NCWO: 'Social Security Is Like Energizer Bunny'

10/31/2002

From: Katie O'Neill of the National Council of Women's Organizations, 202-785-5100

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 -- The Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR), a Washington-based independent public policy research organization, today released a briefing paper on the income sources of older Americans by gender and marital status. The report focuses on four major sources of income for persons aged 50 and older -- earnings, Social Security, pensions, and assets -- and shows that during retirement, Social Security is the most universal, the largest, and the longest-lasting source of income for both women and men.

"Social Security is like the 'Energizer Bunny.' It keeps on going...and growing," stated Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D., IWPR president and CEO. "Unlike other sources of income, which generally decline with age, Social Security increases in value as Americans grow older, especially for women."

The IWPR Research-In-Brief, "Social Security: The Largest Source of Income for Both Women and Men in Retirement," reports that earnings and pensions decline in value as Americans age, an impact felt especially by men. Authors Hartmann and Sunhwa Lee analyzed data from the 1999-2001 March Current Population Survey (CPS), collected by the Census Bureau.

According to the research, women aged 65-74 on average receive $6,890 per year from Social Security, whereas women 75 and older receive more than $8,000 on average. For this older group of women, Social Security accounts for nearly 60 percent of their total personal income, compared with 47 percent for women aged 65-74. As other sources of income are depleted as the years go by, the value of Social Security's safety net increases in importance for both men and women.

Social Security's importance to the elderly will grow in the future as Americans age. Currently, about 13 percent of the U.S. population is 65 or older, including six percent who are 75 or older. By 2050, more than 20 percent will be 65 and older, including nearly 12 percent of the population who will be 75 or older. The number of women 75 and older is expected to more than double by 2050, rising from 10 million in 2000 to nearly 27 million in 2050. The number of men 75 and older will triple, rising from about 6 million to about 19 million.

"Without Social Security, more than two-thirds of elderly unmarried women living alone would be poor today," added Hartmann. "Women depend on Social Security benefits that, unlike pensions and savings, are adjusted for inflation and cannot be outlived."

To read the Research-in-Brief, go to http://www.iwpr.org/.