{
  "id": 13940984,
  "title": "The Never-Spenders",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/the-never-spenders",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-12T11:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Atlantic",
    "slug": "the-atlantic",
    "url": "https://www.theatlantic.com/economy/2026/10/retirement-spending-decrease-economy/688923/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "My mother passed away two years ago. She had inherited my father's $1.6 million. My mother lived well, but she was frugal. She bought from boutique stores, but only on sale days. Trader Joe's was her preferred orchid supplier. She would occasionally ask me to review her budget to ensure she was doing fine. I always told her that she was more than fine. My brothers and I tried to convince her to spend, even if it meant a trip or a room redecorated. Yet, she confined her spending to her pension, Social Security checks, and the interest she earned. She didn't touch the principal. This behavior is quite common. According to a 2018 study, a median individual with over $500,000 in savings spent only 12 percent of that money 20 years into retirement. A 2022 study found that only 28 percent of older adults with at least $100,000 were comfortable watching their savings decrease to pay for living expenses. This is a significant issue. It affects not just retirees but the country as a whole. When savers forgo gratification for decades, they end up not enjoying the money they've worked hard to save. The economy suffers as this money remains idle instead of being spent. Fear of living too long, inflation rising, or a bear market hitting at the worst time often contributes to this reluctance to spend. Habit can also play a role. After decades of disciplined saving, flipping that switch to spend can feel uncomfortable to many and wrong to others. Retiree's retirement account balances are like other precious items - they are hoarded. Professor Suzanne Shu at Cornell has studied how we consume special items. We are afraid of using them too soon, leading to them going bad or expiring. The retirement account is no different. The University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study has tracked 20,000 people over 50 since 1992. There is a significant \"retirement consumption gap.\" Middle-income Americans spend about 8 percent less than they could afford, about $8,000 a year. Wealthier retirees spend up to 53 percent less. This gap persists even when considering plans to leave a legacy or reserve money for healthcare. Americans hold about $20 trillion in IRAs and $15 trillion in 401(k)s, much of which is not being spent. Converted into economic activity, this could generate $52 trillion. To bridge this gap, retirees should treat some of their assets as pensions and convert them into a stable income source, often referred to as a \"forever paycheck.\"",
  "summary": "American retirees have a lot of money saved—and they don’t want to touch it.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}