Economics
Indicator 7 : Poverty
Poverty rates offer one way to
evaluate economic well-being. The official
poverty definition is based on annual money
income before taxes and does not include capital gains and noncash
benefits. To determine who is poor, the U.S.
Census Bureau compares family income (or an unrelated individual's
income) with a set of poverty thresholds that vary by family size and
composition and are updated annually for inflation.
People identified as living in poverty are at
risk of having inadequate resources for food, housing, health care, and other
needs.
![Data years are from 1959 to 2002](images/small-ind-7.jpg)
- In 1959, 35
percent of people age 65 and over lived below the poverty threshold. By 2002,
the proportion of the older population living in poverty had decreased
dramatically to 10 percent.
- Relative
levels of poverty among the different age groups have changed over time. In
1959, older people had the highest poverty rate (35 percent), followed by
children (27 percent) and those in the working ages (17 percent). By 2002, the
proportions of the older population and those of working age living in poverty
did not differ (about 10 percent each), while 17 percent of children lived in
poverty.
- Poverty rates
differed by age and sex among the older population. Older women (12 percent)
were more likely than older men (8 percent) to live in poverty in 2002. People
age 65-74 had a poverty rate of 9 percent, compared with 12 percent of
those age 75 and over.
- Race and
ethnicity are related to poverty among the older population. In 2002, older
non-Hispanic whites were far less likely than older blacks and older Hispanics
to be living in poverty -- about 8 percent compared with 24 percent of older
blacks and 21 percent of older Hispanics (not a statistically
significant difference between the latter two
groups). Older non-Hispanic white and black women had higher poverty rates than
their male counterparts.
Data for this indicator can be found in Tables 7a and 7b.
Indicator 8 : Income
The percentage of people living
below the poverty line does not give a complete picture of the economic
situation of older Americans. Examining the income distribution of the
population age 65 and over and their median income provides additional insights
into their economic well-being.
![Income distribution of the population age 65 and over from 1974 to 2002](images/p_13.jpg)
![Data years are from 1974 to 2002](images/small-ind-8.jpg)
- Since 1974,
the proportion of older people living in poverty and in the low-income group
has generally declined so that, by 2002, 10 percent of the older population
lived in poverty and 28 percent of the older population were
in the low-income group.
- In 2002,
people in the middle income group made up the largest share of older people by
income category (35 percent). The proportion with a high income has increased
over time. The proportion of the older population having a high income rose from
18 percent in 1974 to 26 percent in 2002.
-
The trend in median household income of the older
population has also been positive. In 1974, the median household income for
older people was $16,882 when expressed in 2002 dollars. By 2002, the median
household income had increased to $23,152.6
Data for this indicator can be found in Table 8.
Indicator 9 : Sources of Income
Most older Americans are retired from full-time
work. Social Security was developed as a fl oor
of protection for their incomes, to be supplemented by other pension income,
income from assets, and to some extent, continued earnings. Over time, Social
Security has taken on a greater importance to many older Americans.
![Distribution of sources of income for the population age 65 and over for selected years from 1962 to 2002](images/p_14.jpg)
- Since the early
1960s, Social Security has provided the largest share of aggregate income for
older Americans. The share of income from pensions increased rapidly in the
1960s and 1970s and more gradually since then. The share of income from assets
peaked in the mid1980s and has generally declined since then. The share from
earnings has had the opposite pattern -- declining until the mid-1980s and
generally increasing since then.
- In 2002,
aggregate income for the population age 65 and over came largely from four
sources. Social Security provided 39 percent, earnings accounted for 25
percent, pensions provided 19 percent, and asset income accounted for 14
percent.
- Pension
coverage expanded dramatically in the 2 decades after World War II, and private
pensions accounted for an increasing proportion of income for older people
during the 1960s and early 1970s. Since then, the coverage rate has been stable
at about 50 percent of all workers on their current jobs.7,8
- There has been
a major shift in the type of pensions provided by employers, from
defined-benefit plans (in which a specified amount is typically paid as a lifetime
annuity) to defined-contribution plans such as 401(k) plans (in which the amount of the future
benefit varies depending on investment earnings). Employers increasingly offer
defined-contribution plans to employees. The percentage of workers with a pension plan who have
defined-benefit coverage has decreased from 80 percent in 1985 to 33 percent in 2003.
9,10 Over the same period,
participation in defined-contribution plans
increased from 41 percent to 51 percent. In recent years, a growing number of
employers have converted their defined-benefit
plans to cash balance plans. Cash balance plan participation has increased
nearly fourfold between 1997 and 2000, from 6 percent to 23 percent.11,12
![Sources of income for the population age 65 and over by income quintile in 2002](images/p_15.jpg)
- Among older
Americans in the lowest fifth of the income
distribution, Social Security accounts for 83 percent of aggregate income, and
public assistance accounts for another 9 percent. For those whose income is in
the highest income category, Social Security, pensions, and asset income each
account for about one- fifth of aggregate
income, and earnings account for the remaining two- fifths.
- For the
population age 80 and over, Social Security and asset income account for a
larger proportion of aggregate income and earnings a smaller proportion,
compared with the population age 65-69.13
Data
for this indicator can be found in Tables 9a and 9b.
Indicator 10 : Net Worth
Net worth (the value of real
estate, stocks, bonds, and other assets minus outstanding debts) is an
important indicator of economic security and well-being. Greater net worth
allows a family to maintain its standard of living when income falls because of
job loss, health problems, or family changes such as divorce or widowhood.
![Median household net worth by race of head of household age 65 and over in 2001 dollars for selected years from 1984 to 2001](images/p_16.jpg)
![Data years are 1984 to 2001](images/small-ind-10a.jpg)
- Between 1984
and 2001 the median net worth of households headed by white people age 65 and
over increased 81 percent from $113,400 to $205,000. The median net worth of
households headed by black people age 65 and over increased 60 percent from
$25,600 to $41,000.
- Although the
rate of growth of wealth between 1984 and 2001 has been substantial for
both older black households and older white households,
large differences continue to exist, with the median net worth of older white
households ($205,000) five times larger than
older black households ($41,000).
- In 2001, the
median net worth of households headed by married people age 65 and over
($291,000) was more than twice that of households headed by unmarried people
($100,800) in the same age group.
- Overall,
between 1984 and 2001 the median net worth of households headed by people age
65 and over increased by 82 percent (from $98,900 to $179,800).
![Median household net worth by educational attainment of head of household age 65 and over in 2001 dollars for selected years from 1984 to 2001](images/p_17.jpg)
![Data years are from 1984 to 2001](images/small-ind-10b.jpg)
-
In 2001, households headed by people age 65 over without a high school diploma
increased and over with some college or more reported a by only 4 percent while
the median net worth median household net worth ($360,500) more of households
headed by people with some than six times that of households headed by college
or more increased by 67 percent. older people without
a high school diploma ($57,300).
-
Between 1984 and 2001, the median net worth of households headed by people age 65 and
over without a high school diploma increased by only 4 percent while the median
net worth of households headed by people with some college or more increased by
67 percent.
Data for this indicator can be found in Table 10.
Indicator 11 : Participation in the Labor Force
The labor force participation
rate is the percentage of a group that is in the labor force -- that is,
either working (employed) or actively looking for work (unemployed). Some older
Americans work out of economic necessity. Others may be attracted by the social
contact, intellectual challenges, or sense of value that work often provides.
![Labor force participation rates of men age 55 and over by age group , annual averages from 1963 to 2003](images/p_18.jpg)
![Data years are 1963 to 2003](images/small-ind-11a.jpg)
-
Between 1963 and 2003, labor force participation rates
declined from 90 percent to 75 percent among men age 55-61. Over this period,
participation rates declined from 76 percent to 50 percent for men age 62-64
and from 21 percent to 12 percent for men age 70 and over. For all of these
groups, most of these declines occurred prior to 1980.14
-
The decline in labor force participation among older men
before the 1980s has been attributed to several factors. The youngest age of
eligibility for Social Security benefits was
reduced from 65 to 62 in the early 1960s. Greater wealth also allowed older
Americans to retire earlier.15 The more recent stability of
participation rates has been partially explained by the elimination of
mandatory retirement laws, liberalization of the Social Security earnings test
(the reduction of Social Security benefits as
earnings exceed specified amounts), and gradual
increases in the delayed retirement credit for Social Security beneficiaries.16
-
While men age 65-69 also have experienced an overall
decline in labor force participation over the past 4 decades, this group has
gradually increased its participation rate in more recent years. Men age 65-69
experienced declines in labor force participation similar to the other older
age groups prior to the early 1980s, then saw their participation level off
between 1983 and 1993 with rates in the 24 percent to 26 percent range. Since
then, their participation rate has increased to nearly 33 percent in 2003.
![Labor Force participation rate of women age 55 and over by age group, annual averages from 1963 to 2003](images/p_19.jpg)
![Data years are 1963 to 2003](images/small-ind-11b.jpg)
-
Labor force participation rates have risen among most
women age 55 and over during the past 4 decades. The increase has been largest
among women age 55-61, from 44 percent in 1963 to nearly 63 percent in 2003. In
recent years, the increase in participation rates for women age 5561, 62-64,
and 65-69 has been somewhat larger.
-
Labor force participation rates for older women
reflect changes in the work experience of successive
generations of women. Many women now in their 60s and 70s did not work outside
the home when they were younger, or they moved in and out of the labor force.
As new cohorts of women approach older ages, they are participating in the
labor force at higher rates than previous generations. As a result, in 2003,
nearly 63 percent of women age 55-61 were in the labor force, compared with 44
percent of women age 55-61 in 1963. Over the same period, the labor force
participation rate increased from 29 percent to 39 percent among women age
62-64 and from 17 percent to 23 percent among women age 65-69.
-
The difference between labor force participation rates
for men and women has narrowed over time. Among people age 55-61, for example,
the gap between men's and women's rates in 2003 was 12 percentage
points, compared with 46 percentage points in 1963.
Data for this indicator can be found in Table 11.
Indicator 12 : Housing Expenditures
Most older people live in
adequate, affordable housing ,17 but some
older Americans are allocating a large proportion of their total expenditures
to housing. When housing expenditures comprise a relatively high proportion of
total expenditures, less money is available for health care, savings, and other
vital goods and services.
![Percentage of total annual expenditures allocated to housing costs in household headed bu people age 65 and over by income level in 1987 and 2002](images/p_20.jpg)
![Data years are 1987 and 2002'](images/small-ind-12.jpg)
-
The burden of housing costs relative to all expenditures
declines as income increases. Among households headed by people age 65 and
over, those with income in the bottom fifth of
the income distribution in 2002 allocated an average of 40 percent of all
expenditures to basic housing. That proportion fell to about 33 percent for
those in the middle income fifth and to 28
percent for those in the top fifth of the
income distribution.
-
In 2002, households in the lowest income group spent an
average of $5,116 on housing. This compares with an average of $11,544 spent on
housing by those in the highest income group. The 12 percentage point
difference in the share spent on housing between the lowest and highest income
groups is similar to that measured in 1987 (i.e., 33 percent compared with 21
percent).
-
Between 1987 and 2002, the percentage of expenditures
devoted to housing rose among households headed by older Americans in each of
the five income groups.
Data for this indicator can be found in Table 12.