More sex please ... we’re over 65!
1 in 3 pensioners say they would go to bed with a new partner after first date
THEY were broad-minded teenagers during the sexual revolution of the 1960s – and it seems their passion for passion hasn’t dimmed.
In fact most pensioners of the baby boomer generation insist they still can’t get enough satisfaction, a leading charity revealed yesterday.
Some 52 per cent of those surveyed said they have too little sex.
And one in ten over-65s say they have had multiple sexual partners since becoming a pensioner, the Independent Age survey found.
Nearly a third said they had gone to bed with a new partner on a first date after turning 65, or would have considered doing so.
Charity chiefs said the research challenged traditional attitudes towards sex later in life.
Independent Age director Lucy Harmer said: ‘A lot of older people are more sexually active than many people may think.’
But she warned: ‘ Sex, dating and relationships can be complex, and that does not stop when we get older.
‘The ending of old relationships and starting new ones can be emotional – and can also present financial, legal or practical challenges.’
The research, carried out among 2,002 over-65s by Censuswide, found only one in six respondents over 80 feel they are having enough sex. One in ten over-75s said they have had multiple partners over the past decade.
Older people have also adapted to modern methods of finding a partner, the survey revealed.
Nearly three in ten over-65s who have started a relationship in the past decade met their new partner online.
Having a romantic connection was regarded as important by older people, alongside everyday companionship from friends. Miss Harmer said personal relationships – whether platonic or romantic – were key to fighting the growing problem of loneliness among older generations.
She added: ‘Strong relationships are important in later life, and ideas about friendship, romance and intimacy may well change throughout life. Close relationships can offer emotional support, and can make a difference by staving off loneliness and giving you resilience and support to get through difficult patches in life.’
The risks associated with sexual freedom have made an impression on older people, the survey found.
Less than a tenth of over-65s fail to take precautions against sexually transmitted diseases when they first start having sex with a new partner, although condoms are the most frequently used form of protection.
Independent Age is offering sex advice for older people, which includes guidance on safe sex and experimentation, including firsttime same-sex relationships.
Research in 2016 found one in four men over 85 still had an active sex life. The report, by the UK’s International Longevity Centre, said the figure was one in ten for women of the same age.
The findings come at a time when healthy life expectancy of both men and women is increasing – against a background of a ‘ silver splitter’ boom in the numbers of older married couples who part.