Being retired exerted a negative effect on clothing expenditures distinct from age. Previous research using CE data has found that even after controlling for the effects of income, family size, and other factors, age was negatively associated with spending on clothing. This could be one reason why they spent the least on clothing ($1,222 and $768) and why clothing accounted for the lowest share of the budget (2.6 percent and 2.2 percent) of all groups (See table 2 and chart 4).

Households with a reference person 65–74 years and 75 years and older had the fewest earners (0.7 and 0.2, respectively). These differences were statistically different.Ĭlothing is often considered a work-related expense that should decrease when household members retire. Spending, however, declined to $1,563 for the 55–64 years group to $1,222 for the 65–74 years group to $768 for the 75 years and older group. While the greatest amount spent on clothing was $1,960 for the 35–44 age group, this amount was not statistically different from the $1,832 for the 25–34 age group and the $1,826 for the 45–54 age group. Housing and nonhousing spending in dollars, by age of reference person, 2013 Ageįor the under-25 age group, the average amount spent on clothing was not statistically different from the amount spent by the 25–34 age group-$1,513 and $1,832, respectively. The only exception was the 65–74 age group, where the share of the food dollar devoted to food at home was slightly lower and the share of the food dollar devoted to food away from home was slightly higher than those for the 55–64 years group. The share of the food dollar spent on food at home increased with the age of the reference person, from 55.4 percent for the under-25 age group to 68.2 percent for the 75-and-older group, while the share devoted to food away from home decreased from 44.6 percent for the under-25 group to 31.8 percent for the 75-and-older group. For the 35–44 years and 45–54 years groups, however, the difference in the amounts spent for total food, food at home, and food away from home was not statistically significant. The components of food spending (food at home and food away from home) also followed a similar pattern. Income and expenditures in dollars, by age of reference person, 2013 Ageįood spending went from $4,698 for the under-25 group to about $7,900 for both the 35–44 and 45–54 years groups and then declined to $4,144 for the 75 years and older group (see table 2). When examining major consumption categories, however, not all follow the life cycle pattern mentioned above. The differences in pretax income and in total expenditures were not statistically significant between the 35–44 group and the 45–54 group. Total annual expenditures followed the same pattern, increasing from $30,373 for the under-25 group to $58,784 for the 35–44 age group and $60,524 for the 45–54 age group and then declining to $34,382 for the 75-and-over group. In 2013, pretax household income rose from $27,914 for the under-25 age group to $78,385 for the 35–44 age group and $78,879 for the 45–54 age group and then steadily declined to $34,097 for the 75-and-older group. CE household data classified by age of the reference person show that annual expenditures and pretax income are “hump” shaped over the lifecycle, lowest for the under 25 years group, then increasing to their highest levels for the 45-54 age group and then declining for the remaining groups (See chart 1 below and tables 1 and 2 at the end).

Healthcare spending, in dollar amount and as a share of the household budget, increased with age.The share of the food budget devoted to food at home increased with age while the share devoted to food away from home declined.Outlays on pensions and Social Security increased with age up to 45–54 years before declining.This relationship is important because the aging of the baby-boom generation will influence the overall level and composition of consumer spending in the years to come. 1 This article uses 2013 CE data to examine the relationship between age and consumer expenditures. The Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) publishes information classified by characteristics such as income, household size, and age of the reference person. More BLS information about age and spending:

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