The persistence of hardship over the life course

The economic well-being of the elderly, as measured by the poverty rate, has improved dramatically over the past 40 years. The poverty rate for the elderly was 35.2 percent in 1959, but was only 10.2 percent in 2000--considerably lower than that for children. The main source for the improvement in economic well-being of the elderly is the increase in Social Security benefit levels over the years. The average real monthly Social Security retired worker benefit for men in 1960 was $400 (1999 dollars) and by 1999 it had grown to $934. Another source of this improvement has been increased pension coverage.