Pensioners opt for sex over 65

Most over-65s make love twice a month, says a new report. The first survey (by Ofcom) concluded that the over-65s spend more time online than any other age group, which rather gives a lie to those who say the "poor old dears" can't handle technology.

It doesn't say what they're looking up on the internet, but we know from anecdotal evidence and client feedback that it's not just stair-lifts and walk-in baths, because the far more interesting survey, from the New England Journal of Medicine, is that two-thirds of those aged 65 to 74 claim to have sex two or three times a month.

Well, hurrah for the sexy, silver surfers!

Sex appeal doesn't disappear the minute you pick up a bus-pass, as anyone who's looked into the eyes of Jack Nicholson or Helen Mirren can testify. Tom Jones still gets knickers thrown at him, whenever he's on stage. They might be winceyette with a double gusset these days, but he's obviously not yet ready to be put out to pasture on the green, green grass of home.

With longer life expectancy and divorce so much more common, many of us will enjoy more than one long-term relationship in our lives. And each begins with the "honeymoon" period of passion – whatever your age.

After years of loneliness and bereavement, the sheer joy of rediscovering your sex life can be tempered by the disapproving tuts of adult children.
 
'It's vital to have a sense of humour," says Marina, 75, who met her new partner on a Saga cruise. "His knee locked the first time we went to bed and I got cramp, so all the 'oohs' and 'aahs' were actually cries of pain, not passion."

But with so much emphasis on young, smooth, blemish-free skin, how easy is it to feel sexy at 65-plus?

As the old story goes, George and Henry are sitting in a rest home, when one of the lady residents streaks across the room, naked. "That looks like Mrs Smith," says George, "but what is she wearing?"

"Well, whatever it is," replies Henry, "it needs ironing."

Whilst the survey is an amusing read, from a marketing perspective what we need to take from it is the fact that the over 50s are changing. They no longer wait excitedly for the arrival of the bus pass and zimmer frame. Ask any 40-something about their grandparents and they’ll tell you a very different story, a story of Women’s Institutes and visits to the coast.

This demographic has changed more than any other in the last 30 years. They travel more, spend more and enjoy life more than any other.

If you’d like to know more about the opportunities this group offers, please contact Steve (steve@pcdagency.com) or Tim (tim@pcdagency.com) and we’d be pleased to present our unique insight.