1 in 6 retirees in U.S. is worth $1 million, according to study

American retirees are healthier and wealthier than ever.

Money manager United Income analyzed data from sources, including the Federal Reserve Board, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Census Bureau, the Internal Revenue Service and the Centers for Disease Control, to examine the changing the lives of American retirees.

One of every six retirees in the U.S. is a millionaire (if you include the value of their homes), according to the new report. Their average wealth has risen more than 100 percent since 1989, to $752,000, and the share of those who are millionaires has doubled.

More retirees — 62 percent — are enjoying life without physical or cognitive limitations, according to the data. That number is up from 49 percent in 1963, the first year such data was taken.

Income inequality has remained about the same among retirees since 1989. The picture changed dramatically, however, when a household’s financial assets came into play. A rising stock market led to a 42 percent rise in wealth inequality among older Americans.

“People have held incomes and spending constant over time,” said Matt Fellowes, United Income’s CEO. “The wealthiest retirees are wealthier but are not spending more, relative to previous generations.”

Fellowes said he believed many Americans are being unnecessarily frugal and are leading “overly contained” lives as a result.

The gap between the wealthy and the ultrawealthy has also widened. The wealth of the median millionaire rose by about 12 percent from 1989 to 2016, while the median millionaire’s equity position was swelling from 27 percent of financial accounts to 55 percent.

The wealth of the top 1 percent of millionaires, meanwhile, more than doubled, from $14.9 million to $31.3 million, in 2016 dollars, the study says.