The most vulnerable groups were singles, households with no
pensions, African-Americans and Hispanics. “Those with an income
shortfall are far more likely to be low-income, low-asset
households, and they spend down their liquid assets at a far
faster rate than households that do not have an income
shortfall,” Sudipto Banerjee, EBRI research associate and author
of the report, said in a statement. The report showed that
social security remains the primary source of income for all
adults over the age of 65. In 2009, households ages 65 – 74 and
households with members over 85 received 54% and 66% of their
total household incomes, respectively, from social security.
According to the report, elderly Americans rely more on social
security as they age. For households that had members ages 65 –
69 in 2001, the share of household income derived from social
security rose from 47% in 2001 to almost 60% in 2009.