b'Spending Related to HappinessOnly one type of spending is positively related to happiness: entertainment. The boost in happiness from leisure spending comes, in part, from the increase in social connections that are often a part of leisure activities.48 For many people, income needs tend to fall in retirement for a variety of reasons. Tax rates are generally lower in retirement, work-related costs decrease or disappear, children are less of an expense, and people do many things themselves instead of paying to have them done. On the other hand, some begin spending more on things like hobbies. HRS helps us understand how spending changes as we age and also how patterns of spending change over time for those in retirement.Offsetting LossesOne way to offset losses to retirement wealth is to delay claiming Social Security benefits, even just a few months. Because of how Social Security rules are structured, delaying claiming Social Security benefits by three to six months on average has the same effect on retirement standard of living as saving an additional one percent of labor earnings for 30 years.49Did you know?Income and wealth are two of the most important determinants of health. Its one of the reasons HRS includes such detailed questions on these topics. Because of their importance for health, income and wealth are almost always included in studies of health to account for the fact that higher income and wealth tend to be associated with better health.22'