Research was done in a group of 84 clients of social assistance, aged 55 years and more, receiving permanent supplementary benefits. It took place in a central district of Lodz and two towns: Zgierz and Zyrardow. Cummulation of the following features was recorded in the researched population: unsatisfactory level of meeting basic needs, low social status, minimal participation in processes of intergenerational social advancement, total dependance upon public social assistance, poor health condition, vocational passiveness, narrow scope of social contacts. There was a difference of ’’paths to poverty” between men and women. The majority of women lived in poverty in earlier stages of their lives whereas men became poor when they grew older and their health condition worsened. The ways in which the researched adjusted to living in poverty were characterized by passiveness and making use of scarce means of improving their material condition. Women coped with poverty better than men.