The good-time generation: How pensioners splash out more on fun activities than anything else
Pensioners spend more on having fun than anything else, official statistics reveal.
The Daily Mail reports that nearly a fifth of spending by people aged between 65 and 74 goes towards recreational activities, according to the Office for National Statistics.
More was spent on leisure, which includes cinema and theatre tickets, gardening, pets and package holidays – by this age group as a proportion of their total spending than on food, energy bills or transport last year.
The report found that 18 per cent of all spending by over-65s last year went on recreation – a higher proportion than any other age group, with people aged 50 to 64 spending 14 per cent and the under-30s just 8 per cent. The Family Spending Survey also revealed that 65 to 74-year-olds aren’t just having fun at home, as they treated themselves to foreign trips worth an average of £33.50 a week, and £2.40 a week on UK holidays. Leisure spending was up across all ages, with an average outlay of £68.80 a week in 2014 – an increase of 6.8 per cent from 2013. The highest outlay among all ages was by the silver spenders aged 65-74, who splashed out £81.90 a week.
Overall, the over-65s spent 14 per cent of their income on transport, 12 per cent on housing and fuel (excluding mortgage payments), 12 per cent on food, and 4 per cent on clothing. In total, UK families spent an average of £531.30 a week last year, an increase of £7.40 on 2013, adjusted for inflation. Transport was the biggest cost at £74.80 a week, accounting for 14 per cent of household budgets, a 6 per cent rise on 2013.
ONS experts said the rising spending on leisure was a sign of people feeling more optimistic about the economy. The report’s editor Giles Horsfield said: ‘After years of decline we’ve started to see household spending rise as the economic recovery spurs consumer confidence.’
(Article source: Daily Mail)
