ABSTRACTWe discuss the special problems associated with efforts to measure poverty among the elderly. Income measures must be adjusted for a variety of non‐income sources of well‐being such as net worth, human capital, and in‐kind, transfers. While such adjustments are needed, efforts to date are problematic to the extent that new sources of error are introduced. A close analysis of official government measures of poverty reveals that they reflect a variety of political assumptions and compromises. Examination of the eligibility criteria associated with various government social programs for the elderly reveal implicit poverty lines that differ from the official poverty lines. The importance of these operational poverty lines cannot be overesti