Income of the Aged Chartbook, 1998

 
Percentage with various levels of income, 1998
Income (dollars) Percent of
aged units
Less than 5,000 5
5,000 to 9,999 19
10,000 to 14,999 18
15,000 to 19,999 13
20,000 to 24,999 10
25,000 to 29,999 7
30,000 to 34,999 6
35,000 to 39,999 4
40,000 to 44,999 3
45,000 to 49,999 2
50,000 or more 13
 
Poverty status, by marital status, race, and Hispanic origin, 1998 (in percent)
Age Poor Near
poor
Married persons 3 5
Nonmarried men 9 14
Nonmarried women 11 19
White 6 9
Black 12 26
Hispanic* 11 21
*Based on family income of aged persons to conform with official measures of poverty.
Poverty status, by age, 1998 (in percent)
Age Poor Near
poor
65–69 5 9
70–74 6 10
75–79 7 11
80–84 7 12
85 or older 9 14
 
Sources of income, 1998
Source of income Percent of units
Social Security 90
Asset income 63
Retirement benefits other than Social Security* 43
Private only 28
Other public only 12
Both 3
Earnings 21
Public assistance 5
Veterans' benefits 4
a. Includes private pensions and annuities, government emmployee pensions, Railroad Retirement, and IRA, Keogh, and 401(k) payments.
Social Security's role in reducing poverty, by marital status and race, 1998 (percent of persons)
Marital status and race Poor with
Social Security		 Kept out of
poverty by
Social Security
Total beneficiaries 9 39
Married 3 36
Nonmarried 15 43
White 7 39
Black 24 41
 
Size of total income (in thousands)
Total income Percent with
asset income		 Percent without
asset income
Less than $10 10 49
$10 $19 30 32
$20 $29 20 11
$30 or more 40 8
 
Median income, by receipt of earnings and retirement benefits, 1998 (in thousands)
Retirement benefits With earnings Without earnings
No retirement benefits 36,089 482
One retirement benefit 29,264 10,982
Two or more retirement benefits 44,195 24,493
 
Receipt of income from earnings and pensions, by age, 1998 (percent of units)
Age Earnings Private
pensions		 Other
pensions
65–69 41 31 15
70–74 25 33 16
75–79 13 33 15
80–84 7 30 13
85 or older 3 23 12
 
Receipt of income from major sources varies by race and Hispanic origin (percent of units)
Source White Black Hispanic *
Social Security 92 88 76
Asset income 68 25 31
Pensions ** 45 28 21
Earnings 22 17 18
SSI 4 12 17
*Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
**Includes private pensions and annuities, government employee pensions, Railroad Retirement, and IRA, Keogh, and 401(k) payments.