On April 4, the Kaiser Family Foundation released a brief that examines the income and assets of current beneficiaries, in light of proposed structural changes to the Medicare program designed to reduce the federal deficit.  The brief found that half of Medicare beneficiaries had incomes below $21,000 in 2010, noting that median per capita income is higher for white beneficiaries than for black and Hispanic beneficiaries.

From the report:

As national attention turns to the federal deficit, some policymakers have proposed reforms to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security that could have significant implications for current and future generations of seniors and younger adults with disabilities. This data brief describes the income and assets of the current Medicare population, considers variations by race/ethnicity and other demographic characteristics, and examines the extent to which income and assets are likely to be higher for the next generation of beneficiaries.

Full report: Projecting Income and Assets: What Might the Future Hold for the Next Generation of Medicare Beneficiaries? (PDF |  565.88KB)

Kaiser Family Foundation.  (2011).  Projecting income and assets: what might the future hold for the next generation of Medicare beneficiaries?.