Aging Quiz – Answer 19
Most older adults have incomes well below the poverty level
Answer: False – The majority of older adults have incomes above the poverty level. However, this is somewhat deceptive, as the Federal Poverty Line is lower for individuals 65 and older than for those under 65. Currently, we have the wealthiest and the poorest older adult populations in U.S. history.
For more information about demographics in the United States, visit the Administration on Aging’s Profile of Older Americans website. Median income per month in 2006:
Men: $1958
Women: $1134
The figures above represent the median incomes per month for indivuals 65 or older based on gender. The median means that 50 percent of the individuals in each category have less than the median income per month. For example, over half of older women had an income of less than $1134 per month in 2006.
From the Profile of Older Americans:
Poverty
One of every fourteen (7.0%) elderly Whites was poor in 2006, compared to 22.7% of elderly African-Americans, 12.0% of Asians, and 19.4% of elderly Hispanics.
. Older women had a higher poverty rate (11.5%) than older men (6.6%) in 2006. Older persons living alone were much more likely to be poor (16.9%) than were older persons living with families (5.6%). The highest poverty rates were experienced among Hispanic women (40.5%) who lived alone and also by older Black women (37.5%) who lived alone.