Silver Surfers: Over-60s are more adventurous than ever before

80 is the new 50 for many retired Brits, with one in ten saying they feel 25 years younger than their actual age.

That’s according to a new study looking at what the UK’s pensioners get up to once they have quit the nine to five.

It seems that the old stereotype of people of a certain age settling into a retirement full of knitting, bridge, and bingo are on the way out.

New data from MoneySuperMarket reveals that one third (34 per cent) of over 60s spend more money on adventurous activities, such as bungee jumping and sky diving, than the generation before them.

The price comparison website quizzed Brits aged 60 and over to explore what ‘over 60’ really looks like in modern Britain.

Perhaps surprisingly, if money and health weren’t an object, ‘the silent generation’ (over 80 years old) would be 10 per cent more likely to take up a risky hobby than those aged 70-74.

Silver surfers

Additionally, a daring one in 10 (eight per cent) 65-69-year-old ‘baby boomers’ would consider surfing - shining a new light on the term ‘silver surfer’.

Hiking (21 per cent), cycling (19 per cent) and backpacking around the world (16 per cent) top the list of the most adventurous activities in which the over 60s would be keen to partake - with one in 10 (nine per cent) are even up for doing a skydive, and a healthy 12 per cent daring enough to go scuba diving.

The research also shows that the older generation certainly aren’t feeling their age, with one in 10 over-80s (14 per cent) feeling a huge 25 years younger than they actually are, and a fifth (21 per cent) of 60 - 64-year-olds feeling at least 10 years younger.