Income of the Population 55 or Older, 2002
 

Income Sources

Aged Units

Units 65 or Older

Aged Persons

Nonmarried Persons 65 or Older

Table 1.1
Percentage with income from specified source, by marital status, sex of nonmarried persons, and age
Source of income Aged 55–61 Aged 62–64 Aged 65 or older
Total 65–69 70–74 75–79 80 or older
All units
Earnings 82 63 22 45 25 13 6
Wages and salaries 77 58 20 41 22 11 5
Self-employment 13 10 4 8 4 2 1
Retirement benefits 25 59 92 88 93 94 94
Social Security a 12 50 90 84 91 92 92
Benefits other than Social Security 16 31 41 38 43 43 39
Other public pensions 7 11 14 14 15 14 14
Railroad Retirement 0 0 1 1 0 1 1
Government employee pensions 7 11 14 13 15 14 13
Military 1 1 2 2 2 2 2
Federal 1 3 4 4 5 5 4
State or local 4 7 8 8 9 8 8
Private pensions or annuities 9 21 29 27 31 31 27
Income from assets 60 56 55 56 56 56 54
Interest 57 53 53 53 53 54 51
Other income from assets 29 26 24 24 26 25 21
Dividends b 23 20 18 19 19 20 16
Rent or royalties 10 10 9 9 10 9 7
Estates or trusts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Veterans' benefits 3 3 4 4 4 5 5
Unemployment compensation 7 4 1 2 1 1 0
Workers' compensation 2 2 0 1 1 0 0
Public assistance 5 5 5 5 5 5 4
Supplemental Security Income 5 5 4 4 4 5 4
Other public assistance 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Personal contributions 2 2 1 1 1 1 1
Number (thousands) 14,430 4,722 26,219 6,550 6,359 5,758 7,553
Married couples
Earnings 92 76 35 58 35 22 11
Wages and salaries 87 71 31 53 31 19 8
Self-employment 18 14 7 11 6 4 3
Retirement benefits 25 59 94 90 96 96 96
Social Security a 10 47 91 86 94 94 93
Benefits other than Social Security 18 36 51 47 54 54 53
Other public pensions 7 13 18 16 20 18 18
Railroad Retirement 0 0 1 1 0 1 1
Government employee pensions 7 12 17 16 19 17 18
Military 2 2 3 3 3 2 3
Federal 2 2 6 5 7 7 6
State or local 4 9 10 9 11 10 10
Private pensions or annuities 11 25 37 33 38 40 39
Income from assets 70 65 67 66 69 68 66
Interest 66 62 64 63 65 65 63
Other income from assets 36 33 32 32 34 32 31
Dividends b 29 27 25 25 26 26 25
Rent or royalties 13 13 12 12 13 10 10
Estates or trusts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Veterans' benefits 4 3 5 4 4 6 8
Unemployment compensation 8 5 1 3 1 1 0
Workers' compensation 2 2 1 1 1 0 0
Public assistance 3 2 2 3 2 2 2
Supplemental Security Income 2 2 2 3 2 2 2
Other public assistance 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Personal contributions 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Number (thousands) 8,160 2,542 10,412 3,311 2,884 2,187 2,030
Nonmarried persons
Earnings 68 47 14 33 17 8 4
Wages and salaries 63 43 12 30 15 7 4
Self-employment 7 5 2 4 2 1 1
Retirement benefits 24 60 91 86 90 93 94
Social Security a 13 52 89 82 88 90 92
Benefits other than Social Security 13 26 34 30 35 36 34
Other public pensions 6 10 12 11 12 12 12
Railroad Retirement 0 0 1 1 0 0 1
Government employee pensions 6 10 11 10 11 11 11
Military 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Federal 1 3 3 3 3 4 3
State or local 3 6 7 7 7 7 7
Private pensions or annuities 7 17 23 20 24 25 23
Income from assets 48 44 48 45 46 49 49
Interest 45 42 45 43 44 47 47
Other income from assets 20 16 18 17 19 20 17
Dividends b 15 12 14 12 14 16 13
Rent or royalties 6 6 7 7 7 8 6
Estates or trusts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Veterans' benefits 3 2 4 3 3 4 4
Unemployment compensation 4 3 1 1 1 0 0
Workers' compensation 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Public assistance 8 8 6 6 7 6 5
Supplemental Security Income 7 8 6 6 7 6 5
Other public assistance 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
Personal contributions 4 2 1 1 1 1 1
Number (thousands) 6,270 2,180 15,806 3,239 3,474 3,571 5,523
Men
Earnings 67 42 18 32 21 12 7
Wages and salaries 61 37 15 28 17 11 6
Self-employment 9 7 3 6 4 2 1
Retirement benefits 24 64 90 87 90 92 92
Social Security a 12 54 87 82 88 88 89
Benefits other than Social Security 14 30 39 36 35 43 43
Other public pensions 6 12 12 14 9 12 13
Railroad Retirement 0 0 1 1 1 1 2
Government employee pensions 6 12 11 12 8 11 12
Military 1 2 2 3 2 2 2
Federal 1 5 3 3 2 4 3
State or local 3 5 6 7 5 6 7
Private pensions or annuities 7 18 28 23 27 31 31
Income from assets 46 40 47 44 43 49 51
Interest 42 37 44 42 41 46 48
Other income from assets 20 16 18 17 18 18 19
Dividends b 16 11 13 12 13 14 15
Rent or royalties 6 6 7 8 7 7 5
Estates or trusts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Veterans' benefits 6 3 7 7 4 7 9
Unemployment compensation 5 5 1 1 1 1 1
Workers' compensation 2 1 0 0 1 0 0
Public assistance 8 6 5 4 6 6 5
Supplemental Security Income 7 6 5 4 6 6 5
Other public assistance 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Personal contributions 2 0 1 1 1 0 1
Number (thousands) 2,414 783 4,187 1,046 1,087 830 1,223
Women
Earnings 69 50 12 33 15 7 3
Wages and salaries 65 47 11 31 14 6 3
Self-employment 5 5 1 3 2 1 1
Retirement benefits 24 58 91 85 90 93 94
Social Security a 14 51 89 82 88 91 92
Benefits other than Social Security 12 24 32 27 35 34 31
Other public pensions 5 9 12 9 13 12 12
Railroad Retirement 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Government employee pensions 5 8 11 9 13 11 11
Military 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Federal 1 2 3 2 4 4 3
State or local 4 6 7 7 8 7 7
Private pensions or annuities 7 16 21 19 23 24 20
Income from assets 49 47 48 46 48 49 49
Interest 46 45 46 43 45 47 47
Other income from assets 20 17 18 17 19 21 16
Dividends b 15 12 14 13 14 17 12
Rent or royalties 6 7 7 6 7 8 6
Estates or trusts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Veterans' benefits 1 1 2 1 3 3 3
Unemployment compensation 3 3 0 1 0 0 0
Workers' compensation 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Public assistance 9 10 6 8 8 6 5
Supplemental Security Income 8 9 6 7 7 6 5
Other public assistance 2 1 0 0 1 0 0
Personal contributions 5 4 1 1 2 1 1
Number (thousands) 3,856 1,397 11,620 2,192 2,387 2,741 4,300
a. Includes retired-worker benefits, dependents' or survivors' benefits, disability benefits, transitionally insured benefits, or special age-72 benefits.
b. The measure of receipt of dividend income is being changed to correct an error. The previous measured included all units owning stocks or mutual funds, which may or may not have issued dividends. The new measure includes only those receiving income from dividends. For example, 18 percent of units aged 65 or older received dividend income in 2002 under the new methodology compared with 23 percent under the old methodology. This change has only a small effect on the percentage of units aged 65 or older receiving income from assets—55 percent under the new methodology compared with 56 percent under the old methodology.
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Table 1.2
Percentage with income from specified source, by Social Security beneficiary status, marital status, sex of nonmarried persons, and age
Source of income All units Married couples Nonmarried persons
Total Men Women
55–61 62–64 65 or
older		 55–61 62–64 65 or
older		 55–61 62–64 65 or
older		 55–61 62–64 65 or
older		 55–61 62–64 65 or
older
Beneficiary
Earnings 44 45 20 72 60 33 15 28 12 12 19 15 17 33 11
Wages and salaries 40 41 18 64 56 29 14 25 10 11 16 13 16 31 9
Self-employment 6 8 4 10 12 7 1 3 2 1 3 3 1 4 1
Retirement benefits 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Social Security a 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Benefits other than Social Security 23 43 43 30 52 53 16 34 35 18 36 41 14 33 33
Other public pensions 7 13 14 10 16 18 4 11 11 4 10 11 4 11 11
Railroad Retirement 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Government employee pensions 7 13 14 9 15 18 4 11 11 4 10 11 4 11 11
Military 1 2 2 2 2 3 1 2 1 2 3 2 0 1 1
Federal 1 2 4 2 2 6 1 1 3 1 1 2 1 1 3
State or local 4 9 8 6 11 11 3 7 7 2 6 6 3 8 7
Private pensions or annuities 17 32 31 22 39 39 12 25 25 14 27 31 11 24 23
Income from assets 39 55 58 51 65 68 27 45 50 29 37 50 26 50 51
Interest 35 52 55 45 62 65 26 42 48 28 34 47 24 47 48
Other income from assets 17 24 25 26 32 33 7 15 19 3 13 19 9 16 19
Dividends b 13 18 19 20 26 26 5 10 14 2 8 14 6 11 15
Rent or royalties 6 9 9 10 12 12 3 7 7 1 6 7 4 7 7
Estates or trusts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Veterans' benefits 7 3 5 9 4 6 4 3 4 10 5 7 1 1 3
Unemployment compensation 5 4 1 7 5 1 2 3 1 1 4 1 2 3 0
Workers' compensation 3 2 0 5 2 1 2 2 0 1 2 0 2 2 0
Public assistance 14 5 3 7 3 1 20 6 5 16 4 4 23 8 5
Supplemental Security Income 13 4 3 7 3 1 18 6 4 13 4 3 21 7 5
Other public assistance 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 3 0 0 2 1 0
Personal contributions 2 1 1 2 1 0 3 1 1 4 0 1 3 2 1
Number (thousands) 1,691 2,341 23,487 856 1,207 9,486 835 1,134 14,001 296 422 3,649 539 712 10,352
Nonbeneficiary
Earnings 87 81 37 95 90 53 76 68 29 75 69 37 77 68 26
Wages and salaries 82 75 34 90 85 49 71 63 27 68 61 33 73 64 24
Self-employment 14 13 5 19 17 10 8 8 3 10 12 4 6 5 2
Retirement benefits 15 19 25 16 21 32 13 17 21 13 22 25 12 14 19
Social Security a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Benefits other than Social Security 15 19 25 16 21 32 13 17 21 13 22 25 12 14 19
Other public pensions 7 10 16 7 10 18 6 9 14 7 15 17 6 6 13
Railroad Retirement 0 0 3 0 0 4 0 0 3 0 0 4 0 1 3
Government employee pensions 7 9 12 7 10 14 6 9 11 6 15 13 5 5 11
Military 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0
Federal 1 3 7 2 2 9 1 5 6 2 9 7 1 2 5
State or local 4 6 5 4 7 5 4 4 5 3 4 5 4 4 6
Private pensions or annuities 8 10 10 9 12 15 7 8 7 7 8 9 7 8 7
Income from assets 63 56 37 72 65 53 51 44 28 48 44 28 53 44 28
Interest 60 53 35 68 61 50 48 42 27 44 41 27 50 43 27
Other income from assets 31 28 14 37 35 21 22 18 10 22 19 12 21 17 9
Dividends b 24 22 11 30 28 16 17 14 8 18 14 10 17 14 7
Rent or royalties 11 10 5 14 13 8 7 6 3 7 6 3 7 6 3
Estates or trusts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Veterans' benefits 3 2 2 3 2 2 3 1 2 5 2 4 1 0 2
Unemployment compensation 7 5 1 9 6 1 4 4 1 6 6 2 4 2 1
Workers' compensation 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 0 2 1 0 1 1 1
Public assistance 4 5 16 2 1 11 6 11 18 6 9 15 6 12 19
Supplemental Security Income 3 5 15 2 1 11 6 10 17 6 8 15 5 12 18
Other public assistance 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1
Personal contributions 2 2 1 1 1 1 4 4 1 1 0 1 5 6 1
Number (thousands) 12,739 2,381 2,732 7,304 1,335 926 5,435 1,045 1,806 2,118 360 538 3,317 685 1,268
NOTE: . . . = not applicable.
a. Includes retired-worker benefits, dependents' or survivors' benefits, disability benefits, transitionally insured benefits, or special age-72 benefits.
b. The measure of receipt of dividend income is being changed to correct an error. The previous measured included all units owning stocks or mutual funds, which may or may not have issued dividends. The new measure includes only those receiving income from dividends. For example, 18 percent of units aged 65 or older received dividend income in 2002 under the new methodology compared with 23 percent under the old methodology. This change has only a small effect on the percentage of units aged 65 or older receiving income from assets—55 percent under the new methodology compared with 56 percent under the old methodology.
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Table 1.3
Percentage with income from specified source, by race, Hispanic origin, marital status, sex of nonmarried persons, and age
Source of income All units Married couples Nonmarried persons
Total Men Women
55–61 62–64 65 or
older		 55–61 62–64 65 or
older		 55–61 62–64 65 or
older		 55–61 62–64 65 or
older		 55–61 62–64 65 or
older
White alone a
Earnings 83 64 23 92 76 35 70 48 14 69 42 19 71 52 13
Wages and salaries 78 59 20 87 71 30 65 44 12 62 37 16 66 48 11
Self-employment 14 11 4 19 15 7 8 6 2 10 6 3 6 5 2
Retirement benefits 24 60 94 25 58 95 24 62 93 24 67 92 24 59 93
Social Security b 11 50 91 10 47 92 13 54 91 12 57 89 13 52 91
Benefits other than Social Security 16 33 42 18 37 52 13 27 35 14 31 42 12 25 33
Other public pensions 7 11 14 8 13 18 6 10 12 7 11 13 5 9 12
Railroad Retirement 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
Government employee pensions 7 11 14 7 12 17 6 9 11 6 11 11 5 8 11
Military 2 1 2 2 2 3 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1
Federal 1 2 4 2 2 6 1 3 3 1 4 3 1 2 3
State or local 4 8 9 4 9 10 4 6 7 3 5 7 4 6 8
Private pensions or annuities 10 23 30 11 26 39 7 19 25 7 21 30 7 17 23
Income from assets 64 60 59 72 68 69 53 50 52 50 44 51 55 53 53
Interest 60 57 57 68 65 66 49 48 50 46 41 48 51 51 50
Other income from assets 31 28 26 38 35 33 22 19 20 22 17 20 23 20 20
Dividends c 25 22 20 30 28 27 18 13 15 18 11 15 18 15 15
Rent or royalties 11 10 9 14 13 12 7 7 7 7 6 8 7 8 7
Estates or trusts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Veterans' benefits 3 2 4 3 3 5 3 2 4 6 3 7 1 1 3
Unemployment compensation 6 4 1 8 5 1 4 3 1 5 4 1 3 2 0
Workers' compensation 2 2 0 2 2 1 1 1 0 2 2 0 1 1 0
Public assistance 4 4 3 2 2 2 7 7 5 7 6 4 8 8 5
Supplemental Security Income 4 4 3 2 2 2 7 7 4 6 6 4 7 8 5
Other public assistance 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0
Personal contributions 2 2 1 1 1 0 4 3 1 2 0 1 5 4 1
Number (thousands) 12,135 3,921 22,700 7,210 2,232 9,356 4,925 1,689 13,344 1,961 623 3,498 2,964 1,066 9,847
Black alone a
Earnings 70 54 18 91 73 37 59 44 12 53 37 16 62 47 10
Wages and salaries 68 52 18 89 71 35 57 42 11 50 32 16 61 46 10
Self-employment 5 4 1 9 3 4 3 4 1 4 8 1 2 2 0
Retirement benefits 30 62 86 32 73 90 29 57 85 28 57 85 29 56 85
Social Security b 18 50 83 18 57 87 18 47 82 18 43 82 18 49 81
Benefits other than Social Security 15