Income of the Aged Chartbook, 2008

 
Percentage with various levels of income, 2008
Income (dollars) Percentage of aged units
Less than 5,000 4.6
5,000 to 9,999 8.6
10,000 to 14,999 15.4
15,000 to 19,999 11.7
20,000 to 24,999 10.0
25,000 to 29,999 7.9
30,000 to 34,999 6.1
35,000 to 39,999 5.3
40,000 to 44,999 4.1
45,000 to 49,999 3.0
50,000 to 74,999 10.2
75,000 to 99,999 5.4
100,000 or more 7.7
NOTE: Totals do not necessarily equal the sum of the rounded components.
Median income, by age and marital status, 2008
Age All units Married couples Nonmarried persons
65 to 69 35,257 55,833 20,082
70 to 74 27,043 43,474 16,800
75 to 79 22,578 35,494 16,049
80 or older 19,412 34,567 15,600
 
Median income, by marital status, race, and Hispanic origin, 2008
  Income (dollars)
Marital status  
Married couples 43,087
Nonmarried persons 16,757
Race  
White alone 26,177
Black alone 16,557
Asian alone 16,757
Hispanic origin 13,680
 
Constant (2008) dollar median income, by marital status and race, selected years
Year Married couples Nonmarried persons White Black
1962 20,497 8,056 -- --
1967 21,743 8,419 12,261 8,664
1971 28,484 10,893 17,256 10,063
1976 29,855 12,714 18,692 11,314
1978 31,239 12,912 19,681 10,732
1980 31,407 12,490 19,388 10,608
1982 33,757 13,119 21,084 10,665
1984 35,746 13,863 22,711 11,335
1986 37,108 14,105 23,141 11,688
1988 36,955 14,429 23,873 11,471
1990 38,468 15,068 23,955 11,510
1992 36,549 14,661 23,056 11,453
1994 36,385 15,116 23,173 12,745
1996 38,346 15,509 23,265 13,241
1998 39,859 15,870 25,037 12,435
2000 38,995 15,898 24,744 15,420
2001 39,623 15,798 24,306 15,037
2002 38,848 15,786 24,060 14,362
2004 39,778 15,956 24,732 14,251
2006 40,908 17,011 26,334 15,379
2008 43,087 16,757 26,177 16,557
NOTE: -- = not available.
Percentage receiving income from specified source, 2008
Source of income Percent
Social Security 87.2
Asset income 54.4
Retirement benefits other than Social Security 40.7
Public and private 2.3
Public only 12.4
Private only 26.0
Earnings 26.4
Veterans' benefits 3.7
Cash public assistance 3.9
Noncash benefits 10.7
 
Percentage of aged beneficiary units receiving Social Security benefits, by relative importance of benefits to total income, 2008
  All beneficiary units Beneficiary married couples Nonmarried beneficiaries
50% or more of income 63.9 51.6 72.6
90% or more of income 34.2 21.3 43.4
 
Percentage receiving income from earnings and pensions, by age, 2008
Age Earnings Private pensions Public pensions
65 to 69 47.8 27.0 14.3
70 to 74 30.6 28.8 15.4
75 to 79 18.5 29.6 15.0
80 or older 8.0 28.3 14.5
 
Percentage receiving income from major sources, by race and Hispanic origin, 2008
Major source of income White alone Black alone Asian alone Hispanic
Social Security 88.8 80.9 66.5 74.5
Asset income 58.4 26.1 39.6 24.3
Pensions 42.6 31.0 22.5 19.8
Earnings 26.8 23.1 26.0 24.1
SSI 2.9 7.7 12.5 10.2
 
Percentage receiving income from major sources, selected years
Year Social Security Pensions Asset income Earnings Cash public assistance
1962 69 18 54 36 13
1967 86 22 50 27 12
1971 87 23 49 31 10
1976 89 31 56 25 11
1978 90 32 62 25 10
1980 90 34 66 23 10
1982 90 35 68 22 8
1984 91 38 68 21 9
1986 91 40 67 20 7
1988 92 42 68 22 7
1990 92 44 69 22 7
1992 92 45 67 20 7
1994 91 42 67 21 6
1996 91 41 63 21 6
1998 90 43 63 21 5
2000 90 41 59 22 5
2001 91 40 58 22 5
2002 90 41 55 22 5
2004 89 41 55 24 4
2006 88.5 41.3 54.9 24.6 3.7
2008 87.2 40.7 54.4 26.4 3.9
SOURCE: March Current Population Survey, Survey of the Aged, and Survey of Demographic and Economic Characteristics of the Aged.
Percentage with various levels of income, by receipt of asset income, 2008
Income (dollars) With asset income Without asset income
Less than 10,000 4.5 23.8
10,000 to 19,999 18.7 36.8
20,000 to 29,999 18.5 17.0
30,000 or more 58.3 22.3
 
Median income, by receipt of earnings and retirement benefits, 2008
Receipt of retirement benefits With earnings With no earnings
No retirement benefits 50,000 0
One retirement benefit type 47,058 14,449
Two retirement benefit types 62,219 32,105
NOTE: Retirement benefit types are Social Security, Railroad Retirement, government pension, and private pension or annuity.
Shares of aggregate income for the lowest and highest income quintiles, by source, 2008
Source of aggregate income Percentage of
aggregate income
for lowest quintile		 Percentage of
aggregate income
for highest quintile
Social Security 83.2 17.9
Earnings 1.8 43.7
Pensions 3.3 18.7
Asset income 2.1 17.8
Cash public assistance 8.5 0.1
Other 1.1 1.8
NOTES: The quintile limits for aged units for 2008 are $12,082, $19,877, $31,303, and $55,889.
Totals do not necessarily equal the sum of the rounded components.
Shares of aggregate income, by source, selected years (in percent)
Year Social Security Pensions Asset income Earnings Other
1962 31 9 16 29 15
1967 34 12 15 29 10
1976 39 16 18 23 4
1978 38 16 19 23 4
1980 39 16 22 19 4
1982 39 15 25 18 3
1984 38 15 28 16 3
1986 38 16 26 17 3
1988 37.9 17.5 24.8 17.0 2.8
1990 36.4 18.3 24.5 17.7 3.1
1992 39.5 19.6 20.6 17.1 3.2
1994 42.1 18.7 17.6 18.0 3.6
1996 40.3 18.5 18.0 20.0 3.2
1998 37.6 18.7 19.9 20.7 3.1
2000 38.4 18.0 17.5 23.1 3.0
2001 38.6 18.1 16.1 24.4 2.8
2002 39.4 19.0 13.6 24.9 3.1
2004 38.6 19.7 12.6 26.3 2.7
2006 36.7 17.9 14.9 27.8 2.7
2008 36.5 18.5 12.7 29.7 2.7
SOURCE: March Current Population Survey, Survey of the Aged, and Survey of Demographic and Economic Characteristics of the Aged.
NOTES: Totals do not necessarily equal the sum of the rounded components.
Statistic was not produced in 1971.
Percentage with various levels of family income, 2008
Income (dollars) Percent
Less than 5,000 2.2
5,000 to 9,999 4.9
10,000 to 14,999 10.0
15,000 to 19,999 9.2
20,000 to 24,999 9.2
25,000 to 29,999 8.0
30,000 to 34,999 6.9
35,000 to 39,999 6.2
40,000 to 44,999 4.8
45,000 to 49,999 4.0
50,000 to 74,999 14.0
75,000 to 99,999 8.2
100,000 or more 12.2
NOTE: Totals do not necessarily equal the sum of the rounded components.
Family income of persons 65 or older tends to be higher than the income of aged units 65 or older because it includes income from all family members, not just a spouse. In addition, each elderly person counts individually rather than as part of a marital unit; statistics based on aged units give greater weight to nonmarried persons as compared to statistics based on persons.
Median family income, by sex and age, 2008
Age All persons Men Women
65 to 69 45,557 52,600 40,400
70 to 74 35,974 43,062 31,332
75 to 79 30,187 33,929 27,370
80 or older 27,098 33,559 22,589
NOTE: Family income of persons 65 or older tends to be higher than the income of aged units 65 or older because it includes income from all family members, not just a spouse. In addition, each elderly person counts individually rather than as part of a marital unit; statistics based on aged units give greater weight to nonmarried persons as compared to statistics based on persons.
Median family income, by sex, race, and Hispanic origin, 2008
Sex, race, or Hispanic origin Dollars
All persons 34,568
Men 40,757
Women 29,972
White alone 35,033
Black alone 25,314
Asian alone 50,000
Hispanic 29,470
NOTE: Family income of persons 65 or older tends to be higher than the income of aged units 65 or older because it includes income from all family members, not just a spouse. In addition, each elderly person counts individually rather than as part of a marital unit; statistics based on aged units give greater weight to nonmarried persons as compared to statistics based on persons.
Family income source, by sex, 2008
Source of income All persons Men Women
Social Security 88.7 88.2 89.0
Asset income 59.2 61.7 57.3
Retirement benefits other than Social Security 44.0 46.9 41.9
Earnings 38.2 42.6 34.7
Veterans' benefits 4.2 5.3 3.4
Cash public assistance 4.8 3.6 5.7
Noncash benefits 9.1 6.6 10.9
NOTE: Family income of persons 65 or older tends to be higher than the income of aged units 65 or older because it includes income from all family members, not just a spouse. In addition, each elderly person counts individually rather than as part of a marital unit; statistics based on aged units give greater weight to nonmarried persons as compared to statistics based on persons.
Percentage of aged persons in families receiving Social Security benefits, by sex and relative importance of family benefits to family total income, 2008
  All persons Men Women
50% or more of income 54.8 50.3 58.3
90% or more of income 25.7 21.4 28.9
NOTE: Family income of persons 65 or older tends to be higher than the income of aged units 65 or older because it includes income from all family members, not just a spouse. In addition, each elderly person counts individually rather than as part of a marital unit; statistics based on aged units give greater weight to nonmarried persons as compared to statistics based on persons.
Poverty status, by sex, marital status, race, and Hispanic origin, 2008 (in percent)
Sex, marital status, race, or Hispanic origin Poor Near poor
All persons 9.7 6.2
Men 6.7 4.6
Women 11.9 7.6
Married 4.9 2.9
Nonmarried 15.5 10.3
White alone 8.5 5.8
Black alone 20.0 9.9
Asian alone 12.1 6.8
Hispanic 19.3 12.0
 
Poverty status, by age, 2008 (in percent)
Age Poor Near poor
65 to 69 7.5 4.3
70 to 74 9.7 6.3
75 to 79 10.8 6.6
80 or older 11.5 8.1