Age UK needed to understand more about how well older people in the UK are doing, so as to inform their work and gain an understanding of the policy and practical levers for improving older people’s lives. Age UK feel there has been no single and coherent measure covering wellbeing for older people in the most important domains of life. Up to now, there has been no way to measure in a comprehensive way: what is important in later life; how older people are doing; where and why wellbeing is low, and what effect various policy and practical levers might have in improving wellbeing.

Responding to this gap, AgeUK created an Index of Wellbeing in Later Life, which will support evidence-informed advocacy and policymaking, with coherent and person-centred quantitative intelligence.

Age UK. (2017). A summary of Age UK’s index of wellbeing in later life. London: Age UK.