Income of the Population Aged 65 and Older: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS)

Congress has expressed interest in improving retirement income security for older Americans. Median household income (which lies at the middle of the household income distribution) for individuals ages 65 and older (or aged individuals) was $55,000 in 2019. However, one-fifth of individuals ages 65 and older had household incomes of less than $24,132, and one-fifth had household incomes of $116,252 or more. Household income for the married, which includes partnered households, is the sum of income from each spouse in the household; household income for single persons (i.e., those widowed, divorced or separated, and never married) is their personal income.

Older Americans receive income from public programs such as Social Security (formally known as Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, or OASDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), earnings, pensions and retirement savings, asset income, and others. This report addresses the number and proportion of aged individuals who received household income from each source and the amount received, using the 2020 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) linked with administrative data from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Income reflects the annual amount received in 2019.

Social Security was the most common source of income among the aged in 2019. Approximately 92% of individuals ages 65 and older received household income from Social Security. The median annual household Social Security benefit amount was $24,115. Social Security was the largest single-source of income among the aged, representing approximately 29.5% of aggregate income for individuals ages 65 and older in 2019. Social Security accounted for about 83% of aggregate income for aged individuals in the bottom 20% of the household income distribution, compared to 12% of aggregate income for aged individuals in the top 20% of the household income distribution.