A study has found that South Koreans cut consumption by almost 40 percent when they age.
 
The National Pension Research Institute found that spending by households led by those aged 60 or older accounted for about 63 percent of all household spending in 2014.
 
The figure comes short of that from 2005, when households headed by the elderly spent on average about 69 percent of the total household consumption.
 
The difference is greater compared to households headed by the elderly in the U.S. or Japan, which define the elderly as those aged 65 or older. 

In the U.S., such households consume 81 percent compared to average households. The figure is larger at 86 percent in Japan.
 
Researchers said this was due to the steeper fall in consumption than the fall in income for South Korean retirees, who earned about 63 percent of average household income levels. 

The average incomes for the "elderly" households in the U.S. and Japan were 71 percent and 81 percent, respectively.