Here’s how high-income Americans keep spending in a shaky economy

Checking account running low? Prices running high? Time to sell some stocks.

Wealthy Americans increasingly tap investment accounts for cash, leveraging the massive stock market gains of recent years to cover the rising costs of everyday life.

The share of Americans moving money from investment accounts to checking accounts has nearly quadrupled since 2015, from 2.4% to 8.2%, according to a new report from JPMorganChase Institute. The analysis looked at account activity between February and April in each year.

High-income Americans, in particular, tap investment gains to support their spending. Among the top 10% of earners, the report found, the share pulling money from investment accounts into checking accounts rose from 6.6% in 2015 to 20.3% in 2026.

Wealthy people and those over 65 “are leading the rise,” the report says, “but withdrawals have increased across all age and income groups.”

The analysis covers checking-account data for more than 20 million Chase customers since 2015.

The report supplies hard data to support persistent talk of an emerging K-shaped economy, with high-income Americans pulling ahead as low-income households lag behind.

Middle-income and lower-income Americans tend to rely on income from work, rather than stocks, for their spending. And “real” hourly earnings…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/money/