BLS Average Retiree Spending Data

Interesting. Thanks for posting. I saved and invested my whole life so that I could afford to be well above the mean in retirement spending.
 
Very interesting, thank you. Not sure what to make of the large delta in income between 65-75 yo and 75+, big difference. [Never mind, it’s the difference between wage/salary income and none. Viable work is not an option for many 75+…]
 
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I'm surprised to see only 47% of 65 to 74 yr olds own their home free and clear. But, I do see it jumps to 62% for those over 75 yrs old.
We must be living well, our spending is above the mean, but not by much.:LOL: We just never broke our frugal ways. :(

On the other hand, in 11 months and we will start SS, at a combined $58k+. We will be doing what someone coined warm hand gifting.
 
In my opinion, that table has a little too much granularity (2 pages of Food Types?). I like what the BLS publishes for Seniors only and covering the major categories, like Housing and Food. Although I couldn't find a table more recent than 2014 (not useful in today's world).

This is helpful information, if they ever update --

https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-5/spending-patterns-of-older-americans.htm
 
Closet_Gamer said:
Very interesting.

I wish they had median rather than just mean. I'm surprised how high the income levels are at the younger age brackets. I suspect that is skewed by very, very high earners at one end and supplemented with transfer payments at the low end. Would be good to see median, private sector sector wages + investment interest/divs/cap gain.
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One thing to keep in mind from that table is the BLS is measuring households, not individuals. Many of those “consumer units” are 2 wage earners.

I agree median numbers would add to the value of this data.
 
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Interesting table with lots of data but I quit comparing when I looked up the definition of "consumer unit". I am a single person household. When my husband died my income went down and my federal tax went up but most of my fixed expenses remained the same. Even a comparison of my current consumer unit to my consumer unit before my husband died would not make much sense.
 
At 75+ adults 65 and older is 1.3 per household.
Hmm 70% are either divorced or spouse died. It is tough.
 
Onda said:
At 75+ adults 65 and older is 1.3 per household.
Hmm 70% are either divorced or spouse died. It is tough.
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Frank is a widower, and I'm a divorcee. Both of us are elderly, and both of us (individually) decided before we ever met to never to re-marry or live with anybody. For us, it's not as tough as it sounds, though. We are devoted to one another and enjoying a happy and loving life together, living next door to each other and spending time together every day.

Just wanted to tell you that while it can be VERY tough for some elderly, others are doing OK after death of spouse or divorce.
 
^^^

One thing to keep in mind when attempting to discern any age-related trends - this is a cross-sectional "snapshot", not a longitudinal study observing the same households over a period of time. So, the demographics of young households are going to be very different than the demographics of older households (ex. educational levels), which may explain what appear to be some strange trends.
 
Thanks for this detailed report. I plan to spend some time with it.



Yes - VERY detailed, indeed.
 
Thank you for sharing (both of surveys). It just reaffirmed how abnormal we are --- though I do agree median would be interesting as well. I too think I've exceeded that alcohol average in a single month!
 
It is completely meaningless data to me. it has no context to our lifestyle, COL area, etc.

No different from my feeling about those average spending on retirement numbers. Without context/background they are also meaningless to me.

SFO, NYC vs East Rubber Boot, Oklahoma.
 
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MichaelB said:
One thing to keep in mind from that table is the BLS is measuring households, not individuals. Many of those “consumer units” are 2 wage earners.

I agree median numbers would add to the value of this data.
Click to expand...

Great point. I hadn't considered that. Thanks!
 
I have yet to find a "mean" or "median" household, person or couple. The phrase "You do you, and I'll do me" comes to mind. We both can succeed in retirement with totally different spending numbers.
 
Gumby said:
Interesting. Thanks for posting. I saved and invested my whole life so that I could afford to be well above the mean in retirement spending.
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I did the same thing. I have a friend that is now 75 and is well off from saving and investing his whole life. He seems unable to flip the switch from saving to spending though. It took him 2 years to talk himself into buying a new $800 TV.
 
AudiDudi said:
I did the same thing. I have a friend that is now 75 and is well off from saving and investing his whole life. He seems unable to flip the switch from saving to spending though. It took him 2 years to talk himself into buying a new $800 TV.
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I won't be buying a new TV either, so long as my current one still works. I'm willing to spend, but not just for the sake of spending.
 
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