Older people are often assumed to want amiable companionship in later life rather than passion-fuelled romance.
But a survey of 2,002 older Britons suggests 52% of over-65s feel they do not have enough sex, and nearly a third are happy to have sex on a first date. It also found one in 10 over-75s have had multiple sexual partners since turning 65.
The charity Independent Age said its survey showed age was “no barrier to having a sex life”.
The survey also found:
Just one in six people aged 80 and over said they felt they had enough sex
The same proportion of over-65s said one of the only reasons they would stop having sex would be a lack of opportunity
One in four over-65s in a relationship that started in the past 10 years said they had met online
Lucy Harmer, director of services at Independent Age, said a lot of older people were more sexually active than many people might think.
She told the BBC: “The generation that is reaching 65 and older now is the baby boomers. I don’t think anyone has ever told them they should be stopping.
“People of that generation have a slightly different approach to sex, maybe, than the 80 to 85-year-olds did.”
The poll also highlighted that about one in 11 over-65s said they did not take any precautions against sexually transmitted infections when they started having sex with a new partner.
The Terrence Higgins Trust said some older people who were newly single or sexually active later in life had little knowledge about preventing STIs.
Debbie Laycock, head of policy and parliamentary affairs at the sexual health charity, said: “There is still very little discussion of the sex lives of older people, with the vast majority of conversations, education and sexual health campaigns focusing on young people.
“This has created the assumption that sexual health and STIs are only issues for the young – and that needs to change.”
