Social Security is the most commonly received retirement-income source in the latest Federal Reserve survey: 78% of retirees reported receiving it in 2024, including 91% of retirees age 65 or older. That does not mean it supplied the largest share of every retiree’s income, or that most retirees rely on it alone. Social Security reaches broadly; IRA income depends on whether someone accumulated retirement-account assets and is drawing them down.
What “main source” means—and what the latest figures show
There are two different ways to describe a main income source: the source received by the most people, and the source that contributes the largest share of income. The Federal Reserve’s latest reported figures establish the first point. Its 2024 survey found Social Security was the most common source among people who described themselves as retired. The survey asked about income received in the prior 12 months, allowed multiple answers, and included income from a spouse or partner. Federal Reserve, Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2024 (May 2025).
The percentages below are receipt rates, not the portion of income each source supplied. “All retirees” also includes some people younger than 65; the age-65-and-older figure is a separate population.
| Federal Reserve measure | Share reporting the source | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| All retirees reporting Social Security income in 2024 | 78% | Social Security reached more than three-quarters of respondents who said they were retired. |
| Retirees age 65 or older reporting Social Security income in 2024 | 91% | Receipt was still more common among retirees in the age group most associated with retirement. |
| Retirees reporting at least one source of private income in 2024 | 81% | Social Security commonly coexisted with private income; respondents could report more than one source. |
The Federal Reserve’s private-income categories included pensions (56%), interest, dividends or rental income (50%), and labor income (32%). Those categories are not IRA-only measures: pensions cover more than individual retirement accounts, and income from investments or property is broader than IRA distributions.
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Why Social Security reaches more retirees than IRA income
It is a broadly distributed public benefit
Social Security is not an account that a worker must build up to a particular balance before receiving retirement income. Eligibility and benefit amounts are governed by program rules and a person’s covered earnings record. That makes it a common income source across retirees, while access to meaningful private-account withdrawals depends on work history, contributions, investment outcomes, and whether assets remain when retirement begins.
It pays a lifetime, inflation-indexed benefit
The Social Security Administration describes the program as “a social insurance program that provides an inflation-indexed lifetime annuity to aged beneficiaries.” In practical terms, an eligible beneficiary receives a recurring benefit for life, with adjustments for inflation under program rules. An IRA, by contrast, is an individual account: its owner or beneficiary decides how and when to take distributions, and withdrawals draw on accumulated assets. Social Security Administration, Social Security Bulletin (2017).
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Private retirement assets are not evenly distributed
Some retirees have substantial pension, account, investment, or rental income; others have little or none. Census reporting finds that pension and retirement-account income, property income, and earnings generally become more prevalent higher in the older-household income distribution. Therefore, a national average or overall receipt rate cannot describe every retiree’s circumstances. U.S. Census Bureau, older-household income analysis (2022).
Social Security can be the most common source without being the only one
The Federal Reserve found that 81% of retirees reported at least one private-income source in 2024, even as Social Security remained the most common source overall. The survey’s categories show why a simple Social Security-versus-IRA framing misses much of the picture: retirees may also receive a pension, investment or rental income, or earnings. A household’s reported income can include a spouse’s or partner’s source as well.
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Household income-share analysis provides a different perspective. The Census Bureau reported that Social Security made up just over half of total income for households with a householder age 65 or older, while pension and retirement-account income together made up 17.2%. Those estimates use 2018 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) data about 2017 income. The combined pension-and-account category does not isolate IRAs, and its population, year, and measure differ from the Federal Reserve’s 2024 receipt rates. U.S. Census Bureau, older-household income analysis (2022).
An earlier Social Security Administration analysis found that half of people age 65 or older lived in households receiving at least 50% of family income from Social Security, and about one-quarter lived in households receiving at least 90%. These estimates draw on older CPS, SIPP, and Health and Retirement Study data; they illustrate how important Social Security can be for some households, not a current-year estimate for every retiree. Social Security Administration, Social Security Bulletin (2017).
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Why comparisons with IRA income need care
- Receipt is not income share. A survey showing how many retirees received Social Security or private income does not show what fraction of their total income came from each source.
- The populations differ. All self-described retirees, retirees age 65 or older, people age 65 or older, and households with a householder age 65 or older are not interchangeable groups.
- The categories are broader than IRAs. Federal Reserve pension income and Census pension-and-retirement-account income do not provide a directly comparable IRA-distribution figure in the cited summaries.
- Survey methods affect account-income estimates. The Social Security Administration noted concerns that some CPS estimates understated distributions from IRAs and defined-contribution plans, particularly for lower-income respondents. The Census Bureau changed CPS income questions in 2015; this is a caution about those survey measures, not proof that every dataset undercounts account income.
Newer Census materials do not resolve the IRA-specific comparison in the same terms. A Census analysis based on SIPP data for 2021–2022 says social insurance supplied half of income on average for adults age 65–74, with Social Security the primary component of that category. Social insurance is broader than Social Security alone, and the measure is not an IRA-specific comparison. Census released 2024 SIPP data in July 2025, but its release page does not provide a directly comparable current Social Security-versus-IRA income-share figure. U.S. Census Bureau, SIPP income-share tool description (2025); U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 SIPP data release.
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Retirement income is not distributed evenly, so overall averages can obscure who has access to private retirement income. In a Census Bureau analysis of older adults in 2021, 14% of those in poverty lived in households receiving retirement income, compared with 64% of older adults not in poverty. This is a household receipt comparison for people grouped by poverty status, not a statement that all retirees in either group have the same income mix. U.S. Census Bureau, older adults and poverty analysis (2024).
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The broad pattern is that Social Security is common because it is a public retirement benefit received by a large share of older retirees, while private account income depends on accumulated assets and withdrawals. It is reasonable to say Social Security is the most widely received retirement-income source; determining which source supplies the largest share for a particular person or population requires an income-share measure with a clearly defined group, year, and category.
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