The saying goes you are as old as you feel – and that might just be right according to a recent study.
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Scientists feel that a 65 year old was considered elderly in the past, but now they should be thought of as almost middle aged as longevity improves.
Someone who is 65 now may draw the state pension, but in the future, will more than likely still work and look forward to a later retirement.
This study triggered a financial firm in the UK to look at how 2,000 people over 40 look at retirement and old age.
The results were-
- No one is really old until they have reached their 80s
- 93% believe age is just a number and they are as old as they feel
- 82% reckoned they felt younger than their biological age –by an average of 11 years
- 61% felt old age beckoned in the future, but they were not ready to be called elderly
Age is just a number
The advantage of feeling younger and living longer is people are staying more active. The downside is people are delaying making important financial decisions, says financial firm payingtoomuch.com.
“They feel too young to start seriously saving and are not giving thought to managing their finances,” said a spokesman for the firm.
“We need to make these decisions because we need to fund our retirement and our families may need our support for longer.”
The spokesman went on to explain that many people’s finances do not keep pace with their age and lifestyle because of the way they view their age.
“It’s difficult to know how long you are going to live,” said the spokesman. “Most of us can guess but longevity statistics are averages. Some people live a lot longer than the average life expectancy.”
10 questions to test how old you are
The firm has also come up with 10 simple questions and suggest the answers are pointers to how old you are:
- Do you nod off while watching TV or reading?
- Are you forgetful?
- Do you ache when getting up from a chair or out of bed?
- Do you pick your clothes for comfort or style?
- Do you repeat yourself?
- Do you know what the number one song is today?
- Do you complain that ‘things aren’t as they used to be’?
- Do you get offered a seat on public transport?
- Do you forget where your glasses are?
- Do you complain a lot about poor customer service?
If you answer ‘yes’ to most of these, then you are probably older than you think you are.
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