Marriage and a family make the over-50s happy (and it helps if you live in the South West):

Happiness fell in over-50s last year except in married couples

Survey found most satisfied had income between  £17,000 and £23,000

Happiest were retired couples with independent children in South East

Most miserable were Northern Ireland singletons without children

By STEVE DOUGHTY
   
Marriage and family are the route to happiness for the middle-aged, a study claims.

It found that a traditional lifestyle and the responsibility of bringing up children count for much more than money in making a satisfied life.

Married couples maintained their levels of happiness last year at a time when satisfaction generally declined among the over-50s.

Happiness in the over-50s declined in general last year, according to a survey, but married couples maintained their levels of satisfaction and those with children had the highest rate of all

 
They are more than twice as content with their lives as single people, the study suggested.

The benefits of a stable family and steady employment – though not necessarily well-paid employment – are revealed in the RIAS Over-50s Satisfaction Index, based on a series of surveys combined with official statistics.

 
People over 50 are less happy than they were last year, with the level of the index dropping  2 per cent, from 6.92 out of ten to 6.81, thanks to falling emotional and financial satisfaction.

But 39 per cent of over-50s scored more than seven out of ten, and were classed as 'truly satisfied'.

Satisfaction with finances was down 10 per cent, an indication of the continuing effect of the recession, rising retirement ages and falling retirement incomes, the study said.

The results of the study were gathered before last month's Budget and Chancellor George Osborne's moves to free retirees from having to spend their pension pots on annuities of questionable value.

However, wealth did not figure as the main reason why people said they were happy.

The study found the most satisfied people are on modest earnings between £17,000 and £23,000, and only people with less than £10,000 were likely to show up as unhappy in the index.

Emotional satisfaction dropped by 17 per cent, believed to be due to the increase in numbers of divorces among older people.

While levels of divorce have fallen steadily, divorces among the middle-aged have been defying the trend by rising.

Figures show that among  married men over 60, 2.3 in every 1,000 were divorced in 2011  compared with only 1.6 in every 1,000 in 1991.

The study found that 46 per cent of married people were happy with their lives, compared with 22 per cent of single people.

It also said that people are happier in their 70s than in their 50s. The most satisfied group of people, it said, are in their 70s, married, retired, have children who are financially independent and feel they have achieved their ambitions, but can still adapt to new challenges.

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Feeling miserable? Then you most likely live in Northern Ireland, are single, have no children, work full-time and earn less than £10,000

 
Peter Corfield of insurance provider RIAS said: 'Overall, the UK's over-50s are currently satisfied. However, there is no denying that satisfaction is in decline.

'As expected, money doesn't buy happiness; the index clearly shows that love, family and emotional happiness are the key long-term drivers of satisfaction.

It also helps to live in the South West, the report said.

But in contrast, the most miserable middle-aged are in their 50s, are single without children, work full-time for less than £10,000 a year, and live in Northern Ireland.

The index also shows 'satisfied 70s' are miles ahead of their 50s counterparts, suggesting we need to re-evaluate how we view happiness in relation to age and money. For many over-50s, satisfaction comes from protecting the people and things they love.

'Key drivers for over-50s satisfaction are the feeling of control, emotional happiness, satisfaction with time spent working and the contribution that they are making to society,' the  report said. 'Money is the least important driver for satisfaction.

'Those Britons living a traditional lifestyle – married with children, fully retired – are the most satisfied overall.'