Changes in food purchases at retirement in France

We estimate the impact of retirement on food expenditure and food quantities purchased, using detailed home-scan panel data on food purchases and household characteristics in France. We identify a causal relationship by exploiting the French legal minimum age for retirement as an exogenous shock to retirement behavior. Upon retirement, households significantly decrease their expenditure on food and the amount of food purchased. Households with lower pre-retirement income appear to be more severely affected. Our results indicate that the decrease in food quantities purchased at the aggregate level is driven by a decline in purchases of food from animal origins. A reduced consumption of animal based food products is likely to undermine the diet balance of retirees.