Transfer payments (largely from government programs), and property income (dividends, interest, and rent), have become large sources of income and are particularly important to the elderly. According to the new Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), these sources provided about a quarter of total income in the early 1980s. Nationally, households with an elderly head receive nearly half of the income from transfers and property, although such households form only 21 percent of total income can have an important impact on nonmetro areas that can attract migrating elderly. It also can be important in nonmetro areas where the elderly form a large share of the population because of outmigration of younger people.

Others in Series

Working Paper

Recent Developments in the Survey of Income and Program Participation

April 1990

Since October 1983, the SIPP has provided both cross-sectional and longitudinal data broadly applicable to analysis of various aspects of economic well-being.

Working Paper

The Effect of the Marriage Market on First Marriages

June 1990

The rise in the number of female-headed families in the U.S. has generated interest in the effects of the AFDC.

Working Paper

Alternative Estimates of Economic Well-Being by Age

March 1990

This paper examines the use of income-wealth measures for the analysis of the distribution of economic well-being for age groups in the current period.

Related Information

Survey of Income and Program Participation Working Papers

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