The study explored expenditure patterns by retired households, with particular emphasis on food, fuel, alcohol, clothing and household goods. Results suggest that retired households do not now differ greatly from each other in their expenditure, despite some variations based on income.
Overall, successive generations of retirees have increased their consumption of goods with, for example, later generations spending more on leisure activities such as holidays.
According to Dr Higgs, most retired households are now participating as contemporary consumers. He explained: “Those retiring today helped pioneer the creation of the post-war consumer culture - young people in the 50s, 60s and 70s had more money than previous generations and an increasing range of things to spend it on. We believe that this experience has informed the way they behave in retirement, with recent retirees strongly defined by the impact of consumer society on their lives and expectations.”
All income groups spent less on food – down from just under a third to just over a quarter of total expenditure – whilst spending on household goods rose from around four to just under 10 per cent. Spending on fuel was reduced, while that on alcohol and clothing remained broadly similar.
Researchers also compared patterns of ownership of selected consumer goods amongst the retired population compared to the employed and unemployed, and found that patterns had converged over time. Whereas the spending habits of these different groups was distinct in the 1960s, ownership of telephones, televisions and fridge/freezers, for example, have since increased and evened out. Ownership of newer household goods such as microwave ovens and VCRs showed similar patterns over much shorter periods of time, with clear differences in 1993 narrowing by 2001.
However, the research also highlighted that whilst levels of washing machine and PC ownership had risen for all groups, the retired and unemployed continued to lag behind the employed. Less than two per cent of retired households owned a PC in 1993, and whilst this figure had risen ten-fold by 2001, PC ownership in employed households more than doubled to over half during the same period.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dr Paul Higgs, University College London (Tel: 0207 679 9426), e-mail p.higgs@ucl.ac.uk)
ESRC PRESS OFFICE:
Alexandra Saxon Tel: 01793 413032, e-mail: alexandra.saxon@esrc.ac.uk)
Danielle Moore Tel: 01793 413122, e-mail: danielle.moore@esrc.ac.uk
Phillippa Coates Tel: 01793 413119, e-mail: phillipa.coates@esrc.ac.uk
NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. ‘From passive to active consumers: ageing and consumption in Britain 1963-1998’ was funded by the by the Economic and Social Research Council and undertaken by Paul Higgs, Martin Hyde, Chris Gilleard At UCL and Maria Evandrou, Ian Rees Jones, Dick Wiggins and Christina Victor at Southampton, Bangor , City and Reading universities .
2. The project was based on a cross-sectional historical comparison of people at different ages, household types and income levels through a secondary analysis of the Family Expenditure Survey (FES) – a continuous survey with an annual sample of around 10,000 households. The FES is a survey of expenditure on goods and services as well as household income, and includes information on socio-economic characteristics.
3. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is the UK's largest funding agency for research and postgraduate training relating to social and economic issues. It supports independent, high quality research relevant to business, the public sector and voluntary organisations. The ESRC’s planned total expenditure in 2007-08 is £181 million. At any one time the ESRC supports over 4,000 researchers and postgraduate students in academic institutions and research policy institutes. More at http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk.
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