Income and Poverty Among Older Americans in 2008
October 2, 2009 - RL32697
Older Americans are an economically diverse group. In 2008, the median income of individuals aged 65 and older was $18,208 but incomes varied widely around this average. One-fourth of Americans 65 and older had incomes of less than $11,139 in 2008, while another one-fourth had incomes of $33,677 or more. Older Americans receive income from a variety of sources, including earnings, pensions, personal savings, and public programs such as Social Security and Supplemental Security Income. This report provides information from the March 2009 Current Population Survey on the number of elderly individuals and households who received income from each of these sources in 2008 and the amount of income received by individuals and households. Income from each source is reported as the annual amount received in 2008. Social Security and pensions are the two most common sources of income among the aged. In 2008, Social Security paid benefits to 86% of individuals aged 65 and older and to 89% of households in which the householder or the householder's spouse was 65 or older. Social Security is the largest single source of income among the aged. Sixty-nine percent of Social Security beneficiaries aged 65 or older received more than half of ...