Wealth, consumption, and savings patterns in retirement : a challenge to the life-cycle hypothesis

This paper investigates the wealth, consumption, and savings behavior of elderly individuals through the lens of the life-cycle hypothesis. Using data from Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement, we employ Student's t-test to test differences between pre-retirement and retirement age groups. The findings shed light on the extent to which elderly individuals adhere to the life-cycle hypothesis and provide insights into the economic behavior of this demographic group. Our findings align with previous studies indicating that the life-cycle theory inadequately captures the dynamics of wealth, consumption, and savings during retirement age. According to our results, there is a consistent decrease in all examined variables with advancing age, with the lowest yet non-zero values observed among the oldest individuals.