Figure 21
Low-income seniors are almost entirely reliant on Social Security, whereas earnings matter most for high-income seniors: Mean annual income of people age 65 and older by source and by family income quintile, 2014
| Quintile | Earnings | Social Security | Public pensions | Private pensions | 401(k)s, IRAs, etc. | Asset income | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | $10,119 | $12,232 | $2,840 | $3,131 | $966 | $4,019 | $1,590 | $34,897 |
| 1st (Bottom) | $296 | $8,229 | $113 | $200 | $54 | $265 | $799 | $9,956 |
| 2nd (Lower-middle) | $1,376 | $12,969 | $743 | $1,245 | $195 | $865 | $820 | $18,213 |
| 3rd (Middle) | $3,820 | $13,675 | $1,755 | $3,067 | $583 | $1,764 | $1,381 | $26,045 |
| 4th (Upper-middle) | $9,621 | $13,514 | $4,299 | $4,475 | $1,078 | $3,528 | $2,256 | $38,771 |
| 5th (Top) | $35,500 | $12,772 | $7,292 | $6,668 | $2,921 | $13,680 | $2,697 | $81,529 |
Note: Scale changed to accommodate larger values. See box in text defining income sources.
Source: EPI analysis of U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement microdata.
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