The good-time generation: How pensioners splash out more on fun activities than anything else

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Pensioners spend more on having fun than anything else, official statistics revealed yesterday.

Nearly a fifth of spending by people aged between 65 and 74 goes towards recreational activities, according to the Office for National Statistics.

More was spent on leisure – which includes cinema and theatre tickets, gardening, pets and package holidays – by this age group as a proportion of their total spending than on food, energy bills or transport last year.

More was spent on leisure – which includes cinema and theatre tickets, gardening, pets and package holidays – by pensioners as a proportion of their total spending than on food, energy bills or transport last year

The report found that 18 per cent of all spending by over-65s last year went on recreation – a higher proportion than any other age group, with people aged 50 to 64 spending 14 per cent and the under-30s just 8 per cent.

The Family Spending Survey also revealed that 65 to 74-year-olds aren’t just having fun at home, as they treated themselves to foreign trips worth an average of £33.50 a week, and £2.40 a week on UK holidays.

Leisure spending was up across all ages, with an average outlay of £68.80 a week in 2014 – an increase of 6.8 per cent from 2013. The highest outlay among all ages was by the silver spenders aged 65-74, who splashed out £81.90 a week.

Overall, the over-65s spent 14 per cent of their income on transport, 12 per cent on housing and fuel (excluding mortgage payments), 12 per cent on food, and 4 per cent on clothing. 

Jet-setting: Those aged 65 to 74 aren’t just having fun at home, as they treated themselves to foreign trips worth an average of £33.50 a week, and £2.40 a week on UK holidays

In total, UK families spent an average of £531.30 a week last year, an increase of £7.40 on 2013, adjusted for inflation.

Transport was the biggest cost at £74.80 a week, accounting for 14 per cent of household budgets, a 6 per cent rise on 2013.

ONS experts said the rising spending on leisure was a sign of people feeling more optimistic about the economy. The report’s editor Giles Horsfield said: ‘After years of decline we’ve started to see household spending rise as the economic recovery spurs consumer confidence.’

AND NO WONDER THEY ARE SPENDING SO MUCH - LIFE BEGINS AT 61! 

Forget being ‘50 and fabulous’ ... life now apparently starts at 61.

People in their 50s are more likely to be stressed and unhappy – as many are juggling work with caring for children and ageing parents, a report found. Turning 61 means they are more likely to feel happy as that burden of responsibility eases.

A survey of 1,100 over-50s found 15 per cent were unhappy, compared with just 5 per cent of over-61s and one per cent of over-70s.

The ‘sandwich generation’ 50-somethings who hold down a job while looking after children and elderly relatives were twice as likely to be ‘stressed’ as the over-60s, where four out of five declared themselves ‘happy’.

The report by Co-operative Funeralcare found that happiness came from achieving life goals such as travelling, seeing their children grow up, owning a home and having a successful career.

The top regrets of the over-50s included failed relationships, gaining weight and spending too long at work but not enough time with their children.

Their goals included to travel more, to trace their family tree, move to the countryside, quit smoking and publish a novel.

Psychotherapist Christine Webber said the ‘baby boomer’ generation found that practicalities such as having to pay bills restrict their life but added 50-somethings should realise the best years are to come and should not ‘preoccupy themselves with regrets’.