Income of the Population 55 or Older, 2014

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 2015. 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, 2014
Sex and age Number (thousands) Percentage below poverty line Percentage below 125% of poverty line
  All persons
All persons  
55–61 29,434 11.6 14.8
62–64 10,983 11.5 15.4
65 or older 45,994 10.0 15.2
Men  
55–61 14,211 10.5 13.6
62–64 5,245 10.7 14.7
65 or older 20,439 7.4 11.5
Women  
55–61 15,223 12.6 15.8
62–64 5,738 12.2 16.1
65 or older 25,555 12.1 18.2
  By beneficiary status
  Beneficiary
All persons  
55–61 2,923 20.9 28.8
62–64 3,667 11.7 18.2
65 or older 37,756 7.3 12.9
Men  
55–61 1,278 18.4 26.3
62–64 1,660 11.3 18.1
65 or older 16,704 4.8 9.2
Women  
55–61 1,644 22.9 30.7
62–64 2,008 12.0 18.3
65 or older 21,052 9.3 15.8
  Nonbeneficiary
All persons  
55–61 26,512 10.5 13.2
62–64 7,315 11.4 14.1
65 or older 8,238 22.2 26.1
Men  
55–61 12,933 9.7 12.3
62–64 3,585 10.4 13.2
65 or older 3,735 18.6 21.6
Women  
55–61 13,579 11.4 14.0
62–64 3,730 12.3 14.9
65 or older 4,503 25.2 29.9
  By marital status
  Married
All persons  
55–61 18,841 5.4 7.4
62–64 7,199 6.6 8.5
65 or older 25,854 5.0 7.5
Men  
55–61 9,537 5.3 7.4
62–64 3,757 7.3 9.2
65 or older 14,305 5.1 7.6
Women  
55–61 9,305 5.4 7.4
62–64 3,442 5.9 7.8
65 or older 11,550 4.9 7.4
  Nonmarried
All persons  
55–61 10,593 22.6 27.8
62–64 3,784 20.7 28.6
65 or older 20,140 16.4 25.1
Men  
55–61 4,675 21.0 26.1
62–64 1,488 19.2 28.8
65 or older 6,135 12.7 20.4
Women  
55–61 5,918 23.9 29.1
62–64 2,296 21.7 28.5
65 or older 14,005 18.0 27.2
  Widowed
All persons  
55–61 1,220 23.4 29.0
62–64 731 18.1 26.7
65 or older 11,220 14.8 23.6
Men  
55–61 280 12.5 19.2
62–64 168 21.7 25.9
65 or older 2,443 9.2 17.1
Women  
55–61 940 26.6 31.9
62–64 563 17.0 27.0
65 or older 8,777 16.3 25.4
  Divorced
All persons  
55–61 5,058 20.7 25.3
62–64 1,755 19.5 27.8
65 or older 5,611 16.2 24.8
Men  
55–61 2,206 18.8 22.8
62–64 687 13.3 25.2
65 or older 2,207 12.8 19.9
Women  
55–61 2,853 22.1 27.3
62–64 1,068 23.5 29.5
65 or older 3,405 18.4 27.9
  Never married
All persons  
55–61 3,202 24.0 30.0
62–64 926 24.0 31.7
65 or older 2,214 23.6 31.4
Men  
55–61 1,690 24.4 31.4
62–64 453 28.4 39.0
65 or older 995 20.4 27.8
Women  
55–61 1,512 23.5 28.4
62–64 473 19.7 24.7
65 or older 1,219 26.1 34.3
  By race
  White alone
All persons  
55–61 23,885 10.3 13.2
62–64 8,997 10.0 13.8
65 or older 39,054 8.7 13.6
Men  
55–61 11,677 9.4 12.1
62–64 4,345 9.6 13.4
65 or older 17,513 6.1 9.9
Women  
55–61 12,208 11.2 14.2
62–64 4,652 10.4 14.2
65 or older 21,541 10.8 16.7
  Black alone
All persons  
55–61 3,463 20.2 24.9
62–64 1,211 22.1 27.8
65 or older 4,143 19.2 27.7
Men  
55–61 1,559 17.8 22.7
62–64 548 19.8 25.0
65 or older 1,662 16.7 24.0
Women  
55–61 1,904 22.2 26.6
62–64 663 24.1 30.2
65 or older 2,481 20.9 30.2
  Asian alone
All persons  
55–61 1,453 9.0 13.0
62–64 548 8.8 12.5
65 or older 2,029 14.7 19.6
Men  
55–61 671 10.2 14.0
62–64 255 5.2 11.0
65 or older 925 13.1 17.9
Women  
55–61 781 7.9 12.1
62–64 293 11.9 13.8
65 or older 1,104 16.0 21.0
  Hispanic origin
All persons  
55–61 3,173 15.8 22.0
62–64 1,008 19.4 26.8
65 or older 3,636 18.1 28.4
Men  
55–61 1,532 13.7 20.3
62–64 479 18.9 25.3
65 or older 1,567 16.2 25.7
Women  
55–61 1,640 17.7 23.6
62–64 529 20.0 28.2
65 or older 2,069 19.6 30.5
NOTE: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2014.
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, 2014
Sex and age Number (thousands) Percentage below poverty line Percentage below 125% of poverty line
  All persons
All persons  
65–69 15,728 8.6 12.7
70–74 11,209 8.9 13.1
75–79 8,002 11.1 16.6
80 or older 11,054 12.2 20.0
Men  
65–69 7,391 7.3 10.6
70–74 5,163 7.1 10.9
75–79 3,580 7.1 11.5
80 or older 4,304 7.9 13.5
Women  
65–69 8,337 9.8 14.6
70–74 6,046 10.5 14.9
75–79 4,422 14.3 20.8
80 or older 6,750 14.9 24.1
  By beneficiary status
  Beneficiary
All persons  
65–69 11,358 6.3 10.7
70–74 9,600 6.1 10.4
75–79 7,025 8.1 13.8
80 or older 9,774 9.1 17.1
Men  
65–69 5,225 5.0 8.8
70–74 4,412 4.5 8.6
75–79 3,244 5.3 9.5
80 or older 3,824 4.7 10.3
Women  
65–69 6,133 7.4 12.4
70–74 5,188 7.4 12.0
75–79 3,781 10.6 17.5
80 or older 5,950 11.9 21.4
  Nonbeneficiary
All persons  
65–69 4,370 14.6 18.0
70–74 1,609 25.9 28.8
75–79 977 32.4 37.2
80 or older 1,281 35.9 41.9
Men  
65–69 2,167 12.9 15.1
70–74 751 22.3 24.9
75–79 337 25.2 31.4
80 or older 481 33.6 38.9
Women  
65–69 2,204 16.2 20.9
70–74 858 29.1 32.2
75–79 641 36.2 40.3
80 or older 800 37.2 43.7
  By marital status
  Married
All persons  
65–69 10,075 4.5 6.5
70–74 6,878 4.5 7.1
75–79 4,598 5.5 8.1
80 or older 4,303 6.3 10.0
Men  
65–69 5,307 4.7 6.6
70–74 3,695 4.8 7.5
75–79 2,641 5.0 7.4
80 or older 2,661 6.3 10.0
Women  
65–69 4,767 4.3 6.4
70–74 3,183 4.2 6.7
75–79 1,957 6.2 9.0
80 or older 1,642 6.2 10.0
  Nonmarried
All persons  
65–69 5,654 16.0 23.8
70–74 4,331 15.9 22.5
75–79 3,404 18.6 28.2
80 or older 6,751 16.0 26.3
Men  
65–69 2,084 14.1 20.8
70–74 1,468 12.8 19.6
75–79 940 13.2 23.1
80 or older 1,643 10.6 19.2
Women  
65–69 3,570 17.0 25.6
70–74 2,863 17.5 24.0
75–79 2,465 20.7 30.1
80 or older 5,108 17.7 28.6
  Widowed
All persons  
65–69 1,707 14.0 21.1
70–74 2,035 14.9 21.4
75–79 2,089 16.7 24.8
80 or older 5,389 14.2 24.8
Men  
65–69 364 7.6 12.9
70–74 488 10.4 18.1
75–79 442 9.4 15.4
80 or older 1,150 9.0 18.6
Women  
65–69 1,343 15.8 23.3
70–74 1,548 16.2 22.4
75–79 1,647 18.6 27.3
80 or older 4,240 15.6 26.4
  Divorced
All persons  
65–69 2,538 15.0 22.9
70–74 1,530 15.2 22.4
75–79 809 17.3 30.1
80 or older 734 21.0 30.2
Men  
65–69 1,053 12.7 19.4
70–74 627 13.5 19.5
75–79 302 13.9 25.7
80 or older 225 9.4 15.3
Women  
65–69 1,485 16.5 25.4
70–74 903 16.4 24.4
75–79 507 19.3 32.7
80 or older 509 26.1 36.7
  Never married
All persons  
65–69 1,000 20.2 27.8
70–74 512 21.7 27.5
75–79 309 31.6 40.0
80 or older 393 28.3 38.9
Men  
65–69 507 20.9 27.2
70–74 234 18.1 24.9
75–79 106 24.0 37.2
80 or older 147 20.0 27.7
Women  
65–69 493 19.4 28.3
70–74 278 24.7 29.6
75–79 203 35.5 41.4
80 or older 246 33.3 45.6
  By race
  White alone
All persons  
65–69 13,105 7.3 11.1
70–74 9,532 7.2 11.2
75–79 6,778 9.8 15.0
80 or older 9,640 11.3 18.6
Men  
65–69 6,229 5.8 8.7
70–74 4,435 5.8 9.4
75–79 3,070 6.2 10.2
80 or older 3,780 6.9 12.0
Women  
65–69 6,876 8.7 13.2
70–74 5,097 8.5 12.7
75–79 3,708 12.8 18.9
80 or older 5,860 14.0 22.8
  Black alone
All persons  
65–69 1,587 17.8 24.9
70–74 974 20.9 26.9
75–79 735 19.8 30.5
80 or older 847 19.5 31.7
Men  
65–69 697 18.3 24.5
70–74 397 17.3 23.6
75–79 296 13.2 22.2
80 or older 272 15.5 25.5
Women  
65–69 890 17.4 25.1
70–74 577 23.3 29.1
75–79 439 24.2 36.1
80 or older 575 21.4 34.7
  Asian alone
All persons  
65–69 723 11.2 14.6
70–74 504 18.1 21.9
75–79 359 15.0 18.4
80 or older 443 16.4 26.0
Men  
65–69 338 11.3 14.1
70–74 226 15.5 19.0
75–79 164 12.3 16.2
80 or older 197 14.3 24.8
Women  
65–69 385 11.0 15.1
70–74 278 20.3 24.2
75–79 194 17.3 20.2
80 or older 246 18.1 27.0
  Hispanic origin
All persons  
65–69 1,395 15.8 23.4
70–74 834 16.7 26.5
75–79 595 19.9 33.7
80 or older 812 22.3 35.1
Men  
65–69 616 15.1 20.2
70–74 364 17.0 27.9
75–79 269 17.9 29.9
80 or older 318 15.8 30.3
Women  
65–69 779 16.3 26.0
70–74 471 16.4 25.5
75–79 326 21.5 36.9
80 or older 494 26.4 38.2
NOTE: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2014.
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, 2014
Sex and age Number (thousands) Percentage below poverty line Percentage below 125% of poverty line
  By marital status
  Married
All persons 65 or older 20,915 2.5 4.9
65–69 7,208 2.4 4.2
70–74 5,901 2.1 4.7
75–79 4,045 3.0 5.4
80 or older 3,761 3.0 6.2
Men 65 or older 11,573 2.5 5.0
65–69 3,682 2.3 4.2
70–74 3,169 2.4 5.2
75–79 2,376 2.8 5.1
80 or older 2,347 2.7 6.0
Women 65 or older 9,342 2.5 4.8
65–69 3,527 2.5 4.2
70–74 2,732 1.8 4.1
75–79 1,669 3.3 5.8
80 or older 1,414 3.4 6.4
  Nonmarried
All persons 65 or older 16,841 13.2 22.7
65–69 4,149 13.2 22.0
70–74 3,699 12.4 19.6
75–79 2,980 15.0 25.2
80 or older 6,013 12.9 23.9
Men 65 or older 5,131 10.0 18.6
65–69 1,543 11.4 19.6
70–74 1,243 9.7 17.2
75–79 868 11.9 21.5
80 or older 1,477 7.8 17.2
Women 65 or older 11,710 14.6 24.5
65–69 2,606 14.2 23.4
70–74 2,456 13.7 20.8
75–79 2,112 16.3 26.7
80 or older 4,536 14.6 26.1
  Widowed
All persons 65 or older 9,912 11.5 21.0
65–69 1,400 11.3 18.9
70–74 1,776 11.0 18.1
75–79 1,864 13.0 21.7
80 or older 4,872 11.3 22.3
Men 65 or older 2,204 7.0 15.6
65–69 299 5.8 12.2
70–74 422 7.6 16.4
75–79 416 8.6 15.0
80 or older 1,068 6.4 16.5
Women 65 or older 7,708 12.9 22.5
65–69 1,102 12.8 20.7
70–74 1,354 12.0 18.7
75–79 1,449 14.2 23.6
80 or older 3,804 12.6 23.9
  Divorced
All persons 65 or older 4,522 14.1 23.8
65–69 1,848 13.2 22.4
70–74 1,317 12.8 20.7
75–79 722 15.4 29.0
80 or older 635 18.2 28.5
Men 65 or older 1,814 11.2 19.3
65–69 808 11.8 19.9
70–74 530 10.2 17.2
75–79 281 13.4 24.6
80 or older 195 7.8 14.7
Women 65 or older 2,707 16.1 26.8
65–69 1,040 14.2 24.3
70–74 786 14.5 23.1
75–79 441 16.7 31.8
80 or older 440 22.8 34.6
  Never married
All persons 65 or older 1,535 18.8 27.0
65–69 627 16.1 24.0
70–74 396 16.1 21.5
75–79 222 25.7 32.2
80 or older 290 23.3 36.9
Men 65 or older 700 14.8 22.5
65–69 322 14.3 22.2
70–74 189 14.8 19.7
75–79 84 18.8 29.4
80 or older 105 13.1 23.0
Women 65 or older 835 22.2 30.7
65–69 305 17.9 25.9
70–74 207 17.2 23.2
75–79 138 29.8 34.0
80 or older 185 29.0 44.8
  By race
  White alone
All persons 65 or older 32,645 6.4 11.6
65–69 9,612 5.4 9.4
70–74 8,303 4.9 9.1
75–79 6,029 7.2 12.5
80 or older 8,701 8.4 15.9
Men 65 or older 14,564 4.1 8.1
65–69 4,487 4.2 7.5
70–74 3,854 3.7 7.7
75–79 2,793 4.5 8.3
80 or older 3,430 4.0 9.2
Women 65 or older 18,081 8.3 14.5
65–69 5,125 6.5 11.1
70–74 4,450 6.0 10.3
75–79 3,235 9.5 16.1
80 or older 5,271 11.2 20.3
  Black alone
All persons 65 or older 3,240 15.3 24.4
65–69 1,115 13.2 21.1
70–74 813 16.6 22.6
75–79 609 15.8 26.7
80 or older 703 16.6 29.9
Men 65 or older 1,276 12.1 20.3
65–69 457 11.7 20.0
70–74 324 12.0 17.5
75–79 266 10.8 19.8
80 or older 229 14.4 25.5
Women 65 or older 1,964 17.4 27.1
65–69 658 14.2 21.9
70–74 489 19.7 25.9
75–79 343 19.6 32.1
80 or older 473 17.7 32.0
  Asian alone
All persons 65 or older 1,288 9.7 14.1
65–69 399 7.9 11.3
70–74 329 9.2 12.4
75–79 283 10.8 13.9
80 or older 278 11.8 20.2
Men 65 or older 605 8.2 12.7
65–69 190 7.5 10.1
70–74 155 8.6 12.2
75–79 140 9.5 14.1
80 or older 121 7.1 15.6
Women 65 or older 683 11.1 15.4
65–69 209 8.3 12.5
70–74 174 9.7 12.6
75–79 143 12.1 13.8
80 or older 157 15.4 23.8
  Hispanic origin
All persons 65 or older 2,561 12.5 23.8
65–69 853 10.8 18.3
70–74 616 9.7 21.6
75–79 462 13.6 28.1
80 or older 630 16.9 30.5
Men 65 or older 1,124 11.6 22.5
65–69 379 11.3 16.7
70–74 261 10.3 24.2
75–79 220 14.4 25.6
80 or older 264 10.9 26.5
Women 65 or older 1,437 13.3 24.9
65–69 474 10.4 19.5
70–74 355 9.2 19.6
75–79 242 12.9 30.3
80 or older 366 21.2 33.3
NOTE: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2014.
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, 2014
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 18,891 1.1 1.8
65–69 7,159 0.9 1.5
70–74 4,848 1.2 1.7
75–79 3,074 0.8 1.8
80 or older 3,810 1.3 2.2
Men 65 or older 9,091 0.9 1.5
65–69 3,500 0.9 1.4
70–74 2,353 1.1 1.6
75–79 1,553 0.6 1.4
80 or older 1,685 0.9 1.7
Women 65 or older 9,800 1.2 2.0
65–69 3,659 1.0 1.6
70–74 2,495 1.3 1.8
75–79 1,521 1.1 2.3
80 or older 2,125 1.6 2.6
  Persons in families receiving 50 to 89 percent of income from Social Security
All persons 65 or older 10,616 5.1 9.2
65–69 2,869 5.4 10.5
70–74 2,747 4.5 7.6
75–79 2,164 5.2 7.8
80 or older 2,836 5.3 10.4
Men 65 or older 4,524 4.2 7.6
65–69 1,226 5.7 10.0
70–74 1,216 3.6 6.5
75–79 975 3.9 6.8
80 or older 1,107 3.3 7.0
Women 65 or older 6,092 5.8 10.3
65–69 1,643 5.2 10.9
70–74 1,531 5.3 8.5
75–79 1,189 6.3 8.7
80 or older 1,729 6.5 12.5
  Persons in families receiving 90 to 99 percent of income from Social Security
All persons 65 or older 4,620 14.8 28.8
65–69 1,030 17.0 31.9
70–74 1,119 10.3 21.9
75–79 903 16.2 28.6
80 or older 1,567 15.9 31.7
Men 65 or older 1,845 10.9 22.9
65–69 403 15.8 31.6
70–74 491 8.7 20.0
75–79 402 10.7 18.0
80 or older 549 9.3 22.7
Women 65 or older 2,775 17.5 32.7
65–69 628 17.7 32.2
70–74 628 11.5 23.5
75–79 502 20.6 37.1
80 or older 1,018 19.5 36.6
  Persons in families receiving 100 percent of income from Social Security
All persons 65 or older 5,077 28.4 46.7
65–69 1,214 31.1 46.9
70–74 1,190 26.1 42.0
75–79 1,014 29.3 48.4
80 or older 1,658 27.4 49.0
Men 65 or older 1,850 21.6 38.0
65–69 497 25.2 40.0
70–74 481 20.4 37.1
75–79 362 23.3 41.0
80 or older 511 18.1 34.9
Women 65 or older 3,227 32.2 51.7
65–69 717 35.3 51.6
70–74 710 29.9 45.4
75–79 652 32.6 52.4
80 or older 1,148 31.6 55.2
NOTES: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2014.
Persons in families with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.