We investigate the factors that make for a good later life, and explore how different people are experiencing and thinking about their later life.
While many people today enjoy a good later life, this is not a universal experience. Too many people still die prematurely, suffer from ill health or disability for much of their later life, experience poverty or financial insecurity, feel lonely and isolated, or lack meaning and purpose in their lives. Ageing is still often seen as a problem, rather than as an opportunity for society and for individuals.
One of our first actions was to commission Ipsos MORI to investigate the factors that make for a good later life by understanding the views of people aged 50 years and over. This report details the results of this research and sets out how divergent the experiences of later life are for different people.
Together with the Later life in 2015 interactive report, it brings to life people’s stories about how they experience and feel about later life. It explores how the three dimensions of a good later life – health, financial security, and social connections - contribute to overall wellbeing.
