–79 254 17.6 24.6
80 or older 404 16.3 20.9
Men  
65–69 281 9.8 14.7
70–74 184 8.0 10.5
75–79 116 18.0 25.9
80 or older 140 18.5 22.8
Women  
65–69 314 9.8 13.3
70–74 233 9.0 15.9
75–79 138 17.4 23.5
80 or older 264 15.2 19.8
  Hispanic origin
All persons  
65–69 1,187 21.3 28.1
70–74 729 19.6 27.4
75–79 588 18.9 32.2
80 or older 708 21.9 31.1
Men  
65–69 553 23.6 28.6
70–74 283 14.8 21.0
75–79 255 14.7 28.6
80 or older 287 18.5 26.6
Women  
65–69 634 19.3 27.7
70–74 446 22.6 31.4
75–79 334 22.2 35.0
80 or older 421 24.3 34.3
NOTE: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2012.
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, 2012
Sex and age Number (thousands) Percentage below poverty line Percentage below 125% of poverty line
  By marital status
  Married
All persons 65 or older 20,289 2.4 5.0
65–69 6,889 2.2 4.2
70–74 5,729 2.3 4.5
75–79 3,967 2.4 5.4
80 or older 3,704 2.9 6.9
Men 65 or older 11,434 2.4 5.1
65–69 3,679 2.1 4.3
70–74 3,159 2.5 4.4
75–79 2,185 2.0 4.9
80 or older 2,411 3.1 7.4
Women 65 or older 8,855 2.3 4.8
65–69 3,210 2.2 4.0
70–74 2,570 2.0 4.6
75–79 1,782 2.9 5.9
80 or older 1,292 2.5 6.1
  Nonmarried
All persons 65 or older 16,066 12.8 22.5
65–69 3,780 12.3 20.0
70–74 3,288 12.6 21.9
75–79 2,789 13.2 24.9
80 or older 6,210 13.0 23.3
Men 65 or older 4,585 8.9 17.7
65–69 1,338 10.1 18.1
70–74 964 11.1 18.7
75–79 705 6.5 17.7
80 or older 1,577 7.6 16.7
Women 65 or older 11,482 14.3 24.4
65–69 2,441 13.5 21.0
70–74 2,324 13.2 23.2
75–79 2,084 15.4 27.3
80 or older 4,632 14.8 25.5
  Widowed
All persons 65 or older 10,002 11.5 20.8
65–69 1,375 10.0 16.2
70–74 1,658 9.9 19.0
75–79 1,846 12.8 22.8
80 or older 5,123 11.9 21.9
Men 65 or older 2,054 7.1 15.2
65–69 292 9.0 16.1
70–74 298 11.6 19.5
75–79 307 2.6 8.6
80 or older 1,157 6.6 15.6
Women 65 or older 7,948 12.6 22.3
65–69 1,083 10.3 16.2
70–74 1,360 9.5 18.9
75–79 1,539 14.8 25.6
80 or older 3,966 13.4 23.8
  Divorced
All persons 65 or older 3,923 13.0 22.9
65–69 1,625 13.3 20.5
70–74 1,133 12.3 22.1
75–79 601 11.7 26.5
80 or older 563 14.9 27.6
Men 65 or older 1,518 8.6 16.6
65–69 665 11.1 17.4
70–74 439 7.9 16.2
75–79 213 3.4 15.8
80 or older 200 7.4 15.9
Women 65 or older 2,405 15.8 26.9
65–69 960 14.9 22.7
70–74 694 15.1 25.8
75–79 388 16.3 32.4
80 or older 363 19.1 34.0
  Never married
All persons 65 or older 1,411 16.3 26.4
65–69 541 12.9 21.9
70–74 332 19.1 28.5
75–79 228 13.6 29.0
80 or older 310 21.1 30.0
Men 65 or older 653 13.9 23.9
65–69 256 9.9 20.2
70–74 164 19.4 24.7
75–79 123 15.1 33.3
80 or older 110 13.4 21.1
Women 65 or older 758 18.3 28.5
65–69 286 15.5 23.4
70–74 168 18.8 32.2
75–79 104 11.8 24.0
80 or older 200 25.3 35.0
  By race
  White alone
All persons 65 or older 31,655 6.0 11.4
65–69 9,183 4.9 8.5
70–74 7,777 5.1 9.4
75–79 5,930 5.7 11.7
80 or older 8,764 8.1 16.0
Men 65 or older 14,041 3.6 7.7
65–69 4,353 3.6 6.9
70–74 3,548 3.8 6.9
75–79 2,557 2.4 6.5
80 or older 3,583 4.4 10.5
Women 65 or older 17,613 7.8 14.3
65–69 4,830 6.0 9.9
70–74 4,229 6.2 11.5
75–79 3,373 8.2 15.6
80 or older 5,181 10.7 19.8
  Black alone
All persons 65 or older 3,042 15.7 25.2
65–69 962 11.7 19.4
70–74 790 15.2 23.5
75–79 537 16.5 29.8
80 or older 752 20.7 31.0
Men 65 or older 1,258 9.6 17.2
65–69 418 8.0 15.3
70–74 359 11.9 15.9
75–79 207 9.6 22.0
80 or older 274 9.0 18.3
Women 65 or older 1,784 20.0 30.8
65–69 544 14.6 22.5
70–74 432 17.9 29.9
75–79 330 20.9 34.6
80 or older 478 27.4 38.2
  Asian alone
All persons 65 or older 1,106 7.9 12.3
65–69 333 7.0 9.3
70–74 302 3.2 9.1
75–79 180 11.4 16.6
80 or older 291 11.4 16.4
Men 65 or older 473 7.6 11.2
65–69 160 8.4 12.4
70–74 143 3.3 5.6
75–79 75 8.3 15.1
80 or older 94 12.2 14.5
Women 65 or older 633 8.1 13.1
65–69 173 5.7 6.4
70–74 159 3.2 12.3
75–79 105 13.7 17.6
80 or older 196 11.1 17.3
  Hispanic origin
All persons 65 or older 2,359 16.1 25.9
65–69 771 16.3 24.2
70–74 582 15.7 24.2
75–79 449 14.2 29.0
80 or older 557 17.7 27.4
Men 65 or older 1,038 14.0 22.5
65–69 380 18.7 24.0
70–74 228 10.5 18.2
75–79 205 10.9 25.4
80 or older 225 12.4 21.4
Women 65 or older 1,321 17.8 28.6
65–69 391 14.1 24.3
70–74 354 19.0 28.1
75–79 244 17.1 31.9
80 or older 333 21.4 31.5
NOTE: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2012.
Poverty Status of Persons 65 or Older in Beneficiary Families Based on Family Income Table 11.4 Persons in Social Security beneficiary families, by proportion of family from Social Security, sex, and age, 2012
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 16,598 1.0 2.1
65–69 6,499 0.9 1.7
70–74 4,061 1.4 2.5
75–79 2,630 0.4 1.7
80 or older 3,408 1.1 2.7
Men 65 or older 7,920 0.7 1.4
65–69 3,232 0.7 1.2
70–74 1,994 0.9 2.0
75–79 1,236 0.1 0.7
80 or older 1,458 0.8 1.8
Women 65 or older 8,678 1.3 2.7
65–69 3,267 1.1 2.2
70–74 2,068 1.9 3.0
75–79 1,394 0.7 2.6
80 or older 1,949 1.3 3.4
  Persons in families receiving 50 to 89 percent of income from Social Security
All persons 65 or older 10,977 4.1 7.8
65–69 2,969 4.8 8.8
70–74 2,747 3.2 6.8
75–79 2,163 3.8 6.9
80 or older 3,098 4.6 8.5
Men 65 or older 4,798 2.8 5.4
65–69 1,282 3.2 6.9
70–74 1,202 3.2 5.2
75–79 952 2.4 5.1
80 or older 1,362 2.4 4.4
Women 65 or older 6,179 5.1 9.7
65–69 1,688 6.0 10.2
70–74 1,544 3.2 8.0
75–79 1,211 4.8 8.4
80 or older 1,736 6.3 11.7
  Persons in families receiving 90 to 99 percent of income from Social Security
All persons 65 or older 3,979 11.8 23.8
65–69 690 11.9 21.3
70–74 925 8.9 17.6
75–79 860 12.3 25.2
80 or older 1,504 13.3 27.9
Men 65 or older 1,551 7.6 17.2
65–69 293 11.6 24.4
70–74 409 5.2 12.5
75–79 299 6.9 13.6
80 or older 550 7.7 18.7
Women 65 or older 2,428 14.5 28.0
65–69 397 12.1 19.0
70–74 516 11.8 21.5
75–79 561 15.2 31.4
80 or older 954 16.5 33.3
  Persons in families receiving 100 percent of income from Social Security
All persons 65 or older 6,086 25.1 42.6
65–69 1,373 27.1 42.7
70–74 1,425 23.1 39.1
75–79 1,226 23.0 41.8
80 or older 2,061 26.4 45.6
Men 65 or older 2,258 18.3 35.5
65–69 557 24.1 40.5
70–74 579 18.9 31.1
75–79 441 12.3 32.1
80 or older 682 16.8 37.3
Women 65 or older 3,827 29.1 46.9
65–69 817 29.0 44.3
70–74 846 26.0 44.5
75–79 785 29.1 47.3
80 or older 1,379 31.1 49.7
NOTES: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2012.
Persons in families with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.