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A Profile of Older Americans: 2003
Special
Topic: Net Worth of Older Households
The net worth
(assets minus liabilities) of households increases with age
until age 74 and
declines somewhat from age 75. The median net worth of the
elderly households (with a householder aged 65+) in 2000 was
$108,885
as compared to $55,000 for the total population. The largest
asset type is home ownership which accounts for $85,516 or
78.5% of this net worth. Over 78% of elderly households own
their own
home. Other major asset types owned by the elderly include:
stock and mutual funds (29%), regular checking accounts (31%),
interest-earning
accounts at financial institutions (71%), IRA and Keogh accounts
(25%), and motor vehicles (78%). There are major differences in the median net worth of different
household types. Elderly married couple households have a median
net worth of $173,950 ($57,586 when home equity is
excluded). Male households have a median net worth of $84,000
($15,375) when home equity is excluded). Female households have
a median net worth of $76,000 ($10,475 when home equity is excluded).
This household net worth is not found in all segments of the
elderly population. 70% of elderly households have a net worth
of at least $50,000 and another 8.4 % have a net worth of $25,000
to $49,999. On the other hand, about 21.5% of elderly households
have a net worth of less than $25,000 – 6.7% have a zero
or negative net worth and another 6.6% have a net worth of $1?4,999.
Figure 9: Median Net Worth of Households with Householder 65+:
2000
![Figure 9: Median Net Worth of Households with Householder 65+: 2000](figure9.gif)
(Source: Current Population
Reports: Net Worth and Asset Ownership of Households: 1998 and
2000, P70--88, May 2003 and related tables
(http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/wealth/1998_2000/wealth98_00.html)
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