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More optimism among 60-somethings than those in their 40s and 50s: study

If you thought things were slated to get worse as you age, think again.

A majority of people in their sixties and seventies report being healthy and in control of their lives -- and as happy as many respondents in their 40s, according to a survey conducted for HSBC of 21,000 people in 21 countries and spanning four age groups, each decade from age 40 to age 80.

There\'s this retirement bonus, said Geoff Brooks, the New York-based national director of retirement strategy at HSBC Bank USA, a unit of the U.K.-based HSBC Holdings PLC. In some countries, people in their 60s feel more optimistic and in control than people in their 40s and 50s. There\'s this decade where it all comes together and it continues on into their 70s, he said.

Those who are older report being less worried about their future finances than younger respondents. Sixty percent of those in their seventies, 57% of those in their sixties, 48% of those in their fifties and 42% of those in their forties said they are not at all worried about their ability to cope financially in the future.

Globally, about 70% of respondents over age 60 said their standard of living in retirement was about the same, slightly better or a lot better than before, while 29% said it was slightly worse or a lot worse.

Meanwhile, 21% of those in their forties said they are very worried about their future finances compared with 12% of respondents in their seventies who said that. Twenty percent of those in their fifties and 14% of those in their sixties said they\'re very worried.

Also, the survey found that those 60 to 69 who live in countries with mature economies -- including the U.S. and Western Europe -- scored higher than younger respondents on questions measuring their sense of control over their lives.

The report defined France, Germany, the United States, Canada and Japan as mature economies. Brazil, Mexico, Russia, Turkey, India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, South Africa and Saudi Arabia were described as transitional economies.

Giving back

A third of respondents give back to society, saying they volunteer now or have volunteered in the past. Of those who do volunteer, about 50% give at least one half-day each week, the survey found.

The volunteer time of those 60 to 79 in the U.S. is worth almost $19 billion per year, the report\'s authors estimate, based on the current federal minimum wage of $5.15 per hour.

Good health has a lot to do with that activity, Brooks said.

The contribution that people are making, whether to society, family or community, is driven by the fact that people are actually pretty healthy. We\'re saying 70 is the new 50, he said.

Overall, just 14% of those 60 to 79 said they\'re in poor or very poor health, while 86% say they\'re in fair, good or very good health, the survey found.

Among countries with mature economies, just 8% report being in poor or very poor health, and in specific countries the percentage of ill people drops even lower. For instance, just 3% of Canadians report they\'re in poor or very poor health.

Still, the survey found plenty of striking differences across countries. While about 10% of people in Brazil and Mexico and about 18% of people in Asia reported they\'re in poor health, that jumps to 32% in South Africa and about 35% in Russia and Turkey.

Only 8% of Russians in their 70s felt in good or very good health, the lowest percentage in the survey.

Working longer

Worldwide, about 9% of those in their seventies said they work for pay full- or part-time and another 2% said they work once in a while.

But there are wide disparities. In the U.S., about 19% of 70-somethings work for pay while in France just 1% of people in their 70s said that.

Among U.S. respondents, most -- 79% -- of those in their seventies who work say it\'s because they want to versus 21% who feel they must continue to work.