Last week the US Census Bureau released data that showed more people in America living below poverty levels in 2009 which has reached its highest level since 1994. The economic downturn of the last few years has trimmed median household income levels that showed a 4.8% decrease between 2000 and 2009. Income levels between 2007 and 2009 showed the sharpest decline at 4.2% to $49,777 in 2009.
When looking at data for age distribution, the 65+ crowd is fairing better than younger Americans and saw their income increase 5.8% from 2008 to 2009. The statistical increase can be attributed to more workers receiving Social Security for a median income in 2009 of $31,354. Based upon the data from 2008, the number of elderly people in poverty would be higher by 13 million people if Social Security payments were excluded from money income, more than quadrupling the number of elderly people in poverty.
