Full Citation

Title: The Rise of Young Adult Poverty in the U.S.

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2019

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Abstract: The U.S. social safety net helps to lift millions of people out of poverty through programs like the Earned Income Tax Credit, Social Security, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. These programs target benefits to individuals and families using factors like income (means-testing), parenthood, and employment status. For many anti-poverty programs, age is also an important factor for eligibility – either implicitly or explicitly. The Social Security Retirement Insurance Benefit program is explicitly designed around senior income security. Likewise, the Earned Income Tax Credit focuses expenditures on families with children – implicitly deprioritizing many working-age adults who have not yet had children. We accept that a social safety net is necessary for the youngest and the oldest in our society because, historically, poverty has been highest among these groups – those not in the workforce and most vulnerable. But the shape of poverty in this country has changed: what if the social safety net is missing a key age group?

Url: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/centers/bifya/our-research-and-projects/young-adults-in-poverty

User Submitted?: Yes

Authors: Hawkins, James

Publisher: Berkeley Institute for the Future of Young Americans

Data Collections: IPUMS CPS

Topics: Aging and Retirement, Poverty and Welfare

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