Expenditure behaviour of pensioners: Exploring differences between breadwinners and non-breadwinners

Abstract

This article examines the expenditure behaviours of households headed by pensioners who are financially responsible for other household members. By analysing household-level consumption data from the Spanish Family Income Survey from 2018 to 2021, our findings reveal that pensioner-led households with dependents exhibit a 10.2 per cent reduction in total spending compared to pensioner-led households without dependents. Moreover, expenditure on durable and non-durable goods is lower by 10.4 and 8.8 per cent, respectively. We find no heterogeneous effects across income levels or with cohort-fixed effects.