U.S. Social Security Administration, Office of Policy.
Income of the Population 55 or Older, 2004
 

Income Sources

Aged Units

Units 65 or Older

Aged Persons

Nonmarried Persons 65 or Older

Income Sources of Aged Units
Table 1.1
Percentage with income from specified source, by marital status, sex of nonmarried persons, and age, 2004
Source of income Aged 55–61 Aged 62–64 Aged 65 or older
Total 65–69 70–74 75–79 80 or older
All units
Earnings 81 65 24 44 28 16 7
Wages and salaries 76 60 21 40 24 14 5
Self-employment 12 11 5 8 6 3 2
Retirement benefits 26 58 92 87 92 93 94
Social Security a 13 46 89 84 90 91 92
Benefits other than Social Security 16 29 41 39 42 43 41
Other public pensions 7 12 14 15 15 15 13
Railroad Retirement 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
Government employee pensions 7 11 14 14 14 14 12
Military 1 2 2 2 2 1 1
Federal 1 3 4 4 4 4 5
State or local 4 6 8 8 9 9 7
Private pensions or annuities 10 19 29 27 30 30 30
Income from assets 58 59 55 57 57 54 53
Interest 55 55 52 53 53 50 50
Other income from assets 30 31 25 27 28 25 23
Dividends 25 26 20 22 22 20 18
Rent or royalties 9 11 9 9 10 8 8
Estates or trusts 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Veterans' benefits 4 2 4 3 4 4 5
Unemployment compensation 5 3 1 2 1 0 0
Workers' compensation 2 1 0 1 1 0 0
Public assistance 5 5 4 5 5 4 4
Supplemental Security Income 4 5 4 5 4 3 4
Other public assistance 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Personal contributions 2 1 1 1 1 1 1
Number (thousands) 15,772 4,990 26,865 7,078 5,999 5,827 7,960
Married couples
Earnings 92 77 37 57 39 24 13
Wages and salaries 87 72 32 52 33 20 11
Self-employment 17 14 8 12 10 5 4
Retirement benefits 26 59 93 89 95 95 96
Social Security a 12 45 90 86 92 93 93
Benefits other than Social Security 18 36 51 47 52 53 54
Other public pensions 8 14 18 17 19 19 19
Railroad Retirement 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
Government employee pensions 8 13 18 17 18 18 18
Military 2 3 2 3 2 2 2
Federal 2 3 6 5 6 6 7
State or local 5 8 11 10 11 12 11
Private pensions or annuities 11 24 36 33 37 38 39
Income from assets 69 68 67 68 68 65 68
Interest 66 64 64 64 64 61 65
Other income from assets 38 39 35 35 36 32 35
Dividends 32 33 29 29 30 26 29
Rent or royalties 12 13 12 12 13 10 12
Estates or trusts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Veterans' benefits 4 3 5 4 5 5 9
Unemployment compensation 6 4 1 3 1 1 0
Workers' compensation 2 1 1 1 1 0 0
Public assistance 3 3 2 3 3 2 2
Supplemental Security Income 3 3 2 3 2 2 2
Other public assistance 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Personal contributions 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
Number (thousands) 8,681 2,745 10,930 3,710 2,731 2,342 2,146
Nonmarried persons
Earnings 69 49 14 30 19 11 4
Wages and salaries 63 45 13 27 17 10 3
Self-employment 7 7 2 4 3 2 1
Retirement benefits 24 57 91 85 90 92 94
Social Security a 14 48 88 82 88 90 91
Benefits other than Social Security 13 22 34 30 34 37 36
Other public pensions 6 8 11 12 11 12 11
Railroad Retirement 0 0 1 0 1 1 1
Government employee pensions 5 8 11 11 10 11 10
Military 1 1 1 2 1 1 1
Federal 1 2 3 3 3 4 4
State or local 4 5 6 7 6 7 6
Private pensions or annuities 8 14 24 19 25 25 26
Income from assets 44 47 47 45 47 46 48
Interest 42 44 43 41 44 43 44
Other income from assets 20 22 19 17 20 20 18
Dividends 16 17 14 13 16 15 14
Rent or royalties 6 8 6 6 7 7 6
Estates or trusts 0 0 1 0 1 0 1
Veterans' benefits 3 2 3 2 4 3 4
Unemployment compensation 4 2 0 1 0 0 0
Workers' compensation 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Public assistance 7 8 6 8 6 5 5
Supplemental Security Income 7 7 6 8 6 5 5
Other public assistance 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Personal contributions 4 2 1 2 1 1 1
Number (thousands) 7,091 2,245 15,935 3,368 3,268 3,485 5,814
Men
Earnings 68 47 18 29 21 17 7
Wages and salaries 60 42 14 24 18 12 5
Self-employment 10 8 4 6 4 5 2
Retirement benefits 25 57 91 85 91 92 94
Social Security a 12 48 87 82 89 89 90
Benefits other than Social Security 15 20 41 36 37 44 46
Other public pensions 6 7 13 14 9 14 13
Railroad Retirement 0 1 1 0 0 1 2
Government employee pensions 6 6 12 14 9 13 12
Military 1 1 2 4 2 2 2
Federal 1 2 4 4 2 4 5
State or local 3 3 6 7 6 7 5
Private pensions or annuities 9 14 29 23 29 30 34
Income from assets 43 46 48 44 48 48 51
Interest 41 43 44 40 44 44 48
Other income from assets 19 22 20 17 20 21 20
Dividends 16 18 15 13 15 18 16
Rent or royalties 6 9 7 7 8 7 8
Estates or trusts 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Veterans' benefits 6 3 6 4 7 5 9
Unemployment compensation 4 1 1 1 0 1 0
Workers' compensation 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
Public assistance 7 6 5 7 5 3 3
Supplemental Security Income 6 6 5 7 5 3 3
Other public assistance 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Personal contributions 1 0 1 1 1 0 1
Number (thousands) 2,773 819 4,292 1,141 936 892 1,323
Women
Earnings 69 51 13 31 18 10 3
Wages and salaries 65 46 12 29 17 9 3
Self-employment 5 6 1 2 2 1 1
Retirement benefits 24 57 91 85 90 92 94
Social Security a 15 48 89 82 88 90 92
Benefits other than Social Security 13 23 32 28 33 34 33
Other public pensions 5 10 11 10 11 11 10
Railroad Retirement 0 0 1 1 1 1 1
Government employee pensions 5 10 10 10 11 11 10
Military 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
Federal 1 3 3 2 3 3 4
State or local 4 6 7 7 7 7 6
Private pensions or annuities 8 14 22 18 23 24 24
Income from assets 45 48 46 45 47 46 47
Interest 42 45 43 42 45 42 43
Other income from assets 20 22 18 17 20 19 18
Dividends 16 16 14 13 16 14 13
Rent or royalties 6 8 6 5 6 7 6
Estates or trusts 0 0 1 1 1 0 1
Veterans' benefits 1 1 2 2 2 3 2
Unemployment compensation 4 3 0 1 0 0 0
Workers' compensation 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Public assistance 8 8 6 8 7 5 5
Supplemental Security Income 7 8 6 8 6 5 5
Other public assistance 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Personal contributions 5 3 1 2 1 1 1
Number (thousands) 4,317 1,427 11,643 2,227 2,332 2,592 4,492
a. Includes retired-worker benefits, dependents' or survivors' benefits, disability benefits, transitionally insured benefits, and special age-72 benefits.
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Income Sources of Aged Units
Table 1.2
Percentage with income from specified source, by Social Security beneficiary status, marital status, sex of nonmarried persons, and age, 2004
Source of income All units Married couples Nonmarried persons
Total Men Women
55–61 62–64 65 or older 55–61 62–64 65 or older 55–61 62–64 65 or older 55–61 62–64 65 or older 55–61 62–64 65 or older
Beneficiary
Earnings 43 46 22 70 62 35 15 28 13 12 24 16 17 30 12
Wages and salaries 40 41 19 64 56 30 14 24 11 12 21 12 15 26 11
Self-employment 6 8 5 11 11 8 2 5 2 0 3 4 2 6 1
Retirement benefits 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Social Security a 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Benefits other than Social Security 26 39 43 32 49 53 20 27 36 19 24 43 20 29 34
Other public pensions 8 12 14 9 16 18 7 8 11 6 4 12 8 10 11
Railroad Retirement 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Government employee pensions 8 12 14 9 16 18 7 7 11 6 4 12 8 10 10
Military 1 2 2 2 3 2 0 1 1 1 1 3 0 1 1
Federal 1 2 4 1 2 6 1 2 3 1 2 3 2 3 3
State or local 5 8 9 5 12 11 5 5 7 4 1 6 6 6 7
Private pensions or annuities 20 29 32 25 36 39 14 21 26 15 21 32 13 20 24
Income from assets 38 55 57 49 63 69 27 44 49 22 46 50 30 44 48
Interest 35 51 53 46 58 65 24 42 45 21 44 46 25 41 45
Other income from assets 16 26 26 21 33 36 12 18 20 8 21 20 13 16 19
Dividends 12 21 21 15 28 30 9 14 15 8 19 16 9 12 15
Rent or royalties 7 8 9 9 10 12 5 6 7 2 6 8 6 6 6
Estates or trusts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Veterans' benefits 9 3 4 12 4 6 6 3 3 13 4 7 3 2 2
Unemployment compensation 3 3 1 4 4 1 0 2 0 0 1 1 1 2 0
Workers' compensation 2 2 0 3 2 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 3 1 0
Public assistance 11 5 3 7 3 1 15 7 4 12 7 4 17 7 5
Supplemental Security Income 10 5 3 7 3 1 14 6 4 12 6 4 15 7 4
Other public assistance 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 3 1 0
Personal contributions 2 1 1 1 0 0 3 2 1 2 0 1 4 2 1
Number (thousands) 2,016 2,316 23,936 1,037 1,242 9,848 979 1,075 14,088 344 393 3,749 635 681 10,339
Nonbeneficiary
Earnings 87 81 37 95 90 55 77 69 26 76 68 33 78 70 23
Wages and salaries 82 76 34 90 85 52 71 64 24 67 62 29 74 65 22
Self-employment 13 13 5 17 16 9 8 9 3 11 13 4 6 6 2
Retirement benefits 15 21 24 16 25 30 12 17 20 14 16 25 11 17 19
Social Security a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Benefits other than Social Security 15 21 24 16 25 30 12 17 20 14 16 25 11 17 19
Other public pensions 7 11 16 8 12 19 5 9 14 6 9 17 5 9 13
Railroad Retirement 0 1 4 0 1 6 0 1 3 0 1 3 0 0 3
Government employee pensions 7 10 12 8 11 13 5 9 11 6 8 14 5 9 10
Military 1 2 1 2 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0
Federal 2 4 6 2 5 7 1 3 6 1 2 6 1 3 6
State or local 4 5 5 5 4 5 4 5 5 3 5 6 4 5 4
Private pensions or annuities 8 11 9 9 14 12 8 8 8 8 8 9 7 7 7
Income from assets 61 62 39 72 72 50 47 50 33 46 46 35 48 52 32
Interest 58 59 36 68 70 48 45 46 30 44 42 31 45 49 29
Other income from assets 32 35 17 40 43 24 21 26 12 21 23 14 21 27 11
Dividends 27 30 13 35 38 20 18 19 8 17 17 11 18 21 7
Rent or royalties 10 13 6 12 15 8 6 10 5 7 11 4 6 9 5
Estates or trusts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Veterans' benefits 3 1 2 3 2 2 2 1 2 5 2 5 1 0 1
Unemployment compensation 5 4 1 6 5 2 5 3 1 5 2 1 4 4 0
Workers' compensation 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 3 1 1 1 0
Public assistance 4 5 14 2 2 11 6 8 16 6 6 13 6 9 18
Supplemental Security Income 4 4 14 2 2 10 5 8 16 6 6 13 5 8 17
Other public assistance 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0
Personal contributions 2 2 2 1 1 1 4 3 2 1 0 1 6 4 3
Number (thousands) 13,756 2,674 2,929 7,644 1,503 1,082 6,112 1,171 1,847 2,430 425 543 3,682 745 1,303
NOTE: . . . = not applicable.
a. Includes retired-worker benefits, dependents' or survivors' benefits, disability benefits, transitionally insured benefits, and special age-72 benefits.
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Income Sources of Aged Units
Table 1.3
Percentage with income from specified source, by race, Hispanic origin, marital status, sex of nonmarried persons, and age, 2004
Source of income All units Married couples Nonmarried persons
Total Men Women
55–61 62–64 65 or older 55–61 62–64 65 or older 55–61 62–64 65 or older 55–61 62–64 65 or older 55–61 62–64 65 or older
White alone
Earnings 83 66 24 92 77 37 71 52 14 70 49 18 72 53 13
Wages and salaries 78 61 21 87 71 32 65 47 12 62 44 15 68 48 12
Self-employment 14 11 5 17 14 9 8 8 2 11 9 4 6 7 2
Retirement benefits 26 58 93 27 60 94 25 57 93 25 57 92 25 57 93
Social Security a 12 46 91 11 46 91 14 47 90 13 48 89 15 47 91
Benefits other than Social Security 17 31 43 19 37 52 14 23 37 15 22 44 13 24 34
Other public pensions 7 12 15 9 14 19 6 9 12 6 7 13 6 10 11
Railroad Retirement 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1
Government employee pensions 7 11 14 8 13 18 6 9 11 6 6 12 6 10 11
Military 1 2 2 2 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 3 0 1 1
Federal 2 3 4 2 3 6 1 3 3 1 2 4 1 3 3
State or local 5 6 9 5 7 11 4 5 7 4 4 7 4 6 7
Private pensions or annuities 10 21 31 11 25 38 9 15 26 10 16 32 8 14 24
Income from assets 62 63 59 72 71 70 49 52 51 47 49 52 50 54 51
Interest 59 59 55 68 67 66 46 49 47 45 45 48 47 51 47
Other income from assets 32 34 28 40 41 36 22 25 21 21 24 22 23 26 21
Dividends 28 29 22 35 36 30 19 19 16 18 19 17 19 20 16
Rent or royalties 10 12 9 12 14 12 6 10 7 7 10 8 6 9 7
Estates or trusts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1
Veterans' benefits 4 2 4 4 3 5 3 2 3 6 4 7 1 1 2
Unemployment compensation 5 3 1 6 4 1 4 3 0 4 1 1 4 3 0
Workers' compensation 2 1 0 2 1 1 1 1 0 1 2 0 1 1 0
Public assistance 4 4 3 3 2 2 6 7 4 5 6 3 7 8 5
Supplemental Security Income 4 4 3 3 2 2 6 7 4 5 5 3 6 8 5
Other public assistance 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
Personal contributions 2 1 1 1 0 0 4 2 1 1 0 1 6 4 1
Number (thousands) 13,052 4,181 23,121 7,540 2,405 9,818 5,512 1,776 13,303 2,220 661 3,554 3,292 1,115 9,748
Black alone
Earnings 70 53 21 86 75 42 60 40 14 60 35 14 61 43 15
Wages and salaries 67 51 20 84 73 41 58 38 14 56 32 13 59 41 14
Self-employment 5 5 1 9 7 3 3 4 1 4 4 1 2 4 1
Retirement benefits 27 59 87 31 65 91 24 56 85 22 54 86 25 57 85
Social Security a 17 51 83 21 55 85 14 50 82 12 49 82 15 50 83
Benefits other than Social Security 13 23 28 16 35 40 11 17 24 12 13 27 11 19 23
Other public pensions 5 10 10 5 16 15 5 7 9 6 5 11 5