Social Security – formally called Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) – is a social insurance program that provides benefits to workers and their families upon retirement, disability, or death.

Social Security provides monthly benefits to qualified retired and disabled workers, their family members, and survivors of deceased workers

This Briefing Paper examines major sources of income for older Americans—earnings, Social Security, pensions and assets—by gender and marital status.

Since the 1996 welfare reform legislation, government support programs for low-income families have emphasized “work-first” strategies, viewing employment as the primary route to self-sufficiency.

Social Security is a crucial source of income for Texas’s seniors, and especially so for women. Fewer women than men have pension income. The majority of Texas’s senior women live alone. Many seniors in Texas continue to work for pay. Women are more likely than men to be poor or disabled. Older African American and Hispanic women are the most likely to be poor and the least likely to have income from assets such as savings accounts or stocks and bonds.

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Social Security is a crucial source of income for Georgia’s seniors, and especially so for women.

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) conducts rigorous research and disseminates its findings to address the needs of women, promote public dialogue, and strengthen families, communities, and societies.

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Social Security is a crucial source of income for Pennsylvania’s seniors, and especially so for women.