Money and happiness: does age make a difference?

Although the factors that influence people's perception of happiness have long been a focus for scholars, research to date has not offered conclusive findings on the relationships between income, age and happiness. This study examined the relationship between money and happiness across age groups. Analysing data from United States General Social Surveys from 1972 to 2006, this study finds that even after controlling for all the major socio-demographic variables, income (whether household income or personal equivalised income) had a significant positive association with happiness for young and middle-age adults, but it was not the same case with older adults. After controlling for the major socio-demographic variables, there was no evidence of a significant relationship between income (whichever definition) and happiness for older adults. The results also showed that the effect of household income on happiness was significantly smaller for older adults than for young or middle-age adults in the model controlling for major socio-demographic variables. The relationship between household income and happiness no longer differed significantly across age groups after social comparison variables were included. The relationship between equivalised income and happiness did not vary significantly by age group after controlling for the major socio-demographic variables.