Old Age? It's a Matter of Opinion, Poll Says

OMAHA, Neb., Dec. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Baby Boomers, who once said "don't trust anyone over 30," now think old age doesn't start until 77, according to a study by Marist Institute for Public Opinion conducted for Home Instead Senior Care.

How old is old? Your answer depends on your age. And it depends on your gender.

The age at which someone is considered old increases slightly for each generation. However, all generations want and expect to live well beyond the age they define as "old."

When asked, "At what age do you consider someone to be old?" Millennials said 62, Gen Xers said 71, Baby Boomers, 77 and the Greatest Generation, 81. 

The study, titled, "Generation to Generation: Gauging the Golden Years" polled 1,235 Americans about their views on aging and found that overall men consider someone to be old at age 70 years, while women say it's 76 years. 

But being "old" doesn't dampen the desire for a long life. Survey respondents from every generation – Millennials, Gen Xers, Boomers and the Greatest Generation – all would like to live a long life to 90 years, but most expect to only reach 83 years. Even that may be optimistic with average life expectancy in the U.S. at 78.4 years.

"There's no doubt that we're living in an aging world. What's most interesting is that people from every generation want and expect to live well beyond the age they define as 'old'," said Roger Baumgart, CEO of Home Instead Senior Care®.

For more information and a graphic with additional study results, contact:

Dan Wieberg
Home Instead Senior Care
402.575.5970
[email protected]

Methodology

The survey was undertaken by Home Instead Senior Care and conducted by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York.  1,235 adults 18 years of age and older residing in the continental United States were interviewed by telephone from September 26, 2011, through September 29, 2011. Telephone numbers were selected based upon a list of telephone exchanges from throughout the nation. The exchanges were selected to ensure that each region was represented in proportion to its population. To increase coverage, the land-line sample was supplemented by respondents reached through random dialing of cell phone numbers. The two samples were then combined. Results are statistically significant within +/- 2.8 percentage points. The error margin increases for cross-tabulations.  Please note that some totals may not add to 100% due to rounding.

About Home Instead Senior Care

Founded in 1994 in Omaha by Lori and Paul Hogan, Home Instead Senior Care® is the world's largest provider of non-medical in-home care services for seniors, with more than 900 independently owned and operated franchises providing more than 50 million hours of care throughout the United States and 15 additional countries.  Local Home Instead Senior Care franchise offices employ more than 65,000 CAREGiversSM worldwide who provide basic support services – assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs), personal care, medication reminders, meal preparation, light housekeeping, errands, incidental transportation and shopping – which enable seniors to live safely and comfortably in their own homes for as long as possible. For more information, go to http://www.homeinstead.com/.

SOURCE Home Instead Senior Care