Irish pensioners: Health, not wealth, brings happiness

Ireland’s pensioners are the happiest group of people in the country - happier than students, young families, and most other people in the EU - and cite their health as the primary cause of that happinness. 

The old adage of ‘health is wealth’ is true not just for the Irish, however, but for EU citizens generally.

More than a third of those with very good health report they also have a good life, while 93% with poor health are, understandably, not happy with their lot.

Despite the economic crisis — which has reduced the Greeks to among the most depressed people in Europe — the Irish are among the most upbeat.

And when the Irish are happy, they are very happy. Close to a third report that they are very satisfied with life, while one in five are not so enthusiastic.

Those in the 65 to 75-year- old age group register their happiness level as 8 out of 10, which reflects the joys of giving up work — the “retirement effect”, the Eurostat report says.

While older people’s lives are better when they give up work, being unemployed makes those of working age very unhappy generally.

In Ireland, four out of 10 who are unemployed report their quality of life and happiness levels are low.

And while money doesn’t buy happiness, it definitely helps — as those who are poor, deprived, or at risk of poverty, report a very low level of life satisfaction.

In Ireland those who are working are even happier than students — a unique finding for European students, shared only by the Danes and the Finns.

In all other countries, schooldays are counted as among the happiest.

Apart from health and a job, the other elements to having a good life, especially for older citizens, is having someone they can talk to and friends and family they can rely on in a crisis.

Irish people in general rate 7.7 out of 10 — behind Denmark, Finland, Sweden the Netherlands, and even Austria.

Men and women tend to be equally happy with their lives, although women living on their own and over the age of 65 registered as among the most dissatisfied with their lives.

On the other hand, households with two adults and three or more children registered as having the most life- satisfaction.

The least happy were fellow bailout countries, Greece, Portugal and Cyprus, joined by Bulgaria and Hungary, according to Eurostat’s figures released to mark International Day of Happiness.

The survey, carried out in 2013, took into account a whole range of issues to try to ensure that people’s answers did not just reflect them having a bad day, or their liking to give a good impression.

POLL: Would you rather be healthy or wealthy?

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