Consumption and Activities Mail Survey

Explanations for the Decline in Spending at Older Ages

• February 24, 2023
• Susan Barnes
• Administrative data link, Consumption and Activities Mail Survey, Health and Retirement Study, retirement savings

Enhancing the RAND HRS CAMS Public Use File

• October 25, 2022
• Susan Barnes
• Consumption and Activities Mail Survey, Financial well-being, Health and Retirement Study

In 2001 the Health and Retirement Study launched a supplementary survey, the Consumption and Activities Mail Survey (CAMS).  CAMS is a biennial survey of a random subsample of HRS participants. Its purpose is to collect detailed information on household spending.…

Explanations for the Decline in Spending at Older Ages

• August 2, 2022
• Susan Barnes
• Administrative data link, Consumption and Activities Mail Survey, Health and Retirement Study, retirement savings

We use new data from the 2019 wave of the Consumption and Activities Mail Survey to help interpret the observed decline in spending as individuals age. At one extreme, forward-looking individuals optimally chose the decline; at the other, myopic individuals…