A study conducted by Angus Reid has found that many those who have reached age 65 are content with their stage of life. They feel younger than their years, expect to outlive their parents’ generation, and say someone isn't really "old" until they reach 80.

Angus Reid surveyed 1,530 Canadians about how they perceive old age. Asked when one might say a person is "old", the average response was at 70.3 years. However, older respondents had higher thresholds for what they considered to be the beginning of old age: 56% of those over 55 said that someone is not old until they are in their 80s.

Feel younger

While about half of the respondents (56%) agreed with the statement “old age is scary,” most of those who were over the age of 55 said they didn't consider themselves to be old and indicated that they feel younger than their actual age, both physically and mentally.

The survey found that this fear of old age may be largely unwarranted, since older Canadians actually feel their lives have exceeded expectations. In fact, two-thirds of the the respondents aged 55 or older – and nearly three-quarters of those 65 or older – agreed with the statement “My life so far has turned out better than I expected”.

Highest levels of satisfaction

Out of all the age groups, those over the age of 65 reported the highest levels of satisfaction with their overall quality of life, their stress levels, and their personal financial situation. In fact, life is so good for those over the age of 55 that they were more likely than other age groups to say they’d like to live to be 90 or even older.