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

Importance of Income Sources Relative to Total Income

Units Receiving Income from Specified Source

Aged Units

Units 65 or Older

Relative Importance of Income Sources for Aged Units with Income from Specfied Source
Table 6.B1
Percentage distribution, by age, 2004
Proportion of income Aged 55–61 Aged 62–64 Aged 65 or older
Total 65–74 75 or older
Retirement benefits a
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 b 22 18 4 7 2
20–39 20 16 8 12 5
40–59 14 14 9 12 7
60–79 10 9 12 12 11
80 or more 34 43 66 56 75
50 or more 51 58 83 74 90
90 or more 29 37 57 48 66
100 18 22 32 26 37
Mean proportion 55 61 80 73 86
Number (thousands) 3,974 2,854 24,362 11,510 12,852
Social Security c
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 b 23 26 10 14 6
20–39 19 20 16 21 12
40–59 15 15 18 19 16
60–79 10 8 15 14 17
80 or more 33 30 41 33 49
50 or more 51 44 66 55 75
90 or more 30 26 34 27 40
100 23 19 21 17 25
Mean proportion 55 51 65 58 72
Number (thousands) 1,986 2,287 23,662 11,145 12,517
Government employee pensions d
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 b 26 21 18 19 17
20–39 26 29 25 26 23
40–59 20 18 28 27 28
60–79 9 13 18 17 19
80 or more 20 19 12 11 13
50 or more 39 39 44 42 46
90 or more 15 13 6 6 6
100 6 6 2 1 2
Mean proportion 45 46 46 45 48
Number (thousands) 1,060 542 3,565 1,784 1,780
Private pensions or annuities
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 b 39 43 40 38 42
20–39 22 21 33 32 33
40–59 13 19 19 21 18
60–79 9 8 6 6 6
80 or more 18 8 2 3 2
50 or more 32 24 15 17 13
90 or more 14 6 2 2 1
100 6 3 1 1 1
Mean proportion 39 33 29 30 28
Number (thousands) 1,523 954 7,757 3,663 4,094
Earnings
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 b 2 6 21 18 30
20–39 4 7 17 15 22
40–59 6 11 21 22 19
60–79 10 15 21 22 15
80 or more 78 60 21 23 15
50 or more 91 81 52 56 38
90 or more 70 50 14 15 12
100 27 17 6 6 6
Mean proportion 87 77 51 54 43
Number (thousands) 12,594 3,166 6,139 4,686 1,453
Income from assets
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 b 87 83 76 78 74
20–39 5 8 13 12 14
40–59 3 4 6 6 5
60–79 1 2 3 3 4
80 or more 3 3 2 2 3
50 or more 5 7 8 7 9
90 or more 3 3 1 1 2
100 2 2 1 1 1
Mean proportion 10 12 14 13 15
Number (thousands) 8,921 2,874 14,516 7,230 7,286
Public assistance
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 b 23 25 32 32 32
20–39 17 21 21 21 21
40–59 12 13 13 14 12
60–79 4 6 3 2 3
80 or more 43 35 31 30 32
50 or more 53 46 38 37 38
90 or more 42 32 29 28 31
100 38 26 27 27 27
Mean proportion 58 54 48 48 49
Number (thousands) 755 241 1,176 646 530
NOTE: Units with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.
a. Includes Social Security benefits, Railroad Retirement, government employee pensions, and private pensions or annuities.
b. Includes units with at least $1 but less than 1 percent of income from the specified source.
c. Includes retired-worker, dependents' or survivors' benefits, disability benefits, transitionally insured benefits, and special age-72 benefits.
d. Includes federal, state, local, and military pensions.
Top of page. Table of contents.
Relative Importance of Income Sources for Aged Units with Income from Specified Source
Table 6.B2
Percentage distribution, by age, marital status, and sex of nonmarried persons, 2004
Proportion of income Aged 55–61 Aged 62–64 Aged 65 or older
Married couples Nonmarried persons Married couples Nonmarried persons Married couples Nonmarried persons
Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women
Retirement benefits a
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 b 30 12 12 12 25 10 11 9 7 2 4 2
20–39 28 11 12 11 19 11 10 12 11 6 8 6
40–59 14 13 11 15 15 13 14 12 12 8 9 7
60–79 10 9 7 9 8 11 10 12 14 10 11 10
80 or more 18 55 58 52 32 56 57 55 56 73 69 75
50 or more 35 72 72 71 46 73 74 72 75 88 84 89
90 or more 14 50 52 48 25 51 52 51 46 65 62 66
100 7 33 35 31 12 35 36 34 19 40 38 41
Mean proportion 43 71 72 70 52 73 73 73 74 85 82 86
Number (thousands) 2,248 1,726 679 1,046 1,592 1,262 461 800 9,972 14,390 3,853 10,537
Social Security c
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 b 37 7 10 6 35 16 15 16 16 6 10 4
20–39 28 10 8 11 27 12 12 13 21 13 16 11
40–59 13 18 12 21 13 17 21 16 20 16 19 15
60–79 9 11 15 9 6 11 10 12 17 15 13 15
80 or more 13 54 55 53 19 43 42 43 28 51 42 54
50 or more 28 74 75 74 29 61 61 62 54 74 65 78
90 or more 11 49 52 48 14 39 38 40 21 43 35 46
100 8 39 43 37 10 30 30 30 11 29 25 30
Mean proportion 37 74 74 73 40 64 63 64 56 72 65 75
Number (thousands) 1,012 974 344 631 1,221 1,066 391 674 9,650 14,012 3,717 10,295
Government employee pensions d
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 b 29 19 15 22 26 12 e 15 21 15 13 15
20–39 29 20 27 14 31 26 e 27 28 22 17 23
40–59 19 22 15 27 18 16 e 14 26 30 26 32
60–79 10 6 4 7 15 10 e 13 16 20 25 18
80 or more 12 33 38 30 10 35 e 32 10 14 20 11
50 or more 30 54 54 54 31 54 e 52 38 50 57 47
90 or more 8 28 34 24 6 26 e 22 5 8 10 7
100 2 14 16 12 2 13 e 11 2 2 2 2
Mean proportion 39 56 58 54 40 58 e 56 44 50 55 47
Number (thousands) 674 386 162 224 359 183 49 134 1,864 1,700 505 1,195
Private pensions or annuities
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 b 43 31 22 38 51 28 27 28 42 38 29 42
20–39 24 19 23 16 21 22 10 30 34 31 30 32
40–59 13 13 11 14 16 26 39 19 18 21 28 17
60–79 8 10 12 8 7 10 9 11 5 7 10 6
80 or more 11 27 32 24 6 13 15 12 2 3 3 3
50 or more 24 45 51 40 18 35 44 29 13 17 21 15
90 or more 7 24 24 23 5 9 15 4 1 2 2 2
100 3 10 10 10 1 6 11 3 1 1 2 1
Mean proportion 33 48 54 44 28 43 46 40 28 31 35 29
Number (thousands) 932 591 252 338 646 309 115 193 3,923 3,833 1,235 2,598
Earnings
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 b 2 3 1 3 6 7 5 8 22 19 17 20
20–39 4 4 3 4 6 10 8 10 16 17 16 17
40–59 7 5 6 4 12 10 12 8 22 19 18 20
60–79 12 6 5 7 18 8 5 10 20 22 23 21
80 or more 75 83 84 82 58 66 70 64 19 23 26 22
50 or more 92 91 93 90 82 80 82 79 51 54 58 52
90 or more 66 75 77 74 46 57 61 54 12 19 20 18
100 19 39 43 36 13 25 31 21 5 9 11 8
Mean proportion 86 89 90 88 76 78 80 76 50 54 56 52
Number (thousands) 7,773 4,821 1,852 2,969 2,078 1,089 369 720 3,890 2,249 746 1,503
Income from assets
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 b 89 84 84 84 85 79 70 83 77 75 74 76
20–39 6 4 4 4 9 7 9 6 13 13 13 13
40–59 3 3 4 3 3 7 11 4 5 6 7 5
60–79 1 2 2 2 1 3 3 2 3 3 3 4
80 or more 2 6 6 7 2 5 8 3 2 3 3 3
50 or more 3 10 10 10 5 11 16 9 7 8 9 8
90 or more 1 6 6 6 2 4 6 3 1 2 1 2
100 1 5 5 5 2 2 4 2 1 1 1 2
Mean proportion 8 13 14 13 10 15 20 12 14 15 15 14
Number (thousands) 5,812 3,109 1,167 1,942 1,828 1,046 365 681 7,147 7,369 2,026 5,343
Public assistance
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 b 38 16 15 17 e 20 e 22 34 32 34 31
20–39 26 13 11 14 e 13 e 10 22 21 24 20
40–59 15 11 8 13 e 16 e 13 11 14 10 15
60–79 2 4 4 5 e 5 e 7 4 2 1 3
80 or more 18 55 62 51 e 46 e 49 30 31 31 31
50 or more 26 66 71 63 e 58 e 62 37 38 35 38
90 or more 16 54 60 50 e 42 e 44 30 29 28 30
100 16 49 55 45 e 33 e 35 29 26 26 26
Mean proportion 37 69 73 66 e 63 e 64 47 48 47 49
Number (thousands) 244 511 188 323 68 173 53 120 258 917 204 713
NOTE: Units with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.
a. Includes Social Security benefits, Railroad Retirement, government employee pensions, and private pensions or annuities.
b. Includes units with at least $1 but less then 1 percent of income from the specified source.
c. Includes retired-worker benefits, dependents' or survivors' benefits, disability benefits, transitionally insured benefits, and special age-72 benefits.
d. Includes federal, state, local, and military pensions.
e. Fewer than 75,000 weighted cases.
Top of page. Table of contents.
Relative Importance of Income Sources for Units 65 or Older with Income from Specified Source
Table 6.B3
Percentage distribution, by Social Security beneficiary status, marital status, and sex of nonmarried persons, 2004
Proportion of income Beneficiary a Nonbeneficiary
All units Married couples Nonmarried persons All units Married couples Nonmarried persons
Total Men Women Total Men Women
Retirement benefits b
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 c 4 7 2 3 2 9 13 6 10 3
20–39 8 11 6 8 6 10 14 6 7 5
40–59 9 12 8 9 7 10 13 8 11 7
60–79 12 14 10 11 10 9 8 9 12 7
80 or more 66 56 73 69 75 62 52 71 60 77
50 or more 83 76 88 84 89 76 66 85 78 89
90 or more 58 47 65 62 66 53 45 61 53 65
100 32 19 40 38 41 26 23 29 26 31
Mean proportion 80 74 85 82 86 75 68 82 75 85
Number (thousands) 23,662 9,650 14,012 3,717 10,295 700 323 378 136 242
Government employee pensions d
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 c 19 22 16 15 16 6 7 6 2 8
20–39 26 28 23 19 25 13 19 8 10 7
40–59 29 27 32 27 34 13 15 11 15 9
60–79 19 16 21 25 20 12 13 12 21 7
80 or more 7 7 7 14 4 56 47 62 53 68
50 or more 40 36 45 53 42 76 69 80 81 80
90 or more 2 2 2 4 1 44 39 48 43 51
100 0 0 0 0 0 16 19 14 11 15
Mean proportion 43 41 46 52 43 73 68 77 76 78
Number (thousands) 3,211 1,720 1,491 429 1,063 353 145 209 76 133
Private pensions or annuities
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 c 41 42 39 29 44 21 27 15 e 8
20–39 33 34 32 31 33 12 18 7 e 6
40–59 20 18 21 29 18 10 12 7 e 8
60–79 6 5 7 9 6 8 6 10 e 10
80 or more 1 1 1 1 0 49 37 60 e 68
50 or more 13 12 15 20 12 63 49 76 e 83
90 or more 0 0 0 0 0 42 29 54 e 60
100 0 0 0 0 0 30 19 40 e 39
Mean proportion 28 27 29 34 27 64 54 73 e 80
Number (thousands) 7,489 3,795 3,694 1,187 2,507 267 128 139 48 91
Earnings
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 c 24 25 23 21 24 5 4 5 7 4
20–39 19 19 21 20 21 3 4 3 2 4
40–59 24 24 24 22 24 7 11 3 7 1
60–79 23 22 26 28 25 9 11 7 7 6
80 or more 9 10 7 9 6 76 70 83 77 86
50 or more 44 45 44 48 42 88 86 91 89 93
90 or more 2 2 2 3 2 71 64 79 75 81
100 0 0 0 0 0 37 31 43 46 42
Mean proportion 44 44 44 47 43 86 84 89 86 91
Number (thousands) 5,081 3,310 1,771 568 1,203 1,057 579 478 178 300
Income from assets
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 c 77 77 77 75 77 66 69 63 60 64
20–39 13 14 13 13 13 8 6 9 11 8
40–59 5 5 6 7 5 6 8 5 7 4
60–79 3 3 3 3 4 3 2 3 3 3
80 or more 1 1 1 2 1 17 15 20 19 20
50 or more 7 6 7 8 7 23 20 25 23 25
90 or more 0 0 0 0 0 16 14 18 14 20
100 0 0 0 0 0 15 13 17 10 20
Mean proportion 13 13 13 14 13 27 24 29 29 29
Number (thousands) 13,390 6,620 6,770 1,840 4,930 1,126 527 599 186 412
Public assistance
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 c 47 53 46 48 46 4 10 2 e 0
20–39 31 32 30 34 30 4 9 1 e 0
40–59 19 14 20 14 21 3 7 2 e 2
60–79 2 1 2 0 3 4 7 3 e 3
80 or more 1 0 2 4 1 85 68 92 e 95
50 or more 9 7 10 8 10 90 75 96 e 99
90 or more 1 0 1 0 1 83 67 89 e 91
100 0 0 0 0 0 76 66 80 e 81
Mean proportion 25 21 26 25 26 91 79 95 e 97
Number (thousands) 764 144 620 134 485 412 115 298 70 228
NOTE: Units with zero total income or with negative total income, earnings, or income from assets are excluded.
a. Social Security beneficiaries may be receiving retired-worker benefits, dependents' or survivors' benefits, disability benefits, transitionally insured benefits, or special age-72 benefits.
b. Includes Social Security benefits, Railroad Retirement, government employee pensions, and private pensions or annuities.
c. Includes units with at least $1 but less than 1 percent of income from the specified source.
d. Includes federal, state, local, and military pensions.
e. Fewer than 75,000 weighted cases.
Top of page. Table of contents.
Relative Importance of Income Sources for Units 65 or Older with Income from Specified Source
Table 6.B4
Percentage distribution, by marital status, sex of nonmarried persons, race, and Hispanic origin, 2004
Proportion of income All units Married couples Nonmarried persons
Total Men Women
White alone Black alone Hispanic origin a White alone Black alone Hispanic origin a White alone Black alone Hispanic origin a White alone Black alone Hispanic origin a White alone Black alone Hispanic origin a
Retirement benefits b
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 c 4 3 3 7 8 5 2 2 2 4 3 3 2 1 1
20–39 8 7 8 11 15 10 7 5 7 8 5 11 6 5 5
40–59 10 8 8 12 10 9 8 7 7 9 7 5 8 6 8
60–79 12 10 10 14 11 13 11 9 8 12 10 6 10 9 9
80 or more 65 72 71 56 56 63 72 78 76 67 75 76 74 79 76
50 or more 82 86 86 76 73 79 87 91 89 83 88 84 89 92 92
90 or more 56 67 66 46 52 55 64 73 72 60 73 71 65 72 72
100 29 53 51 18 35 39 37 58 58 34 58 57 38 59 58
Mean proportion 80 84 84 74 73 79 84 88 87 81 87 85 85 89 88
Number (thousands) 21,262 2,223 1,361 9,009 561 507 12,253 1,662 854 3,247 462 255 9,006 1,199 599
Social Security d
Total percent 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
1–19 c 10 8 6 15 17 8 6 5 4 10 7 7 4 4 3
20–39 16 12 11 21 16 15 13 11 9 17 11 15 12 11 7
40–59 18 14 13 20 17 15 17 12 12 20 15 11 16 12 13
60–79 16 13 13 17 12 16 15 13 11 14 11 9 15 13 12
80 or more 40 54 57 27 38 46 49 59 63 39 56 59 53 61 65
50 or more 65 74 78 53 59 72 73 79 82 63 75 73 77 80 86
90 or more 32 49 51 20 32 39 41 54 58 32 52 53 44 55 60
100 19 40 43 10 24 31 26 45 49 22 44 45 28 46 51
Mean proportion 65 73 76