Income and Poverty Among Older Americans in 2008 (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Oct. 2, 2009 |
| Report Number |
RL32697 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Debra Whitman and Patrick Purcell, Domestic Social Policy Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
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Summary:
This report describes the income and poverty status of the 36 million Americansaged 65 and older living in the community in 2006. Older persons receive incomefrom a variety of sources, including earnings, pensions, personal savings, and publicprograms such as Social Security and Supplemental Security Income. The substantialvariation in the number of people receiving income from each source and theamounts they receive from each source are the main topics of this report. Using datafrom the March 2007 Current Population Survey, this report describes both thenumber of elderly receiving income from each of 10 major sources and the extent towhich income from each source is either concentrated at the high end or low end ofthe income distribution or is more evenly distributed among the elderly population.In addition to looking at sources and amounts of income, the report examinesthe income of the elderly relative to the federal poverty thresholds. In 2006, 9.4% ofAmericans 65 and older had family incomes below the federal poverty thresholds of$9,669 for a single person and $12,186 for a couple. The 2006 poverty rate forAmericans 65 and older was lower than both the poverty rate for the population 18to 64 years old (10.8%) and the poverty rate among children under age 18 (17.4%).
