Age at Immigration and the Incomes of Older Immigrants, 1994 to 2010

Abstract

Immigrants who enter the United States later in life comprise a growing share of legal permanent resident admissions. Due to their short working lives in the US and barriers to obtaining earned and means-tested public benefits since 1996, late-age immigrants may be at significant economic disadvantage relative to their counterparts who immigrate at younger ages. Using data on immigrants aged 65 and above from the 1994 to 2010 Current Population Surveys, we show that late-age immigration is associated with significantly lower personal incomes and lower participation in Social Security and Medicare, both of which have minimal work requirements. Entry at an older age is also associated with higher rates of participation in means-tested benefit programs, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid. For older immigrants, entry after the 1996 welfare reform law is associated with lower personal incomes and lower rates of receipt of SSI and Medicaid; however, we find only modest differences between pre- and post 1996 entrants in the relationship between age at entry and economic outcomes in older age.