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The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) regularly publishes data on the income and expenses of Americans by age group. For retirees, data is divided into two categories: ages 65 to 74, and ages 75+. Thus, there’s no specific line item for how much upper class retirees spend at 75.
However, the data does provide a good baseline for what retirees spend on average right at the age of 75. Here’s a deeper dive into the BLS statistics, and what they can tell us about how much upper-class retirees are spending at age 75.
What Is the Average Spend for Older Retirees?
The best data on retiree spending comes from the annual Consumer Expenditure Report (CES) put out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 2024 version of the CES, according to Corebridge Financial, showed retirees aged 75 and older spent an average of $53,031 annually in 2023. This is actually a fairly major decrease from those who were 65 to 74. This age group spent an average of $65,149 annually — an increase of nearly 23% over older retirees.
How Much Did the Upper Class Spend?
That $53,031 figure is an average annual spend across all income categories. The upper class often spend a lot more. Although the specific amount spent by the rich is not broken down by the BLS, a study conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute in 2022 showed that 3% of retirees spent more than $7,000 per month — and that’s just on average. By definition, this means that many upper class retirees 75 and older are spending $10,000 or more per month — and perhaps much more than that.
What Happens to Spending After Age 75?
Thanks to inflation driving up prices every year, it might make sense to assume that seniors increase their spending throughout their entire retirement. However, the reality is that the older you get, the less you likely spend.
The Corebridge Financial analysis indicated seniors tend to follow a three-phase process in retirement. The most spending comes in the first few years after retirement, when seniors are still relatively young and healthy, and can indulge their lifelong fantasies for travel, hobbies or other types of entertainment. Given an abundance of free time and no restrictions on chasing their joy, retirees tend to spend more money in this “go-go” phase.
This initial phase is followed by two periods of declining spending, the “slow-go” and the “no-go” years. By the final “no-go” phase, most retirees spend more time at home, whether due to physical ailments, a desire to remain home and/or with family, fatigue, or simply the lack of interest in continuing to travel or explore.
How Is the Upper Class Different?
Of course, there are many things different about the upper class as opposed to the rest of America. Not only does the upper class spend more money on average, they can also afford it more than other income categories. As pointed out by the Financial Planning Association, retirees in the bottom income quintile, perhaps not surprisingly, tend to spend more than they earn in retirement. This means they end up depleting their nest eggs over time. But those in the upper class tend to actually increase their net worth in retirement, in large part because they draw less than their investments earn.
The Bottom Line
Wealthy retirees, by definition, are not “the average.” Even though they spend much more in retirement than the average American, they can afford it. While most Americans struggle to save enough money to fund a decades-long retirement, upper-class retirees don’t have that problem. Even when spending $10,000 or more per month, rich Americans tend to grow their net worth during their retirement, not deplete it.