The pattern of expenditure during retirement. Interesting ideas - but beware

The International Longevity Centre has published some heavy duty research about the pattern of spending during the period 60+

The bottom line is that you spend less as you get older. That said, there is massive variation in the numbers and the spending patterns will have a cohort as well as a chronological ageing component.

I guess it doesn't come as any surprise that when physiological ageing starts to have a major impact on factors such as mobility it influences how you spend your money.

What concerns me about the analysis is that consumers are hopeless and understanding their personal finances which makes me suspect of the base research data. Secondly, the circumstances facing the 75 year old in 2025 will be a lot different to those in 2010. For certain the level of medical provision and care support will be less and will need to be funded by the individual and this will impact spending patterns.

It does make me laugh when you read this research and the stream of published stuff peddling the message that in fact older people are awash in money. Just to make things even more complicated the OECD has just published a report saying how bad the pension provision for Brits is and how they suffer a significant drop in their standard of living post retirement.

I pity the poor marketer who is trying to make sense of the 'ageing business' when they are bombarded by diametrically opposite opinions. Dick Stroud