Life in your early 50s survey

Updated: January 2024

The Life in your early 50s survey (previously known as the Age 50 Survey) has now concluded.

It took us up until early 2024 to get round to interviewing you all.

We are pleased we were able to visit you in person again after the Covid-19 pandemic. We were also very grateful to those who took part by video call for the first time.

What we asked

The survey has consisted of an interview, a paper self-completion questionnaire, and an online dietary questionnaire. In the interview, we asked you about some familiar topics, including your relationships with friends and family, your employment and income, and your physical and mental health.

We also asked you about how your life continues to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Family circumstances can have a huge impact on our lives, so we also asked some questions about partners, parents, children and other people you may live with.

To see how your experiences and circumstances at this important stage in your lives might differ from previous generations, we have been asking you questions that participants in older cohorts have answered during their early 50s.

If you are very asked any questions you are not comfortable answering, you can skip these. Your comfort in participating in BCS70 surveys is very important to us.

Getting help with issues raised in the survey

We hope taking part in our survey has been a positive experience. We know lots of people enjoy taking time out to think about and answer questions about their lives.

But if it leaves you worrying about anything that’s happening in your life, there are organisations you can talk to. Visit our helplines page for more information.



Related downloads

Life in your early 50s – Survey Guide