Too Scared To Spend!

Even wealthy American retirees are often reluctant to enjoy their money

- Ben Steverman

The U.S. economic recovery, the longest in recorded history, has increased Americans’ wealth by $52 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve. Wall Street is bursting with new money. U.S. stocks trade near record highs. Private equity firms search high and low for places to deploy more than $1 trillion of investor cash. Banks, enjoying a glut of deposits, pay savers interest rates that are minuscule from an historic perspective.

All these riches should generate lots of economic activity. The well-off could be buying themselves little luxuries or doing something more productive, like starting new businesses or expanding old ones. Or they could donate more to charity. At the very least, the extra financial cushion should make Americans feel more secure.

If only. Many of the recovery’s biggest beneficiaries feel anxious. And financial advisers say even very rich clients often have a crippling reluctance to fully enjoy their money. “I am surprised how often I sit with a retired couple and have to encourage them to spend more,” says Liz Miller, president of Summit Place Financial Advisors, a New Jersey-based firm specializing in high-net-worth clients.

If well-off-retirees are more frugal than necessary, they end up denying themselves the fruits of a lifetime of hard work. Their heirs eventually benefit, but the vitality of the American economy suffers. “Wealth is getting more and more concentrated among households that are averse to spending it,” says Matt Fellowes, a former Brookings Institution fellow who’s founder and chief executive officer of United Income, a retirement planning startup. “It’s trillions and trillions of wealth that is not benefiting anyone except asset managers.”