Old age begins at 59 years, two months and two weeks, according to a survey commissioned by the UK government. And, middle age begins at 40 years, eight months and two weeks. The survey commissioned by the department for work and pensions, which is handling the controversial welfare reforms, found that the perception of age varies widely according to the age of the respondents in the survey, their gender, and whether they were employed or not.
For British women, perception of ageing is slower than that of men: On average, women think old age starts at 60 years, four months and two weeks. However, British men believe old age starts at 58.
Similarly, women have a tendency to feel young for longer compared to the men: British women believe middle age starts at 42 years and nine months, whereas the men believe youth ends at 38-and-a-half years.
The survey of 2,171 British adults also revealed that perception of old age changes according to the age: People under-50 years feel it begins at 46 years and nine months, whereas those older than 50 years, old age starts at 62 years, seven months and two weeks. Middle age, according to 16 to 24-year-olds, begins at 32, but people over-80 feel middle age for them began at 52 years. The disparity in perceptions of ageing, according to the work and pensions ministry, showed “the potential for age stereotypes to be applied in very inconsistent ways.”
“These surveys show that the older you get, the later you think old age begins. What is happening is that people are suddenly getting to an age and thinking: no, I’m not old actually. I might have thought I would feel old at this age, but I do not,” Ros Altmann of over-50s group Saga told the Daily Mail.
“This survey also shows there is significant age discrimination and outdated attitudes among younger people — and that is worrying. Youngsters tend to think people who are older are not up to much. It’s just not true,” he added.