I was curious how many retired people currently receive a pension. I found data on the census that indicates the income sources for people at various ages. Looking at the age group of people who are over 65 is close to the same as looking at retired people.
Here is a graph showing the % of people over 65 receiving income from certain sources:
The answer to my question is that roughly 31% of current retired people receive pension income.
Note that this is for all people over age 65 and it isn't saying anything about how much income people get from these sources. So whether you make $10 in interest from your savings account or $100,000 from dividends from your stocks you'll be counted among the 55% of people receiving property income. Pension income covers a few categories including : company pensions, government pensions, military pensions, railroad pensions as well as annuity income. Property income includes interest payments, dividends and rental income. Wages and social security are straight forward. Another 3% of the population over 65 has self employment income.
Here is the full list for people over age 65 giving the number of people receiving each kind of income:
| Total | 36,506 |
| Earnings | 7,611 |
| Wages and Salary | 6,525 |
| Nonfarm Self-Employment | 1,109 |
| Farm Self-Employment | 252 |
| Social Security | 32,406 |
| SSI (Supplemental Security Income) | 1,139 |
| Public Assistance | 63 |
| Veterans Benefits | 1,070 |
| Survivor Benefits | 1,939 |
| Disability Benefits | 192 |
| Unemployment Compensation | 297 |
| Workers Compensation | 147 |
| Property Income | 20,192 |
| Interest | 19,213 |
| Dividends | 6,577 |
| Rents, Royalties, Estates or Trusts | 2,621 |
| Retirement Income | 13,198 |
| Company or Union Retirement | 8,326 |
| Federal Government Retirement | 1,172 |
| Military Retirement | 537 |
| State or Local Government Retirement | 2,656 |
| Railroad Retirement | 194 |
| Annuities | 315 |
| IRA, Keogh, or 401(K) | 334 |
| Other or Don't Know | 381 |
| Pension Income | 11,424 |
| Company or Union Retirement | 7,417 |
| Federal Government Retirement | 956 |
| Military Retirement | 408 |
| State or Local Government Retirement | 2,421 |
| Railroad Retirement | 140 |
| Annuities | 149 |
| Alimony | 57 |
| Child Support | 38 |
| Educational Assistance | 27 |
| Financial Assistance from Outside the | 189 |
| Household | |
| Other Income, N.E.C. | 203 |
And here is a list of combinations of income:
| Earnings & Social Security | 34,629 |
| Earnings, Social Security, or | 35,556 |
| Other Retirement | |
| Social Security or Railroad Retirement | 32,539 |
| Social Security or Other Retirement | 33,594 |
| Income or Both | |
| Government Transfer Payments | 33,775 |
| Public Assistance or SSI or Both | 1,191 |
| Social Security, Public Assistance, | 32,962 |
| or SSI or Both | |
| Retirement, SSI or Public Assistance | 14,309 |
| or Both |
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