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Projections by Demographic Group

  1. American Indians and
    Alaska Natives
  2. Beneficiary
    Race/Ethnicity
  3. Lifetime
    Low Earners
  4.  Oldest 
    Old
  5. Sporadic Low
    Earners
  6. Taxpayer
    Race/Ethnicity

Beneficiaries Aged 60+ by Race & Ethnicity

Methodology »
Released: March 2022
Next expected update: 2023

DEFINITION: Beneficiaries are all individuals receiving any type of Social Security benefit(s) under current law.

In 2050, we project that:

  • The shares of beneficiaries identifying as Hispanic/Latino or all other races a will be larger than in 2022.
  • Beneficiaries identifying as Black or Hispanic/Latino will have lower median levels of monthly benefits and household wealth, and higher poverty rates, than those identifying as White or all other races.
Chart. Title: Racial and Ethnic Identification, 2022-2070: Percentage of beneficiaries aged 60 or older. Stacked bar chart with tabular version below.
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Table equivalent for chart: Racial and Ethnic Identification, 2022–2070 (percentage of beneficiaries aged 60 or older)
Year Hispanic or Latino, any race Non-Hispanic
White Black All other races
2022 8 77 10 5
2030 11 73 10 6
2050 19 63 10 8
2070 24 56 10 10
Chart. Title: Highest Education Level Attained, 2050: Percentage of beneficiaries aged 60 or older. Stacked bar chart with tabular version below.
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Table equivalent for chart: Highest Education Level Attained, 2050 (percentage of beneficiaries aged 60 or older)
Race or ethnicity Less than high school High school Associate Bachelor's Graduate
All 9 32 23 22 14
Hispanic/Latino 30 39 16 9 5
Black 7 40 25 17 10
White 4 29 25 26 16
All other races 4 21 17 31 25
Chart. Title: Selected Household Income Sources, 2050: Percentage of household income. Stacked bar chart with tabular version below.
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Table equivalent for chart: Selected Household Income Sources, 2050 (percentage of household income)
Race or ethnicity Social Security Annuitized assets Earnings Co-resident income Pension
All 47 27 12 6 6
Hispanic/Latino 52 16 12 12 4
Black 54 17 11 8 6
White 45 31 13 4 6
All other races 43 28 13 9 5
Chart. Title: Monthly Benefit, 2050. Bar chart with tabular version below.
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Table equivalent for chart: Monthly Benefit, 2050
Race or ethnicity Median, in 2021 dollars
All 1,937
Hispanic/Latino 1,541
Black 1,755
White 2,102
All other races 1,997
Chart. Title: Poverty Rate, 2050. Bar chart with tabular version below.
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Table equivalent for chart: Poverty Rate, 2050
Race or ethnicity Percent in poverty
All 4
Hispanic/Latino 6
Black 8
White 3
All other races 4
Chart. Title: Household Wealth, 2050. Bar chart with tabular version below.
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Table equivalent for chart: Household Wealth, 2050
Race or ethnicity Median, in thousands of 2021 dollars
All 277
Hispanic/Latino 106
Black 101
White 409
All other races 388

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

NOTES: Content is simplified for presentation. Refer to the MINT8 Projection Methodology for model details or the Table User Guide for definitions of racial/ethnic identifications, education levels, household income, and poverty.

The Black, White, and all other races subgroups are non-Hispanic.

a. Includes anyone identifying as a race or ethnicity other than Black, White, or Hispanic/Latino.