How Wealthy Are Recipients of Social Security Payments?

Almost 60 percent of people receiving Social Security payments have an annual income of less than $10,000 US Dollars (USD), which is almost $5,000 USD less than the poverty threshold for a two-person household. In fact, only about 10 percent of Social Security payments go to those who make $40,000 USD a year or more, and only 2 percent of Social Security payments go to people who have an income of $100,000 USD or more a year

More facts about Social Security payments:

• Even the top Social Security payments aren't so much — the top payments are a little more than $2,000 USD a month, and only 5 percent of retirees collect $2,000 USD or more a month.


• The average savings of adults over the age of 50 in the U.S. is $2,500 USD. More than 60 percent of retirees retire with less than $25,000 USD in assets, and they depend on Social Security payments or their friends and relatives for money.


• Women tend to save less for retirement than men. More than one-third of women younger than 40 years old withdraw 10-30 percent of their savings annually, leaving them prone to outliving their money.