AARP: Policy and Research Information for Professionals in Aging

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Income Distribution

State Handbook of Economic, Demographic, and Fiscal Indicators 2008  / Research Report
April 2008— Up-to-date state-level data on population, poverty rates, per capita state personal income, state tax rates, property tax relief programs, and state and local government revenues and spending programs are provided in this seventh edition of AARP Public Policy Institute’s easy-to-use, biennial reference book by David Baer. (462 pages) (Publication ID: D19014)

Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States  / Research Report
March 2008— Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current population Surveys, this series of annual AARP Public Policy Institute Fact Sheets by Ke Bin Wu has been reporting the income, poverty and health Insurance status of Americans of all ages since 1995.

Understanding Women's Financial Needs & Behavior  / Research Report
January 2007— Women influence over half of family investments and control 60 percent of the nation’s wealth. This December 2006 AARP telephone survey of 2,017 women ages 18 to 65+ reveals the factors that influence women’s behavior and decision-making – and the information and assistance they need – when dealing with financial questions and situations. (5 pages)

Sources of Income for Older Persons in 2004  / Research Report
November 2006— The extent to which age 65+ Americans derive their retirement income from Social Security, pensions and personal savings, and earnings is analyzed in this AARP Public Policy Institute Data Digest by Ke Bin Wu. The distribution of each income source is delineated by gender, race and personal income level. (6 pages) (Publication ID: DD148)

Losing Ground: Has The Economic Expansion Helped Or Hurt Older Americans?  / Research Report
September 2006— The recent economic recovery has been the least robust of any since World War Two, and has resulted in lower real incomes and greater income inequality for Americans age 50 and older, according to this AARP Public Policy Institute Data Digest by John Gist. (7 pages) (Publication ID: DD147)

Income and Poverty of Older Americans (Chartbooks)  / Research Report
August 2006— Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent Current Population Survey of American households, this AARP Public Policy Institute chartbook by Kebin Wu provides detailed data on poverty and the distribution of income among older persons, families, and households in terms of gender, marital status, and living arrangement.

Sources of Income for Older Persons in 2002  / Research Report
November 2004— The sources from which age 65+ Americans derive their income are analyzed by Ke Bin Wu in this AARP Public Policy Institute Data Digest which reports the distribution of each income source by gender, race and personal income level among the older population. The data are from the U.S. Bureau of the Census's March Current Population Survey 2003. (6 pages) (Publication ID: DD104)

Hispanics 65 and Older: Sources of Retirement Income  / Research Report
November 2004— How age 65+ Hispanics’ income sources compare to that of other older Americans is examined in this AARP Public Policy Institute Fact Sheet by Laurel Beedon and Ke Bin Wu who find that they have fewer retirement income sources and twice the poverty rate of others in the same cohort, and that Social Security is relied upon by older Hispanics far more than by retirees as a whole. (2 pages) (Publication ID: FS101)

The Distribution of Financial Wealth Among Boomers  / Research Report
July 2004— State and local governments will have to follow new accounting standards for their retiree health benefits. This AARP Public Policy Institute Issue Paper by Stan Wisniewski and Lorel Wisniewski of Workplace Economics, Inc. provides an overview of retiree health benefits for state-government workers (including state-level descriptions) and discusses the possible effects of the new standards. (105 pages) (Publication ID: DD99)

The Inequality of Financial Wealth Among Boomers  / Research Report
July 2004— The inequality of baby boomer wealth is examined in this AARP Public Policy Institute Data Digest by John Gist and Ke Bin Wu. The report found that boomer wealth is more concentrated now than it was in the late 1980s. (8 pages) (Publication ID: DD100)

How Will Recent Patterns of Earnings Inequality Affect Future Retirement Incomes?  / Research Report
May 2003— The increasingly unequal distribution of family income during the past three decades could affect the income of retirees over the next four decades. In this AARP Public Institute Issue Paper, Karen Smith of the Urban Institute uses the Dynamic Simulation Income Model (DYNASIM3) to analyze the impact of these income patterns. (65 pages) (Publication ID: 2003-06)

Who Are The Long-Term Poor?  / Research Report
December 2000— Findings from a study of the poverty experience of older persons over a five-year period are reported in this AARP Public Policy Institute Data Digest by Ke Bin Wu. (4 pages) (Publication ID: DD53)

Distributional Effects of the Social Security Earnings Limit  / Research Report
November 2000— Do earnings limits penalize low-income workers who need to continue working? To find out, Alison Shelton examined Current Population Survey data from 1996 to 1998 and reports the results this AARP Public Policy Institute Data Digest. (4 pages) (Publication ID: DD55)

Wealth Distribution in 1998: Findings from the Survey of Consumer Finances  / Research Report
April 2000— A brief summary of the similarly titled AARP Public Policy Institute Issue Paper assessing policy implications of the impact of printed direct-to-consumer advertising as a source of consumer information about prescription medications. (2 pages) (Publication ID: DD44)

Income Growth and Inequality Among Aged and Nonaged Cohorts, 1975-96  / Research Report
January 2000— This AARP Public Policy Insitute Issue Paper by John Gist and Ke Bin Wu of the AARP Public Policy Institute investigates the trends in income inequality among aged (over age 65) and nonaged (under 65) families over two decades, and attempts to identify the sources of those trends and whether inequality increases over time, over the life cycle, or both. (33 pages) (Publication ID: 2000-01)

Sources of Income For Older Persons in 1995  / Research Report
February 1998— This AARP Public Policy Institute Data Digest written by Ke Bin Wu describes sources of income for older persons in 1995. (6 pages) (Publication ID: DD32)

The Changing Retirement Prospects of American Families: Impact of Labor Market Shifts on Economic Outcomes  / Research Report
January 1998— This AARP Public Policy Institute study by Stephen Crystal and Richard Johnson of Rutgers University, explores and compares the differences over time in the economic well-being of the early baby boom cohorts (born between 1944 and 1953) with the experiences of age cohorts born between 1923 and 1937. (42 pages) (Publication ID: 9801)