A study of nearly 205,000 adults across 22 countries found people most content with their friendships reported the best mental and physical health.
A study of almost 1,900 older adults found the most culturally active had a physiological age about three years below the least engaged.
A study of older adults in Sichuan found the urge to volunteer tracked with aging well, partly through small, everyday acts of kindness.
A six-year study found grandparents who cared for grandchildren scored higher on memory and verbal tests, no matter how often they helped.
A large European study found retirement tends to ease loneliness in the long run, not deepen it, for those who keep rebuilding their social lives.
Transamerica's 25th annual survey of 2,690 retirees finds 89% call themselves happy, while only 27% feel very confident about their finances.
A 2026 study of 2,000-plus Australians aged 60 and over found happiness rose to 69.5, with hobbies, purpose and connection ranking well above money.
One adviser watched too many clients die before spending their savings. His mission shifted: get people to work-optional at 55, not retired at 65.
Wes Moss studied retirees for a decade and found the clearest predictor of happiness isn't portfolio size. It's whether you can name five core pursuits.
Luxury assisted living in Chiang Mai costs a third of Singapore. So why did a year of research lead one journalist back to where he started?
Psychologists say it's not about seeing fewer people. It's about losing the structure, purpose and belonging that work quietly provided for decades.
The financial question is the one everyone asks. The other seven determine whether retirement actually feels as good as it's supposed to.
