economy
Senior Spending Boosting the Economy
Adriana Pulley · October 11, 2023 · 1 min read
What's the secret sauce behind resilient consumer spending regardless of rising interest rates? The elder American demographic are doing their part to keep a recession at bay.
Seniors aged 65+ accounted for a hefty 22% of spending in 2022, the highest in half a century.
The Aging Equation
In August, a record-breaking 17.7% of the population was 65 or older.
Elderly Americans are financially secure and borrowing less.
Seniors hold nearly 26% of household wealth, the highest since 1989.
They have minimal debt and are less affected by rising housing costs.
Inflation Resilience
Seniors received a 8.7% boost in Social Security payments.- Their spending is less vulnerable to unemployment due to retirement.
Economic Lifesavers?
The unprecedented $77.1 trillion wealth amassed by baby boomers challenges recession fears.
Living Life to the FullestExperts suggest the spike in senior spending is a lingering psychological impact of the Pandemic. In other words: life's short.
Lifestyles have changed, and today's seniors are more active and culturally involved. Hiking, e-biking, traveling, arts, and theater are more frequent senior hobbies.
Source: WSJ
My mom is at Marshall’s or TJs 3x/week and is fueling this stat— Chase Keibler (@ckeibler27) October 10, 2023
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