Aged women OASDI beneficiaries: income and characteristics, 1971

This article examines selected benefit characteristics--primary insurance amount, entitlement status, and actuarial reduction--of women aged 62 and over and the relationship between these characteristics and the receipt of income from other sources and the size of total income in 1971. Special attention is given to age variations in beneficiary and income factors and to the comparatively disadvantageous economic situation of the oldest cohorts of aged beneficiary women. A major conclusion is that the lower incomes of the oldest cohorts were largely due to the fact that OASDI cash benefits are not adjusted to reflect rising wage levels after retirement or to steady increases in the taxable maximum.