SOURCE: Data from the Social Security Administration, Income of the Population 55 or Older, 2010, March 2012. Compiled by PGPF.
NOTE: A quintile is one fifth of the distribution. (The lowest quintile is the 20% of the 65+ population with the lowest income.
Social Security provides benefits to retired and disabled workers, their spouses, and survivors. The benefits are progressive. The program currently accounts for 80 percent of income among people in the bottom 40 percent of the beneficiary population. Considering the importance of Social Security benefits to so many Americans, it is essential that any reforms to the program balance long-term solvency with the need to provide income security for the most vulnerable beneficiaries.
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Related Charts:
Social Security: Policy Options
Growing Social Security Deficits
Trends in the Composition of the Elderly Population
Composition of Spending 1965-2010
Social Security, Health Care, and Defense Spending 1965-2010
Peter G. Peterson Foundation Chart Pack:
The PGPF chart pack illustrates that budget-making involves many competing priorities, limited resources, and complex issues. In this set of charts, we aim to frame the financial condition and fiscal outlook of the U.S. government within a broad economic, political, and demographic context. Download (.PDF)