Sources of Income for Older Adults
Today’s older adults typically have a number of sources of income. For most, the primary source of income is Social Security. Other sources are income from investments and other assets, pensions and other retirement plans, earnings from work and, for a small percentage, public assistance programs and veterans benefits.
In 2015, nearly nine out of ten people 65 and older received Social Security benefits. More than half received income from assets, such as stocks, bonds, and real estate, while nearly one-third received a regular payment from a pension or retirement savings plan. One out of five received income from earnings.
|
||
|
Source of income |
||
|
85% |
84% |
|
|
65 |
62 |
|
|
31 |
37 |
|
|
24 |
29 |
|
|
3 |
4 |
|
|
Veterans’ benefits |
4 |
5 |
|
No income (less than $2,500) |
2 |
N/A |
For More Statistics on the Income of Older Adults:
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Did You Know?
A joint-and-survivor annuity is an annuity that pays a monthly benefit over the lives of the participant and his or her surviving spouse. This is the default form of benefit for married participants in most defined benefit pension plans. Because it lasts for the life of both the worker and the spouse, a joint-and-survivor annuity typically results in a lower monthly benefit payment than a single-life annuity.
