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How Old is Old?
Most Think Old is 71, Seniors Edge Their Choices
Higher
July 27, 2005 - As might be expected, as age
increases so too does the choice of an age as being old. Thirty
percent of those under 30
|
Age Selected |
All Ages |
Age Groups |
|
|
|
18-29 |
30-49 |
50-64 |
65+ |
|
<30 |
1.0% |
3.9% |
.7% |
|
|
|
31-40 |
2.2% |
4.1% |
3.6% |
|
|
|
41-50 |
5.5% |
14.1% |
6.6% |
1.3% |
|
|
51-60
|
6.6%
|
10.7% |
6.7% |
7.2% |
2.1%
|
|
61-70
|
19.2%
|
29.6% |
18.8% |
17.8% |
13.1%
|
|
71-80
|
32.3%
|
17.9% |
36.1% |
37.4% |
31.3%
|
|
81-90
|
18.4%
|
11.4% |
14.0% |
23.5% |
28.3%
|
|
91-100
|
9.6%
|
6.7% |
11.2% |
7.0% |
11.4%
|
|
Not sure
|
5.3%
|
1.5% |
2.3% |
5.7% |
13.7%
|
say 61 to 70 is old, while more than two in three
50 to 64 year olds say over 71 is old. Almost six in ten over age 65 say
over 71 is old. No one 65 and older thinks 41 to 50 is old. The MetLife
Mature Market Institute commissioned Zogby International to conduct the
telephone survey to determine what age Americans believed was old, and
how old they wish they were.
A plurality (32%) of all respondents say an age
between 71 and 80 is old. About half as many say either an age between
61 and 70 (19%) or an age between 81 and 90 (18%) is old. Less than one
in ten say an age between 41 and 60 is old. Five percent are not sure.
Men are much more likely than women to say an age
under 60 is old (22% men vs. 8% women). In fact, men (4%) are four times
as likely as women (1%) to say an age between 31 to 40 is old and more
than twice as likely to say 41 to 50 is old (10% men vs. 4% women). On
the other hand, women are almost twice as likely as men to say that 81
to 90 is old (24% women vs. 13% men) and to say that 90 to 100 is old
(12% women vs. 7% men).
Parents (8%) are twice as likely as non-parents
(4%) to say 41 to 50 is old, while non-parents (20%) are more likely
than parents (16%) to say 81 to 90 is old. In general, single
respondents are more likely than married respondents to choose a younger
age as old, while married respondents are more likely to choose an
older age as old. Twice as many married (11%) as single respondents
(5%) say 90 to 100 is old, while nearly twice as many single (9%) as
married (5%) respondents say 41 to 50 is old.
Whites are slightly more likely than African
Americans and Hispanics to choose a younger age as old. More than one
in four African Americans (26%) and Hispanics (29%) say that 61 to 70 is
old compared to 17% of whites who think so.
Republicans are slightly more likely to choose a
younger age as old than are Democrats or independents. More than two
in five (41%) independents say 71 to 80 is old, compared to 29% of
Democrats and 31% of Republicans who say that. Democrats are more likely
than either Republicans or independents to say that 80 to 91 and 91 to
100 is old.
Respondents living in the west (37%) are the most
likely to say that 71 to 80 is old, while southerners (23%) are the most
likely to say that 61 to 70 is old. Easterners are more likely than
those in the other regions to say that 41 to 50 is old (8% east; 5%
central and west; 4% south) and that 51 to 60 is old (10% east; 8% west;
6% south; and 5% mid-west). Southern (11%) and mid-west (13%)
respondents are more likely than the other two regions to say 90 to 100
is old.
How old do you wish
you were?
|
Age Selected
|
Overall
|
Age Group
|
|
|
|
18-29 |
30-49 |
50-64 |
65+ |
|
<21
|
13.2%
|
22.3% |
16.8% |
7.7% |
3.1%
|
|
21-30
|
35.4%
|
62.9% |
40.0% |
23.5% |
13.6%
|
|
31-40
|
16.7%
|
2.4% |
23.4% |
17.2% |
13.5%
|
|
41-50
|
11.2%
|
3.2% |
14.1% |
10.3% |
13.0%
|
|
51-60
|
6.4%
|
1.6% |
.6% |
21.0% |
5.3%
|
|
61-70
|
5.3%
|
|
.5% |
11.3% |
15.1%
|
|
71-80
|
2.5%
|
|
|
.4% |
15.5%
|
|
81-90
|
1.0%
|
|
|
|
6.1% |
|
91-100
|
0.2%
|
|
|
|
.6% |
|
Not sure
|
8.1%
|
7.7% |
4.7% |
8.4% |
14.0%
|
Overall, one in three (35%) wish they were
somewhere between 21 and 30, with another 17% wishing they were between
the ages of 31 and 40. Just over one in ten (11%) wish they were between
41 and 50, and 13% wish they were less than 21 years old. Eight percent
are not sure.
Eighteen to twenty-nine year olds are the most
satisfied with their current age, or close to it, as 63% say they wish
they were some age between 21 and 30. Two in five (40%) 30 to 49 year
olds wish they were 21 to 30, nearly twice as many of that age group who
wish they were 31 to 40 (23%). Fifty to sixty-four year olds are closely
divided between wishing they were 21 to 30 (24%) or 51 to 60 (21%), and
respondents 65 and older are closely divided in wishing they were
between the ages of 21 to 50 and 61 to 80
Men (57.1%) are more likely than women (40.8%) to
wish they were an age under 30. One in five women (20%) wish they were
between 31 and 40, compared to 13% of men who wish that. Women (8%) are
twice as likely as men (4%) to wish they were between 51 and 60.
Parents are more likely than non-parents for every
age bracket below 50 to say they wish they were that age. Single
respondents are more likely than either married or
divorced/widowed/separated respondents to wish they were in one of the
younger age brackets. Half of singles wish they were between 31 and 40.
Half (50%) of Hispanics wish they were 21 to 30,
compared to 34% of whites and 29% of African Americans who wish that.
Whites (13%) are nearly twice as likely as African Americans (7%) to
wish they were between the ages of 41 and 50, while African Americans
(12%) are twice as likely as whites to wish (6%) they were between 51
and 60.
Independents (44%) are the most likely to wish they
were 21 to 30, while Democrats and Republicans (12% each) are more
likely than independents to wish they were 41 to 50.
Westerners (42%) are the most likely to wish they
were between 21 and 30, while southerners (16%) are the most likely to
wish they were less than 21. Easterners (20%) are slightly more likely
than the other regions to wish they were between the ages of 31 and 40.
These questions were included in a national
telephone survey of likely voters conducted by Zogby International June
20 through June 22, 2005. The target sample is 1,000 interviews with
approximately 55 questions asked. Samples are randomly drawn from
telephone lists. Zogby International surveys employ sampling strategies
in which selection probabilities are proportional to population size
within area codes and exchanges. Weighting by region, party, age, race,
religion, and gender is used to adjust for non-response. The margin of
error is +/- 3.2 percentage points. Zogby Internationals sampling and
weighting procedures also have been validated through its political
polling: more than 95% of the firms polls have come within 1% of actual
election-day outcomes.
About this research:
The MetLife Mature Market Institute commissioned
Zogby International to conduct a telephone survey to determine what age
Americans believed was old, and how old they wish they were. The Mature
Market Institute is MetLifes information and policy resource center on
issues related to aging, retirement, long-term care and the mature
market. Staffed by gerontologists, the Institute provides research,
training and education, consultation and information to support MetLife,
its corporate customers and business partners.
www.MatureMarketInstitute.com
MatureMarketInstitute@metlife.com
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