Four Decades of Senior Income Growth: A 2023 Update

Abstract: In an earlier paper, we documented a remarkable increase in senior citizens’ household incomes from 1982 to 2018. These gains occurred in absolute terms and relative to non-senior households. They were also broad-based, occurring across the senior income distribution, household type, and education level. This paper serves as an addendum to our earlier work. Newly released data from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) allow us to supplement these earlier findings with newer income and asset estimates. The results show that the income growth among seniors continued through 2021. This includes a large increase in reported investment income as well as further increases in labor earnings among seniors.

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