The dynamics of ageing: Evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing 2002-10 (Wave 5)

The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing is a multidisciplinary study of a representative sample of men and women aged 50 years and over living in England. This report launches the fifth wave of data collection, carried out in 2010-11. ELSA was designed to understand the unfolding dynamics of ageing and the relationships between economic circumstances, social and psychological factors, health, cognitive function and biology as people move through retirement into older age. The sample first assessed in 2002 included more than 11,000 participants, and they have been restudied every two years since then. The data from ELSA are used widely by academic scholars and policymakers interested in this critical period of life, since the study provides crucial evidence that is relevant to decision-making in the arena of public policy and to research in economics, health, biology and social sciences. The wealth of information spanning eight years in the ELSA cohort is not possible to cover in detail in a single publication. This report therefore focuses on in-depth analyses of three issues of current scientific and policy importance: - Pension wealth and contribution dynamics - Social detachment - Health and well-being In addition, the report includes an extensive and detailed set of tables describing results in the economics, social and health domains, summarising other important measures collected in ELSA from both a cross-sectional and longitudinal perpective. These tables will provide readers with a rich set of information about the dynamic changes in the experience of ageing over time and highlight the opportunities for further interesting analyses using ELSA.