MANCHESTER, NH – More than one-quarter of Americans age 65 and older who live in poverty in the United States rely on Social Security as the sole source of income, according to a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Census bureau analysis found that 28% of all Americans 65 and over rely on Social Security benefits as their only income. Of those who have other sources of income, Social Security counts for an average 63.9% of income for people who live below the poverty threshold. It accounts for an average 45.3% of income for those who live above it.
Social Security is considered the largest antipoverty program in the country, moving 28.9 million people out of poverty in 2022, according to government statistics.
“While Social Security helps lift a large number of people age 65 and over out of poverty, many Social Security recipients remain poor,” the report says.
Some 4.7 million Americans 65 and older, 8% of the U.S. population, lived in poverty in 2021, the most recent year statistics were available for. The report didn’t break the numbers down by states, but New Hampshire’s poverty rate for residents 65 and over is 7.3%, a figure that’s remained steady for the past few years.
The Census bureau uses a formula to determine the poverty threshold that includes pre-tax income, not including government benefits. In 2021 the poverty threshold was $12,996 for a person over 65 living alone. In 2024, it’s $14,614. The poverty threshold for someone age 18-24 living alone was $14,097 in 2021 and $15,852 in 2024.
The analysis found that some of the country’s poorest older Americans don’t receive Social Security at all, mostly because they don’t have a qualifying work history [Social Security is deducted from wages and determines the amount a person will receive]. While 91.3% of older Americans above the poverty threshold receive Social Security, only 69.7% of those below the threshold do.
More than half of Americans over 65 who don’t receive Social Security benefits – 54.3% – live below the poverty threshold.
“The data show that while those living in poverty were less likely to receive Social Security, it remained a particularly important income source for the households that did receive it,” it says.
Aside from Social Security, other sources of income for the 65-and-over age group were property income [including interest, dividends, rents, royalties], received by 67% of those not in poverty, compared to 24% of those in poverty; non-Social Security retirement (64.3% vs. 14.2%); earnings (41.1% vs. 8.6%); supplemental security, other government benefits, and survivor income
The report also found that while Social Security helps lift older Americans out of poverty, it often isn’t enough.
“The Census Bureau previously found that roughly half of older adults receiving needs-based assistance received more than one type, indicating that Social Security benefits are not a sufficient safety net for people who have to piece together income from multiple sources to make ends meet,” it says.
Among other benefits Americans 65 and older receive, 44% of those in poverty and 8% of those not in poverty live in households that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits; and 20% of those in poverty and 5% not in poverty live in households that received forms of food assistance other than SNAP.
Living alone and elder poverty seem to go hand-in-hand – of the Americans 65 and over who live in poverty, 62.9% live alone, the analysis found. It points out that “a variety of factors from personal preferences and life experiences to the financial burden of living alone may influence older adults’ living arrangements.”
Only 24% of those 65 and older who live in poverty are married, while 59% of Americans that age who do not live in poverty are. “This may be because some financial programs, tax benefits and other nontax benefits are not available to unmarried individuals, including those who are never married, divorced or widowed,” the report says.
The report also found that 64.9% of people 65 and over who live in poverty are women.
Some 17.3% are Black, compared to 8.7% of the older population who don’t live in poverty; 19.9% are Hispanic, compared to the 8.2%. “These findings reflect the way in which lifetime earnings differences by race and ethnicity may manifest itself in economic challenges later in life,” the report says.