Old age in Britain begins at age 59

A survey by the British government found the average perception of when people start to consider themselves old is precisely 59 years, two months and two weeks. The research, which involved interviewing 2,162 Britons, was commissioned by Britain's Department for Work and Pensions. However, for individual age groups, aging varied widely according to how old the respondents were, as well as their gender, and whether they worked or not. On average, women said old age begins at age 60, four months and two weeks. Men said it starts at age 58 -- potentially because they tend to live shorter lives, the Daily Telegraph reported. Those age 50 and under said old age begins at 46, while those age 50 and older said old age begins at 62-and-a-half.