The Administration on Aging (AoA) released "A Profile of Older Americans 2000," the annual report about the status of America's older population. The report includes the latest key federal statistics on older Americans in 12 subject areas, including information on income levels, poverty, size and growth, health status, racial and ethnic composition, education, employment, housing, living arrangements, geographic distribution and marital status. "One of the highlights of this report is the notable drop in poverty rates among older adults.

Noteworthy information in the report includes:

• The older population (65+) numbered 34.5 million in 1999.
• About one in every eight, or 12.7 percent, of the population is an older American.
• Almost 2.0 million persons celebrated their 65th birthday in 1999 (5,422 per day).
• Older women outnumber older men at 20.2 million older women to 14.3 million older men.
• About 31 percent (9.9 million) noninstitutionalized older persons live alone (7.6 million women, 2.3 million men).
• Three of every five older women age 85+ live alone.
• By the year 2030, the older population will more than double to about 70 million.
• The 85+ population is projected to increase from 4 million in 1998 to 8.9 million in 2030.
• Members of minority groups are projected to represent 25 percent of the older population in 2030, up from 16 percent in 1999.

The median income of older persons in 1999 was $19,079 for males and $10,943 for females. After adjusting for inflation, these figures represent an increase of +1.9 percent in "real" income from 1998 for women and +2.8 percent for men.

The Social Security Administration reported that the major sources of income for older people was:

• Social Security (reported by 90 percent of older persons),
• Income from assets (reported by 62 percent),
• Public and private pensions (reported by 44 percent), and
• Earnings (reported by 21 percent).

Older people and lack of independence: (2002)