Economic Well-Being

This entry provides information on the economic circumstances of older Americans by looking at differences in both the economic well-being among older adults and differences in economic well-being between older adults and others. Traditionally, policymakers have been interested in the economic well-being of groups that are particularly vulnerable—those individuals in society that theoretically cannot improve their own economic well-being. In addition to children and the disabled, elderly adults usually fall into this category, mainly because it is assumed that they have little access to labor markets. Older adults are defined as those past the traditional retirement age of sixty-five, although there is an emerging body of work looking at the economic status of the "oldest old," usually defined as those over eighty-five.