SPMFAMUNIT_19RYALT is an 8-digit numeric variable.

Description

SPMFAMUNIT_19RYALT identifies the family units used to calculate the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM).

This variable is an alternative version of SPMFAMUNIT that was re-released for the 2020 ASEC which reflects methodological changes first introduced with the 2021 CPS ASEC sample. For more information, see our documentation on the re-release of the 2019 SPM research file in the 2020 ASEC that describes methodological improvements that impact SPM resource and threshold variables. The SPM reference year is the calendar year to which the income, taxes, transfers, expenses, and poverty thresholds apply.

SPM family units can differ from official poverty units in several ways, including: treating cohabiting partners as members of the same family; treating foster children under age 22 and children under 15 with no identifiable relatives in the household as members of the householder's family; and combining all individuals unrelated to the household head, but who related to one another in the same family unit regardless of the age or marital status.

To identify which SPM family units differ from the family units used to measure official poverty status, see SPMNEWFAM_19RYALT.

For more information on the construction of families used in the SPM, see the Census Bureau's "Unit of Analysis for Poverty Measurement: A Comparison of the Supplemental Poverty Measure and the Official Poverty Measure" report.

Comparability

This variable is comparable over time.

Universe

Flags

Unharmonized Variables