U.S. Social Security Administration, Office of Policy.
Income of the Population 55 or Older, 2004
 
Income Sources of Aged Units
Table 1.1
Percentage with income from specified source, by marital status, sex of nonmarried persons, and age, 2004
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 81 65 24 44 28 16 7
Wages and salaries 76 60 21 40 24 14 5
Self-employment 12 11 5 8 6 3 2
Retirement benefits 26 58 92 87 92 93 94
Social Security a 13 46 89 84 90 91 92
Benefits other than Social Security 16 29 41 39 42 43 41
Other public pensions 7 12 14 15 15 15 13
Railroad Retirement 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
Government employee pensions 7 11 14 14 14 14 12
Military 1 2 2 2 2 1 1
Federal 1 3 4 4 4 4 5
State or local 4 6 8 8 9 9 7
Private pensions or annuities 10 19 29 27 30 30 30
Income from assets 58 59 55 57 57 54 53
Interest 55 55 52 53 53 50 50
Other income from assets 30 31 25 27 28 25 23
Dividends 25 26 20 22 22 20 18
Rent or royalties 9 11 9 9 10 8 8
Estates or trusts 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Veterans' benefits 4 2 4 3 4 4 5
Unemployment compensation 5 3 1 2 1 0 0
Workers' compensation 2 1 0 1 1 0 0
Public assistance 5 5 4 5 5 4 4
Supplemental Security Income 4 5 4 5 4 3 4
Other public assistance 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Personal contributions 2 1 1 1 1 1 1
Number (thousands) 15,772 4,990 26,865 7,078 5,999 5,827 7,960
Married couples
Earnings 92 77 37 57 39 24 13
Wages and salaries 87 72 32 52 33 20 11
Self-employment 17 14 8 12 10 5 4
Retirement benefits 26 59 93 89 95 95 96
Social Security a 12 45 90 86 92 93 93
Benefits other than Social Security 18 36 51 47 52 53 54
Other public pensions 8 14 18 17 19 19 19
Railroad Retirement 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
Government employee pensions 8 13 18 17 18 18 18
Military 2 3 2 3 2 2 2
Federal 2 3 6 5 6 6 7
State or local 5 8 11 10 11 12 11
Private pensions or annuities 11 24 36 33 37 38 39
Income from assets 69 68 67 68 68 65 68
Interest 66 64 64 64 64 61 65
Other income from assets 38 39 35 35 36 32 35
Dividends 32 33 29 29 30 26 29
Rent or royalties 12 13 12 12 13 10 12
Estates or trusts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Veterans' benefits 4 3 5 4 5 5 9
Unemployment compensation 6 4 1 3 1 1 0
Workers' compensation 2 1 1 1 1 0 0
Public assistance 3 3 2 3 3 2 2
Supplemental Security Income 3 3 2 3 2 2 2
Other public assistance 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Personal contributions 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
Number (thousands) 8,681 2,745 10,930 3,710 2,731 2,342 2,146
Nonmarried persons
Earnings 69 49 14 30 19 11 4
Wages and salaries 63 45 13 27 17 10 3
Self-employment 7 7 2 4 3 2 1
Retirement benefits 24 57 91 85 90 92 94
Social Security a 14 48 88 82 88 90 91
Benefits other than Social Security 13 22 34 30 34 37 36
Other public pensions 6 8 11 12 11 12 11
Railroad Retirement 0 0 1 0 1 1 1
Government employee pensions 5 8 11 11 10 11 10
Military 1 1 1 2 1 1 1
Federal 1 2 3 3 3 4 4
State or local 4 5 6 7 6 7 6
Private pensions or annuities 8 14 24 19 25 25 26
Income from assets 44 47 47 45 47 46 48
Interest 42 44 43 41 44 43 44
Other income from assets 20 22 19 17 20 20 18
Dividends 16 17 14 13 16 15 14
Rent or royalties 6 8 6 6 7 7 6
Estates or trusts 0 0 1 0 1 0 1
Veterans' benefits 3 2 3 2 4 3 4
Unemployment compensation 4 2 0 1 0 0 0
Workers' compensation 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Public assistance 7 8 6 8 6 5 5
Supplemental Security Income 7 7 6 8 6 5 5
Other public assistance 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Personal contributions 4 2 1 2 1 1 1
Number (thousands) 7,091 2,245 15,935 3,368 3,268 3,485 5,814
Men
Earnings 68 47 18 29 21 17 7
Wages and salaries 60 42 14 24 18 12 5
Self-employment 10 8 4 6 4 5 2
Retirement benefits 25 57 91 85 91 92 94
Social Security a 12 48 87 82 89 89 90
Benefits other than Social Security 15 20 41 36 37 44 46
Other public pensions 6 7 13 14 9 14 13
Railroad Retirement 0 1 1 0 0 1 2
Government employee pensions 6 6 12 14 9 13 12
Military 1 1 2 4 2 2 2
Federal 1 2 4 4 2 4 5
State or local 3 3 6 7 6 7 5
Private pensions or annuities 9 14 29 23 29 30 34
Income from assets 43 46 48 44 48 48 51
Interest 41 43 44 40 44 44 48
Other income from assets 19 22 20 17 20 21 20
Dividends 16 18 15 13 15 18 16
Rent or royalties 6 9 7 7 8 7 8
Estates or trusts 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Veterans' benefits 6 3 6 4 7 5 9
Unemployment compensation 4 1 1 1 0 1 0
Workers' compensation 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
Public assistance 7 6 5 7 5 3 3
Supplemental Security Income 6 6 5 7 5 3 3
Other public assistance 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Personal contributions 1 0 1 1 1 0 1
Number (thousands) 2,773 819 4,292 1,141 936 892 1,323
Women
Earnings 69 51 13 31 18 10 3
Wages and salaries 65 46 12 29 17 9 3
Self-employment 5 6 1 2 2 1 1
Retirement benefits 24 57 91 85 90 92 94
Social Security a 15 48 89 82 88 90 92
Benefits other than Social Security 13 23 32 28 33 34 33
Other public pensions 5 10 11 10 11 11 10
Railroad Retirement 0 0 1 1 1 1 1
Government employee pensions 5 10 10 10 11 11 10
Military 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
Federal 1 3 3 2 3 3 4
State or local 4 6 7 7 7 7 6
Private pensions or annuities 8 14 22 18 23 24 24
Income from assets 45 48 46 45 47 46 47
Interest 42 45 43 42 45 42 43
Other income from assets 20 22 18 17 20 19 18
Dividends 16 16 14 13 16 14 13
Rent or royalties 6 8 6 5 6 7 6
Estates or trusts 0 0 1 1 1 0 1
Veterans' benefits 1 1 2 2 2 3 2
Unemployment compensation 4 3 0 1 0 0 0
Workers' compensation 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Public assistance 8 8 6 8 7 5 5
Supplemental Security Income 7 8 6 8 6 5 5
Other public assistance 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Personal contributions 5 3 1 2 1 1 1
Number (thousands) 4,317 1,427 11,643 2,227 2,332 2,592 4,492
a. Includes retired-worker benefits, dependents' or survivors' benefits, disability benefits, transitionally insured benefits, and special age-72 benefits.
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