Spending Drops in Retirement, but Satisfaction Doesn’t: Blanchett
May 30, 2025 by John Manganaro
People often assume that maintaining “financial well-being” in retirement equates to maintaining a constant standard of living, as expressed in terms of after-tax spending.
New research from PGIM’s David Blanchett puts that assumption to the test. Blanchett finds that financial satisfaction increases markedly for older Americans when holding consumption levels constant.
Wink’s Moore on the Market: “…even retirees who may have to eventually live off less in retirement may actually end up better off from a satisfaction standpoint as compared to how satisfied they were doing while working.”
Interesting stuff from my friend, David Blanchett.
David- what was the criteria used for establishing the survey recipients?
This research is contrary to what I was expecting.
But, you know what they say- “More money, more problems.”
I know that I was much happier when I was poor. Interesting to see that is also the case with retirees… -sjm
