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Population Profiles

  1. Child
    Beneficiaries
  2. Child Beneficiary
    Families
  3. Fully Insured
    Workers
  4. Marital Status
    & Poverty
  5. Middle Class
    Beneficiaries
  6. Never
    Beneficiaries
  7. Taxable Maximum
    Earners
  8. Veteran
    Beneficiaries

Never Beneficiaries, Aged 60 or Older, 2020

Released: August 2021
Next expected update: 2024
  • About 3.5 percent of the total population aged 60 or older never receive Social Security benefits.
  • Late-arriving immigrants and infrequent workers:
    • comprise 86 percent of never beneficiaries, and
    • have the highest poverty rates among never beneficiaries.
Chart. Title: Population Characteristics: Percentage with characteristic. Pie chart series with tabular version below.
Show as table
Table equivalent for chart: Population Characteristics
Characteristic Never beneficiaries Current and future beneficiaries
Number of beneficiaries 2.4 million 69.9 million
Women 64% 53%
Race/ethnicity  
White 40% 76%
Black 11% 10%
All other races 23% 5%
Hispanic origin 26% 9%
Never married 21% 6%
Widowed 21% 17%
Less than high school education 34% 9%
Poverty rate 54% 6%
Chart. Title: Breakdown of Never Beneficiaries: Percentage in group. Pie chart with tabular version below.
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Table equivalent for chart: Breakdown of Never Beneficiaries
Group Percentage of never beneficiaries in group
Late-arriving immigrants: Immigrants who arrive at age 50 or later and have insufficient earnings to qualify for Social Security. 45.8
Infrequent workers: Individuals who have insufficient earnings to qualify for Social Security, but are not late-arriving immigrants. 39.6
Non-covered workers: Individuals with sufficient earnings, but who work in non-covered employment (primarily state and local government employees). 13.4
Die before receiving benefits: Individuals who are projected to be eligible for Social Security benefits, but die before receiving them. 1.2
Chart. Title: Poverty Rates for Never Beneficiaries: Percentage in poverty. Bar chart with tabular version below.
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Table equivalent for chart: Poverty Rates for Never Beneficiaries
Group Percentage in poverty
Infrequent workers 67.2
Late-arriving immigrants 57.3
Non-covered workers 8.9
Die before receiving benefits 8.1

SOURCE: Modeling Income in the Near Term, Version 8 (MINT8) microsimulation model using 2019 Trustees Report intermediate assumptions.