Hold back aging - Queen leads Brits in new lease of life in older age

Forever young as Brits staying younger for longerForever young as Brits staying younger for longer
Forever young as Brits staying younger for longer

Stay young Brits

The nation is staying younger for longer after our monarch turned 96 years old

It seems that Brits are staying younger for longer and the Queen is a symbol of the nation’s youthfulness.

Forever young as Brits staying younger for longerForever young as Brits staying younger for longer
Forever young as Brits staying younger for longer

The Platinum Jubilee celebrated the remarkable 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II who, at 96 years old, broke all records of a life dedicated to duty and to her people since solemnly taking her oath at the age of 25 upon the death of her beloved father.

Queen Elizabeth II (photo: Getty Images)Queen Elizabeth II (photo: Getty Images)
Queen Elizabeth II (photo: Getty Images)

At 96 she’s 28 years past the official retirement age in the UK and still going strong despite episodic mobility issues. With this in mind it has lead many to ask the question – when should we slow down into old age?

According to mobility specialists Middletons, the age 70.2 is officially the new old age.

Their experts crunched the numbers on everything from life expectancy and retirement, to the average age people buy a house, pay off a mortgage and become grandparents; then collated the data to determine when old age really starts in Britain.

Director at Middletons Mobility, Ricky Towler, said: “As a society, we are ageing slower, giving us more time in our twilight years to enjoy the things we love in life.

“This could be socialising, spending time with the family or doing the things we couldn’t do during lockdown. Older people are more confident and are reported happier which means our view on older age should be seen more positively.”

Experts at mobility specialists Middletons crunched the numbers on everything from life expectancy and retirement, to the average age people buy a house, pay off a mortgage and become grandparents; then collated the data to determine when old age really starts in Britain.

Do you want to stop aging? (photo: Adobe)Do you want to stop aging? (photo: Adobe)
Do you want to stop aging? (photo: Adobe)

With major milestones arriving much later in our life’s journey, the boundaries between what we understand as middle age and what we might term old age, have become blurred.

Add in rising life expectancy and it’s clear that our perception of what constitutes old age needs to change. By conducting a statistical analysis of a variety of factors we’ve discovered that 70.2 is the new gateway to old age.

Retirement has often been used as the benchmark for the beginning of old age. But given the changing nature of life in Britain, can we still class this as elderly? As a result, 65 has been widely acknowledged as the entry point into old age, however, in recent years the age of retirement has increased to 68, with calls to extend it to 70 by 2050.

We’re not just working longer either, we’re living longer too. In 1971 the average life expectancy in the UK was 72.7, yet fast forward to today and that figure stands at 81.2, which means we’re living a full nine years longer than we did 50 years ago.

Half a century ago, the average age someone in the UK became a parent for the first time was 28.1. Today, however, it’s taking us a full four years more (32.2) to add to our families.

Spiralling property prices and student debt mean that today, the average age when young people leave the parental home is 23, a significant increase on previous generations. Indeed, roughly speaking, the age at which parents were on average free from their kids has increased from 49 in 1971 to a staggering 55 today.

It’s perhaps no wonder then that the age at which most of us will become grandparents has increased to 68-years-old.

Recent research into the wellbeing of Britons has found that people tend to be happier, more satisfied and feel a greater sense of self-worth as they approach ‘old age’.

And with 70 years of age named as the peak of a person’s happiness, it’s clear that 70.2 really is the new 65. Middletons Mobility identified the new old age by analysing statistics such as peak happiness.

For more visit: https://middletons.co.uk/ website.

Related topics: