Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, Vol 54, Issue 4 S184-S193, Copyright © 1999 by The Gerontological Society of America

ARTICLES

Estimating the proportion of americans ever experiencing poverty during their elderly years

MR Rank and T Hirschl
George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri

OBJECTIVES: This study estimates the age-specific and cumulative proportions of American adults who will experience poverty at some point during their elderly years. These life-span proportions represent a substantially different approach to understanding poverty than calculating either yearly cross-sectional or poverty spell durations. METHODS: Our estimations are derived through a series of life tables built upon 25 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). RESULTS: The analyses indicate that 40% of America's elderly population will experience a year below the poverty line at some point between the ages of 60 and 90, and 48% of elders will experience poverty at the 125% level. The data further reveal that this life-span risk of poverty has remained relatively stable through the period of data collection (1968-1992). Finally, the likelihood of elderly Americans ever encountering a year below the poverty line increases dramatically for those who are Black, not married, and/or who have less than 12 years of education. DISCUSSION: Our results suggest that in spite of relatively low cross-sectional rates of elderly poverty in America, the likelihood of impoverishment at some point during the later years of life remains a very real possibility.

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				M. R. RANK The Effect of Poverty on America's Families: Assessing Our Research Knowledge Journal of Family Issues, October 1, 2001; 22(7): 882 - 903. [Abstract] [PDF]