A life-cycle savings model was tested to analyze consumption patterns of elderly U.S. households, using the 1990 and 1991 BLS Interview Survey of Consumer Expenditures. The model implies substantial, planned decreases in consumption after retirement, regardless of income patterns. The empirical...

We document systematic and significant time variation in US lifecycle non-durable consumption profiles. Consumption profiles have consistently become flatter: differences in consumption across generations have decreased. Pooling data across different periods to identify lifecycle profiles masks...