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Changes in Consumption at Retirement: Evidence from Panel Data

Year: 2010

Type: article

Abstract: Previous empirical literature has found a sharp decline in consumption during the first years of retirement, implying that individuals do not save enough for their retirement. This phenomenon is called the retirement consumption puzzle. We find no evidence of the retirement consumption puzzle using panel data from 1980 to 2000. Consumption is defined as nondurable expenditure, a more comprehensive measure than only food used in many of the previous studies. We find that food expenditure declines at retirement, which is consistent with previous studies.

Source: The Review of Economics and Statistics

DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_00140

Authors: Emma Aguila, Orazio Attanasio, Costas Meghir

Institutions: RAND Corporation, Institute for Fiscal Studies, University College London, Yale University

Language: English

Topic: Financial Literacy, Pension, Retirement Analysis

Subfield: Accounting

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute on Aging

Award: International Comparisons of Well-Being, Health and Retirement