Studies have indicated government transfers greatly alleviate poverty among older Americans. Yet recent social policy changes were suggested to increase older Americans’ fiscal insecurity. New evidence is needed to expand the evaluation of government transfers. Longitudinal Health and Retirement Study data from 2002 to 2014 were used. We computed individuals’ poverty status both when household income included and did not include government transfers. Results indicated the poverty rate dropped dramatically when household income included government transfers. The poverty alleviation effect was significantly greater among people who were female, older, members of a minority group, having fewer years of education, residing in the South, and living in a bigger household. Evidence from this study solidified the overall poverty alleviation effect of government transfers in old age. Differential effects among various demographic groups could be attributed to their initial status and divergent political beliefs about who should receive government transfers.

中文翻译：

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2002 年至 2014 年美国政府转移支付与老年人的扶贫

研究表明，政府转移支付大大减轻了美国老年人的贫困。然而，最近的社会政策变化被认为会增加美国老年人的财政不安全感。需要新的证据来扩大对政府转移支付的评估。使用了 2002 年至 2014 年的纵向健康和退休研究数据。我们计算了家庭收入包括和不包括政府转移支付的个人贫困状况。结果表明，当家庭收入包括政府转移支付时，贫困率急剧下降。在女性、年龄较大、少数民族成员、受教育年限较少、居住在南方、居住在较大家庭中的人群中，脱贫效果显着更大。这项研究的证据巩固了政府转移支付在老年时的整体扶贫效果。不同人口群体之间的不同影响可归因于他们的初始地位和关于谁应该接受政府转移支付的不同政治信念。