Well-being - Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2023

One in three persons aged 65 and over report high overall life satisfaction

Analysis of overall life satisfaction by age shows that in 2023, respondents aged 65 and older were more likely to report high satisfaction with their overall life. More than one in three (35.8%) of this age group reported high overall life satisfaction.

Older respondents were also less likely to report low overall life satisfaction with 6.6% of people aged 65 and older reporting a low satisfaction level with their overall life. Respondents aged 16-24 years were most likely to report a low overall life satisfaction level with 12.9% of this age group reporting low overall life satisfaction. This rate is likely to be higher as 6.7% of this age group either refused or were unable to rate their overall life satisfaction on the 0-10 scale. See figure 4.1 and WBB12.

Satisfaction levels with household finances increase with age

When it comes to overall satisfaction with the financial situation of their households, low satisfaction levels decreased by age, with respondents aged 16-24 having the highest rate for low satisfaction (31.7%) and respondents aged 65 or over having the lowest rate for low overall satisfaction with the financial situation of their household (13.6%). As with the question on overall life satisfaction, the 16-24 age group had the highest ‘Not stated’ rate and therefore the 31.7% low satisfaction rate is likely to understate the true percentage. See figure 4.2 and WBB12.

Satisfaction with personal relationships increase with age

High satisfaction levels with their personal relationships (family, friends, neighbours and other people they know) tended to increase by age group. The percentage of people aged 65 and older with a high overall satisfaction level with their personal relationships was 9 percentage points higher than the rate for respondents aged 16-24 years (48.2% compared with 39.2%). See figure 4.3 and WBB12.

One in three people aged 25-49 report low satisfaction with amount of free time available

Low satisfaction levels with the time available for enjoyable activities is highest for people aged 25-49 with more than three in ten (31.7%) of this age group reporting a low satisfaction level. The low satisfaction rate for persons aged 65 and older is less than one in ten (9.0%).

The high satisfaction level for time use was almost four times higher for people aged 65 and over compared with people aged 25-49 (41.5% compared with 11.0%). See figure 4.4 and WBB64.

Three in five persons working past the age of 65 report high job satisfaction

Results from the CSO’s Labour Force Survey shows that 118,300 people aged 65 and older were in employment in Quarter 4, 2023. Ten years earlier (Quarter 4, 2013) there were 55,100 of this age group in employment (See table QLF18). SILC respondents to the 2023 survey who described their Principal Economic Status (PES) as employed were asked to rate their satisfaction level with their job. Almost six in ten (58.5%) employed people aged 65 years and older had a high satisfaction level with their job. This is approximately double the rates for people aged 50-64 (30.4%) and for people aged 25-49 (26.1%). The number of employed SILC respondents aged 16-24 in the 2023 achieved sample was not adequate to provide estimates for their levels of job satisfaction. See Figure 4.5 and WBB12.

Mental health of younger persons more negatively impacted by COVID-19

As already referenced in Chapters 2 and 3 of this publication, the CSO conducted a series of surveys throughout 2020 and 2021 on the social impact of COVID-19. In all rounds of the Social Impact of COVID-19 survey where well-being statistics were collected, younger adults were more likely to report lower well-being scores. The Social Impact of COVID-19 surveys also collected information on respondents’ compliance levels with government advice and guidelines regarding COVID-19. Results from these surveys showed that high compliance rates tended to increase with age. In February 2021, just over two in three (67.3%) respondents aged 18-34 rated their compliance as high compared with 84.7% of those aged 70 years and over. See Social Impact of COVID-19 Survey February 21-Well-being.

In March 2020, the Department of Health issued guidance on cocooning to protect people over 70 years and those extremely medically vulnerable from COVID-19.

In 2021, despite the potential negative impact of cocooning and social isolation on mental health, a lower percentage of people aged 65 and older said that their mental health had been negatively affected by COVID-19 in the 12-month period prior to interview. Four in ten (39.3%) of this age group reported a negative effect compared with six in ten (60.0%) respondents aged 16-24. The percentage of respondents in the 2023 survey that reported a COVID-19 related negative impact on mental health had fallen for all age groups. The biggest drop was seen for people aged 25-49, with 26.7% of this age group reporting that their mental health had been negatively affected by COVID-19 in the 12-month period prior to date of interview, down from 59.1% in 2021.

In 2023 the percentage reporting that COVID-19 had a negative effect on their mental health was similar for all age groups, ranging from 24.1% for people aged 65 year and older to 28.7% for people aged 16-24. See figure 4.6 and WBB52.

Decrease in loneliness across all age groups since 2021

As already mentioned, older people reported higher compliance rates with government advice and guidelines regarding COVID-19 during the period that restrictions were in place. Even though these guidelines were more restrictive for older people, results from the SILC 2021 survey shows no statistically significant differences between age groups in the percentages reporting having felt lonely in the four-week period before their interview date, with just over one in five of people in each age group having felt lonely.

Results from the 2023 survey show that for all age groups there has been a drop in the percentage of respondents reporting loneliness. The largest drop in the loneliness rate between 2021 and 2023 was for people aged 16-24, where the rate fell by just over 10 percentage points from 22.5% in 2021 to 12.4% in 2023. See figure 4.7 and WBB22.

In 2021, the 65 and older age group had the lowest rate for feeling downhearted or depressed in the four-week period prior to interview and respondents aged 16- 24 had the highest rate (18.0% and 24.3% respectively). In 2023 when compared with 2021, the rates for feeling downhearted or depressed fell for all age groups with the largest decrease seen for those aged 16-24 where the rate fell from 24.3% to 13.7%. See figure 4.8 and WBB22.