Old people in England are happier with their life now than before COVID. What’s changed?

Older people in England are happier than ever – or at least happier than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study suggests.

Researchers from University College London (UCL) tracked about 4,000 people ages 50 and up in the country from 2012 to 2023. They used survey data to measure people’s happiness, life satisfaction, and eudaemonic well-being – a sense of purpose and meaning in life – as well as depressive symptoms.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, older people’s mental well-being declined and depression levels rose in late 2020 with pandemic restrictions in full force, according to the findings, which were published in the journal Aging & Mental Health.

But the scales soon tipped the other way. Older Britons’ mental well-being bounced back from late 2021 to 2023, with their life satisfaction and sense of purpose even eclipsing their pre-pandemic levels, the study found.

The findings could "reflect a renewed appreciation for social connections and meaningful activities, as well as increased psychological resilience after a period of adversity," Paola Zaninotto, the study’s lead author and a professor of medical and social statistics at UCL, said in a statement.

Well-being may be subjective, but it’s about more than a lack of mental health problems like depression. Researchers think of well-being as a combination of positive feelings like happiness, good relationships, and a sense of purpose and control in life that allow people to thrive.

That may help explain why depression levels did not improve in tandem with mental well-being after the pandemic.

Before the pandemic, 11.4 per cent of older adults experienced significant depressive symptoms, a level that surged to 27.2 per cent in late 2020 and then fell to 14.9 per cent