%0 Report %D 2022 %T EXPLANATIONS FOR THE DECLINE IN SPENDING AT OLDER AGES %A Rohwedder, Susann %A Michael D Hurd %A Hudomiet, Péter %K CAMS %K consumer spending %K Retirement %X We use new data from the 2019 wave of the Consumption and Activities Mail Survey to help interpret the observed decline in spending as individuals age. At one extreme, forward-looking individuals optimally chose the decline; at the other, myopic individuals overspent and were forced to reduce spending because they had run out of wealth. Which interpretation is correct has important implications for the measurement of economic preparation for retirement. According to their own assessments, the fraction of respondents feeling financially constrained is lower at advanced ages, and the fraction satisfied with their economic situation is considerably higher at older ages than at ages near retirement. An important mechanism reconciling the evidence of reduced spending and greater economic satisfaction at older ages may be that individuals’ enjoyment of several activities declines with worsening health, widowing, and increasing age, leading to a lessening desire to spend on them. We find strong support for this hypothesis. Nonetheless, close to 20% of those older than 80 report not being satisfied with their financial situation, pointing to heterogeneity in economic security. %B Working Papers %I NBER %C Cambridge, MA %G eng %U http://www.nber.org/papers/w30460 %0 Journal Article %J Ageing and Society %D 2020 %T Life transitions and leisure activity engagement among older Americans: findings from a national longitudinal study %A Yura Lee %A Iris Chi %A Jennifer A Ailshire %K CAMS %K Leisure activities %K Life transitions %K Widowhood %X One of the major aspects of successful ageing is active engagement in later life. Retirement and widowhood are two significant life transitions that may largely influence leisure engagement patterns among older adults. Limited findings exist regarding the impact of life transitions on leisure activity engagement due to the scarcity of longitudinal data with repeated measurement of older individuals' leisure engagement. This study longitudinally examined changes in leisure activity engagement as influenced by retirement and widowhood using five waves of national panel data from the Health and Retirement Study and its supplementary Consumption and Activities Mail Survey. Multi-level modelling was conducted with retirement and widowhood status as time-varying variables. Socio-economic status, depressive symptoms, cognitive function, self-rated health and functional limitations were also included as time-varying and time-invariant covariates. Findings show that engagement in mental, physical, social and household activities significantly decreased during an eight-year period. Moreover, transition from working to retired status was associated with increased engagement in mental, social and household activities but decreased engagement in physical activities among men only. Transition from married to widowhood status was associated with decreased engagement in household activities among women only. Encouraging active leisure engagement among individuals who experience either or both life transitions may help maintain their health after transition. %B Ageing and Society %V 40 %P 537-564 %G eng %U https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ageing-and-society/article/life-transitions-and-leisure-activity-engagement-among-older-americans-findings-from-a-national-longitudinal-study/4660EFBC38391378EE45D4BDD860943E %N 3 %9 Journal %! Ageing and Society %R 10.1017/S0144686X18001101 %0 Report %D 2020 %T Older Americans' Spending Profiles: One Size Does Not Fit All %A Zahra Ebrahimi %K CAMS %K Retirement Planning %K spending patterns %X Understanding the spending patterns of the elderly and forming an educated estimate of households’ budgets throughout households’ old age is a key element of retirement planning. In this Issue Brief, the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) explores variations in spending of older households using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the Consumption and Activities Mail Survey (CAMS). The analysis also seeks to identify the factors that are correlated with spending patterns in order to provide additional insight for approaches to saving and investment for retirement. Such analysis can also help in the development of more effective withdrawal strategies during retirement. %B EBRI Issue Brief %I Employee Benefit Research Institute %C Washington, D.C. %G eng %U https://www.ebri.org/content/older-americans'-spending-profiles-one-size-does-not-fit-all %0 Report %D 2020 %T Why Does Consumption Fluctuate in Old Age and How Should the Government Insure it? %A Richard Blundell %A Commault, Jeanne %A Borella, Margherita %A Mariacristina De Nardi %K CAMS %K health %K Income %X In old age, consumption can fluctuate because of shocks to available resources and because health shocks affect utility from consumption. We find that even temporary drops in income and health are associated with drops in consumption and most of the effect of temporary drops in health on consumption stems from the reduction in the marginal utility from consumption that they generate. More precisely, after a health shock, richer households adjust their consumption of luxury goods because their utility of consuming them changes. Poorer households, instead, adjust both their necessary and luxury consumption because of changing resources and utility from consumption. %B Institute Working Paper %I Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis %C Minneapolis, MN %G eng %R https://doi.org/10.21034/iwp.40 %0 Journal Article %J Ageing and Society %D 2018 %T Life transitions and leisure activity engagement in later life: findings from the Consumption and Activities Mail Survey (CAMS) %A Yura Lee %A Joohong Min %A Iris Chi %K CAMS %K Engagement %K Leisure activities %K Life transitions %X This study examined engagement in leisure activities among older adults, specifically focusing on how life transition factors in later life, including retirement and marital status, are associated with leisure activity engagement using a national sample of older American men and women. We conducted multiple regression analyses with a sample of 5,405 individuals (2,318 men; 3,087 women) from the Consumption and Activities Mail Survey, a supplementary sample of the Health and Retirement Study. We analysed activity engagement in each of four domains of leisure activities: mental, physical, social and religious. Retirement status was categorised into three groups: working (referent), completely retired and partly retired. Marital status was categorised into four groups: married (referent), divorced or separated, widowed and never married. We found an overall trend of a positive relationship between retirement and leisure activity engagement, which suggests that retirement provides a chance for older adults to participate in leisure activities after withdrawal from the labour force. The overall trend of a negative relationship between non-married status and leisure activity engagement suggests that the loss or absence of a spouse may serve as a barrier to participate in leisure activities. Nevertheless, variation among retirees and non-married individuals suggests future studies should compare completely and partly retired individuals or those who are widowed, divorced or separated, or never married to elucidate distinguishable leisure activity profiles. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 %B Ageing and Society %V 38 %P 1603-1623 %G eng %U https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0144686X17000216/type/journal_articlehttps://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0144686X17000216 %N 8 %! Ageing and Society %R 10.1017/S0144686X17000216