Income of the Population 55 or Older, 2004
(Expanded Edition)

Poverty Status of Aged Persons Based on Family Income

Poverty Status of Aged Persons Based on Family Income

Poverty Status of Persons 65 or Older Based on Family Income

Poverty Status of Persons 65 or Older in Beneficiary Families Based on Family Income

Key Terms and Concepts for Section 11 1

Age. Age classification is based on the age of the person at his or her last birthday as of March 2005. A married couple's age is defined as the age of the husband—unless he is under age 55 and the wife is 55 or older, in which case it is the age of the wife.

Aged unit. With age 55 as the cutoff, aged units are defined as married couples living together—at least one of whom is 55 or older—and nonmarried persons 55 or older.

Marital status. Married persons are married and living with their spouse. Nonmarried persons may be divorced, widowed, never married, separated, or married but living apart from their spouse.

Race. The categories White alone, Black alone, and Asian alone reflect respondents who reported only one race. Because of changes to the race category, data on race are not directly comparable to editions prior to 2002. A person's race is his or her reported race. A married couple's race is defined as the race of the husband.

Hispanic origin. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. A married couple is of Hispanic origin if the husband is of Hispanic origin.

Family. A family is a group of two or more people (one of whom is the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together; all such people (including related subfamily members) are considered as members of one family.

Social Security beneficiary. A beneficiary may be receiving retired-worker-benefits, dependents' or survivor benefits, disability benefits, or transitionally insured benefits.

Per capita income. Per capita income is total family income divided by the number of persons in the family.

Poverty. The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to detect who is poor. If a family's total income is less than that family's threshold, then that family, and every individual in it, is considered poor. The poverty thresholds do not vary geographically, but they are updated annually for inflation with the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). The official poverty definition counts money income before taxes and excludes capital gains and noncash benefits (such as public housing, Medicaid, and food stamps).

The ratio of Social Security income to total income. This ratio is defined as Social Security income divided by total income. Units and persons in families with less than $1 of total income or negative earnings or asset income are excluded from these tables.

Notes

 1 For more information, consult the Glossary for this report.

Tables

Table 11.1 By Social Security beneficiary status, marital status, race, Hispanic origin, sex, and age, 2004
Sex and age Number
(thousands)		 Percentage
below
poverty line		 Percentage
below 125%
of poverty line
All persons
All persons
55–61 22,214 9.1 11.9
62–64 7,317 9.8 13.4
65 or older 35,213 9.8 16.5
Men
55–61 10,563 8.1 10.5
62–64 3,484 9.1 11.9
65 or older 15,151 7.0 12.2
Women
55–61 11,651 10.0 13.2
62–64 3,834 10.5 14.6
65 or older 20,063 12.0 19.7
By beneficiary status
Beneficiary
All persons
55–61 2,023 16.0 23.1
62–64 3,215 10.1 15.3
65 or older 31,045 7.7 14.6
Men
55–61 934 12.9 20.4
62–64 1,402 9.8 13.6
65 or older 13,315 4.8 10.2
Women
55–61 1,089 18.5 25.4
62–64 1,814 10.3 16.6
65 or older 17,730 9.9 18.0
Nonbeneficiary
All persons
55–61 20,192 8.4 10.8
62–64 4,102 9.6 11.8
65 or older 4,168 25.4 30.2
Men
55–61 9,629 7.6 9.5
62–64 2,082 8.6 10.8
65 or older 1,836 22.7 26.7
Women
55–61 10,562 9.2 12.0
62–64 2,020 10.6 12.9
65 or older 2,333 27.5 33.0
By marital status
Married
All persons
55–61 15,124 5.5 7.5
62–64 5,072 4.9 7.2
65 or older 19,278 4.5 8.1
Men
55–61 7,790 5.4 7.0
62–64 2,665 5.6 8.2
65 or older 10,858 4.6 8.0
Women
55–61 7,333 5.6 7.9
62–64 2,407 4.1 6.0
65 or older 8,420 4.4 8.1
Nonmarried
All persons
55–61 7,091 16.8 21.5
62–64 2,245 20.9 27.3
65 or older 15,935 16.2 26.7
Men
55–61 2,773 15.7 20.2
62–64 819 20.4 24.2
65 or older 4,292 13.1 22.7
Women
55–61 4,317 17.5 22.4
62–64 1,427 21.1 29.1
65 or older 11,643 17.4 28.2
Widowed
All persons
55–61 1,194 14.9 20.3
62–64 624 21.7 31.7
65 or older 10,682 14.5 25.5
Men
55–61 221 13.6 21.3
62–64 123 24.9 28.4
65 or older 2,069 10.9 19.9
Women
55–61 973 15.2 20.1
62–64 501 20.9 32.5
65 or older 8,613 15.4 26.9
Divorced
All persons
55–61 3,592 16.2 20.3
62–64 1,002 19.8 24.4
65 or older 2,777 17.3 26.7
Men
55–61 1,466 15.7 18.1
62–64 397 20.0 23.9
65 or older 1,070 12.0 21.5
Women
55–61 2,125 16.6 21.8
62–64 605 19.7 24.7
65 or older 1,707 20.7 30.0
Never married
All persons
55–61 1,487 16.9 21.8
62–64 366 21.8 28.1
65 or older 1,460 21.9 30.6
Men
55–61 747 15.3 22.4
62–64 158 19.5 23.3
65 or older 670 22.6 33.9
Women
55–61 740 18.6 21.2
62–64 208 23.5 31.8
65 or older 790 21.3 27.9
By race
White alone
All persons
55–61 18,737 8.1 10.7
62–64 6,254 8.7 11.8
65 or older 30,710 8.3 14.4
Men
55–61 9,007 7.5 9.5
62–64 3,000 8.6 10.9
65 or older 13,314 5.8 10.4
Women
55–61 9,729 8.7 11.7
62–64 3,254 8.9 12.6
65 or older 17,396 10.2 17.6
Black alone
All persons
55–61 2,223 17.1 21.9
62–64 686 18.7 25.5
65 or older 2,958 23.9 35.1
Men
55–61 973 14.0 19.1
62–64 299 16.7 22.2
65 or older 1,154 17.4 27.6
Women
55–61 1,250 19.5 24.0
62–64 387 20.2 28.0
65 or older 1,804 28.0 39.8
Asian alone
All persons
55–61 857 7.3 10.1
62–64 238 12.1 17.7
65 or older 1,092 13.6 20.5
Men
55–61 392 6.3 8.6
62–64 107 3.0 11.3
65 or older 476 13.5 20.4
Women
55–61 465 8.1 11.3
62–64 131 19.5 23.0
65 or older 616 13.6 20.6
Hispanic origin
All persons
55–61 1,776 13.9 19.4
62–64 540 17.3 23.7
65 or older 2,194 18.7 30.0
Men
55–61 852 12.5 16.3
62–64 250 17.4 22.5
65 or older 930 16.4 26.5
Women
55–61 924 15.2 22.3
62–64 290 17.2 24.8
65 or older 1,264 20.4 32.6
NOTE: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2004.
Table 11.2 By Social Security beneficiary status, marital status, race, Hispanic origin, sex, and age, 2004
Sex and age Number
(thousands)		 Percentage
below
poverty line		 Percentage
below 125%
of poverty line
All persons
All persons
65–69 10,124 9.2 13.8
70–74 8,264 9.6 15.3
75–79 7,596 9.1 16.5
80 or older 9,229 11.3 20.4
Men
65–69 4,814 7.0 10.9
70–74 3,652 7.6 12.3
75–79 3,227 6.2 12.3
80 or older 3,457 7.0 13.7
Women
65–69 5,310 11.1 16.5
70–74 4,612 11.2 17.7
75–79 4,368 11.3 19.6
80 or older 5,772 13.9 24.5
By beneficiary status
Beneficiary
All persons
65–69 8,416 6.9 11.6
70–74 7,361 7.6 13.4
75–79 6,853 6.7 14.5
80 or older 8,415 9.5 18.9
Men
65–69 3,984 4.7 8.5
70–74 3,273 5.5 10.4
75–79 2,922 4.0 10.4
80 or older 3,136 5.1 11.9
Women
65–69 4,432 9.0 14.3
70–74 4,088 9.2 15.9
75–79 3,931 8.8 17.6
80 or older 5,278 12.1 23.0
Nonbeneficiary
All persons
65–69 1,708 20.2 25.0
70–74 903 26.2 30.7
75–79 742 31.1 34.6
80 or older 815 30.3 36.6
Men
65–69 830 18.4 22.4
70–74 380 25.5 29.1
75–79 305 27.9 30.7
80 or older 321 25.7 31.5
Women
65–69 879 21.8 27.5
70–74 523 26.7 31.9
75–79 437 33.4 37.4
80 or older 494 33.4 39.9
By marital status
Married
All persons
65–69 6,756 4.3 7.2
70–74 4,996 4.5 7.6
75–79 4,111 4.4 8.5
80 or older 3,415 5.0 9.7
Men
65–69 3,673 4.4 7.3
70–74 2,716 4.4 7.4
75–79 2,335 5.0 9.0
80 or older 2,135 4.5 9.0
Women
65–69 3,083 4.2 7.2
70–74 2,280 4.6 7.9
75–79 1,776 3.7 7.9
80 or older 1,281 5.9 10.9
Nonmarried
All persons
65–69 3,368 18.9 27.0
70–74 3,268 17.4 27.1
75–79 3,485 14.7 25.9
80 or older 5,814 15.0 26.7
Men
65–69 1,141 15.3 22.6
70–74 936 16.8 26.6
75–79 892 9.4 20.8
80 or older 1,323 11.0 21.2
Women
65–69 2,227 20.7 29.3
70–74 2,332 17.6 27.3
75–79 2,592 16.5 27.6
80 or older 4,492 16.2 28.3
Divorced
All persons
65–69 1,141 17.3 25.0
70–74 658 15.1 25.1
75–79 559 17.5 27.4
80 or older 418 20.6 32.9
Men
65–69 463 11.9 19.2
70–74 256 13.8 23.5
75–79 212 9.2 20.8
80 or older 138 13.1 26.6
Women
65–69 679 21.1 28.9
70–74 402 15.9 26.2
75–79 347 22.6 31.5
80 or older 280 24.3 36.0
Widowed
All persons
65–69 1,448 17.9 26.4
70–74 2,020 14.9 24.5
75–79 2,410 13.6 25.5
80 or older 4,804 13.8 25.7
Men
65–69 285 10.4 17.3
70–74 407 14.6 21.2
75–79 445 10.6 21.7
80 or older 932 9.7 19.3
Women
65–69 1,163 19.8 28.6
70–74 1,613 15.0 25.3
75–79 1,965 14.3 26.4
80 or older 3,872 14.8 27.2
Never married
All persons
65–69 464 24.9 33.0
70–74 354 26.5 34.5
75–79 329 13.6 22.7
80 or older 312 20.7 31.1
Men
65–69 232 29.3 37.4
70–74 177 27.0 39.2
75–79 148 6.5 19.7
80 or older 113 22.6 37.1
Women
65–69 233 20.6 28.6
70–74 178 26.0 29.9
75–79 181 19.4 25.2
80 or older 199 19.5 27.7
By race
White alone
All persons
65–69 8,591 7.6 11.7
70–74 7,163 7.8 13.0
75–79 6,741 7.5 14.2
80 or older 8,215 10.0 18.7
Men
65–69 4,084 5.4 8.8
70–74 3,204 6.2 10.3
75–79 2,894 5.3 10.4
80 or older 3,132 6.2 12.5
Women
65–69 4,506 9.6 14.4
70–74 3,959 9.1 15.1
75–79 3,847 9.1 17.1
80 or older 5,083 12.3 22.6
Asian alone
All persons
65–69 377 13.2 19.5
70–74 268 13.3 21.6
75–79 193 14.3 22.3
80 or older 255 13.9 19.7
Men
65–69 182 12.4 17.7
70–74 127 15.0 25.0
75–79 70 a a
80 or older 96 17.3 18.3
Women
65–69 195 13.8 21.1
70–74 141 11.8 18.4
75–79 122 17.8 22.6
80 or older 158 11.8 20.6
Black alone
All persons
65–69 1,001 20.2 28.4
70–74 714 25.0 35.3
75–79 573 25.7 39.7
80 or older 669 26.5 40.8
Men
65–69 463 17.7 24.8
70–74 265 19.3 28.4
75–79 230 15.6 30.9
80 or older 196 16.2 29.4
Women
65–69 538 22.4 31.5
70–74 449 28.4 39.4
75–79 344 32.5 45.6
80 or older 473 30.7 45.6
Hispanic origin
All persons
65–69 750 19.0 29.5
70–74 566 19.1 28.9
75–79 428 18.9 30.2
80 or older 449 17.4 32.0
Men
65–69 322 17.3 26.2
70–74 245 16.8 28.5
75–79 188 16.6 24.6
80 or older 174 13.7 26.5
Women
65–69 428 20.2 32.0
70–74 321 20.9 29.2
75–79 240 20.7 34.7
80 or older 275 19.8 35.5
NOTE: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2004.
a. Fewer than 75,000 weighted cases.
Table 11.3 Social Security beneficiaries, by marital status, race, Hispanic origin, sex and age, 2004
Sex and age Number
(thousands)		 Percentage
below
poverty line		 Percentage
below 125%
of poverty line
By marital status
Married beneficiaries
All persons 16,957 2.6 6.1
65–69 5,655 2.6 5.4
70–74 4,475 2.5 5.7
75–79 3,722 2.6 6.6
80 or older 3,105 3.0 7.4
Men 9,566 2.7 6.1
65–69 3,051 2.6 5.5
70–74 2,438 2.5 5.5
75–79 2,126 2.9 7.0
80 or older 1,952 2.7 7.0
Women 7,391 2.6 6.1
65–69 2,603 2.5 5.3
70–74 2,037 2.5 5.9
75–79 1,597 2.2 6.1
80 or older 1,153 3.4 8.1
Widowed beneficiaries
All persons 9,652 12.5 24.1
65–69 1,211 15.0 23.8
70–74 1,801 13.4 23.4
75–79 2,194 11.0 23.7
80 or older 4,446 12.2 24.5
Men 1,851 9.2 18.6
65–69 232 8.4 16.0
70–74 366 12.4 19.6
75–79 402 9.1 20.8
80 or older 850 8.0 17.8
Women 7,801 13.3 25.4
65–69 979 16.6 25.6
70–74 1,435 13.6 24.4
75–79 1,792 11.4 24.4
80 or older 3,596 13.2 26.1
Nonmarried beneficiaries
All persons 14,088 13.9 24.9
65–69 2,761 15.9 24.2
70–74 2,886 15.4 25.4
75–79 3,131 11.7 23.9
80 or older 5,310 13.3 25.6
Men 3,749 10.3 20.5
65–69 933 11.3 18.6
70–74 835 14.3 24.6
75–79 796 6.9 19.4
80 or older 1,185 9.0 19.9
Women 10,339 15.2 26.5
65–69 1,828 18.2 27.1
70–74 2,051 15.9 25.8
75–79 2,335 13.3 25.4
80 or older 4,125 14.5 27.2
Divorced beneficiaries
All persons 2,444 15.4 25.3
65–69 974 15.5 23.6
70–74 595 13.0 22.6
75–79 506 15.9 26.9
80 or older 370 18.5 32.1
Men 933 8.0 18.3
65–69 396 7.4 15.1
70–74 229 8.9 18.7
75–79 185 6.0 19.3
80 or older 122 11.1 26.5
Women 1,512 20.0 29.6
65–69 578 21.0 29.4
70–74 365 15.5 25.0
75–79 321 21.6 31.2
80 or older 248 22.1 34.9
Never married beneficiaries
All persons 1,150 17.3 27.0
65–69 331 18.6 26.5
70–74 296 25.5 33.8
75–79 277 7.4 18.2
80 or older 246 16.9 29.3
Men 556 18.8 30.9
65–69 171 23.1 30.4
70–74 153 28.5 41.0
75–79 137 3.6 17.8
80 or older 95 17.2 34.4
Women 595 16.0 23.3
65–69 161 13.9 22.4
70–74 142 22.4 26.1
75–79 140 11.2 18.6
80 or older 151 16.7 26.1
By race
White alone beneficiaries
All persons 27,507 6.4 12.9
65–69 7,300 5.8 10.0
70–74 6,455 6.0 11.2
75–79 6,170 5.5 12.6
80 or older 7,582 8.3 17.3
Men 11,864 3.9 8.6
65–69 3,449 3.5 6.9
70–74 2,901 4.3 8.5
75–79 2,646 3.2 8.6
80 or older 2,868 4.5 10.9
Women 15,643 8.4 16.1
65–69 3,851 7.9 12.8
70–74 3,553 7.4 13.4
75–79 3,524 7.2 15.6
80 or older 4,714 10.6 21.2
Black alone beneficiaries
All persons 2,420 21.5 33.5
65–69 747 17.3 25.0
70–74 602 23.3 34.5
75–79 475 21.4 37.1
80 or older 596 25.2 40.2
Men 943 14.3 25.5
65–69 353 13.4 21.2
70–74 226 17.3 27.5
75–79 196 12.5 29.7
80 or older 167 13.9 27.2
Women 1,477 26.2 38.5
65–69 393 20.7 28.5
70–74 376 26.8 38.6
75–79 278 27.7 42.3
80 or older 429 29.7 45.3
Asian alone beneficiaries
All persons 737 7.4 14.9
65–69 243 6.5 13.3
70–74 201 7.5 17.5
75–79 124 8.6 18.4
80 or older 169 7.9 11.4
Men 328 7.8 15.0
65–69 113 7.8 12.1
70–74 97 9.4 20.4
75–79 47 a a
80 or older 71 a a
Women 409 7.1 14.7
65–69 130 5.3 14.3
70–74 104 5.7 14.8
75–79 77 12.6 17.9
80 or older 98 6.8 12.9
Hispanic origin beneficiaries
All persons 1,680 14.3 26.7
65–69 530 15.3 25.0
70–74 439 14.8 26.2
75–79 348 13.0 26.6
80 or older 363 13.5 30.1
Men 722 11.7 22.6
65–69 223 12.1 20.8
70–74 201 12.3 25.2
75–79 156 11.1 20.7
80 or older 142 10.8 23.9
Women 958 16.3 29.8
65–69 307 17.7 28.1
70–74 238 17.0 27.0
75–79 192 14.5 31.3
80 or older 221 15.3 34.0
NOTE: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2004.
a. Fewer than 75,000 weighted cases.
Table 11.4 Persons in Social Security beneficiary families, by proportion of family from Social Security, sex, and age, 2004
Sex and age Number
(thousands)		 Percentage
below
poverty line		 Percentage
below 125%
of poverty line
Persons in families receiving less than 50 percent of income from Social Security
All persons 13,723 0.9 2.3
65–69 4,845 1.0 2.1
70–74 3,387 1.0 2.5
75–79 2,563 0.6 2.0
80 or older 2,927 1.1 2.5
Men 65 6,483 0.5 1.7
65–69 2,473 0.8 1.6
70–74 1,659 0.3 1.9
75–79 1,166 0.5 1.4
80 or older 1,185 0.3 1.8
Women 65 7,240 1.3 2.8
65–69 2,372 1.2 2.7
70–74 1,728 1.7 3.1
75–79 1,397 0.7 2.4
80 or older 1,742 1.6 3.0
Persons in families receiving 50 to 89 percent of income from Social Security
All persons 9,658 5.7 10.8
65–69 2,144 6.2 10.0
70–74 2,311 6.0 10.0
75–79 2,405 4.2 9.0
80 or older 2,798 6.4 13.7
Men 65 4,055 3.9 7.6
65–69 915 4.6 7.3
70–74 987 5.4 8.8
75–79 1,055 3.1 6.5
80 or older 1,097 2.7 7.7
Women 5,603 7.0 13.2
65–69 1,229 7.3 11.9
70–74 1,324 6.4 10.9
75–79 1,349 5.1 11.0
80 or older 1,701 8.8 17.5
Persons in families receiving 90 to 99 percent of income from Social Security
All persons 3,442 13.2 26.9
65–69 676 17.1 29.5
70–74 756 13.4 23.6
75–79 824 10.8 26.3
80 or older 1,186 12.5 27.9
Men 1,276 8.4 19.9
65–69 274 14.5 26.9
70–74 295 6.6 16.8
75–79 310 7.9 20.8
80 or older 397 5.9 16.7
Women 2,166 16.0 31.0
65–69 402 18.8 31.3
70–74 461 17.7 28.0
75–79 513 12.6 29.6
80 or older 790 15.8 33.6
Persons in families receiving 100 percent of income from Social Security
All persons 4,573 27.3 49.3
65–69 951 31.1 50.1
70–74 966 28.5 50.8
75–79 1,116 22.8 45.9
80 or older 1,541 27.3 50.5
Men 1,599 20.9 42.1
65–69 373 22.4 42.6
70–74 346 29.4 49.9
75–79 409 13.2 37.4
80 or older 471 20.0 39.9
Women 2,974 30.7 53.3
65–69 577 36.8 54.9
70–74 619 28.0 51.3
75–79 707 28.4 50.8
80 or older 1,070 30.5 55.2
NOTES: The family money income of aged persons is compared with the official poverty lines of families in 2004.
Persons in families with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.