London - We all know a grumpy old man or two – but according to a survey, men of a certain age are actually happier than women.
When asked to pick the happiest time of their lives, men were far from grumpy about the golden years, with nearly a third saying they enjoyed old age the most.
But older women were not so cheery, with only a quarter saying the same.
A total of 1 000 people over 65 were asked about the happiest time of their lives in the survey, which was commissioned by a stair lift maker.
Both men and women reported being happiest during middle age, far more than in childhood or young adulthood.
In all, 36 percent of men and 35 percent of women were happiest in middle age.
But after 65, women tended to feel less content than men.
Only 26 percent of women said their happiest years were after 65, compared to 30 percent for men.
Exactly the same proportion of men and women – 21 percent – said they had been happiest with their life as a young adult.
And 4 percent of both men and women looked back to their idyllic childhoods with the most nostalgia.
When it came to the future, though, it was women who were a little more optimistic, with five percent saying the best was yet to come, as opposed to three percent of men.
The survey also asked about how older people are treated by those around them.
Of those questioned, 77 percent said either that older people already make a valuable contribution to society – or that they could do so if given the chance.
But 66 percent thought that society values elderly people less than it did when they were young, while 60 percent felt that the government did not understand their needs. - Daily Mail