THE saying goes that life begins at 40, but a new poll suggests in fact people have to wait another five years before they are most content.

The YouGov study of 2,000 people in Scotland, carried out for a dating agency, found the over-45s group are the happiest generation describing themselves as content with life, fulfilled and enjoying strong family and friend relationships.

They rated themselves against Carl Jung's five elements of happiness; good physical and mental health, good personal and intimate relationships, good standard of living and satisfactory work, an appreciation of art and nature, being aware of world issues and news, and being able to cope with life's ups and downs.

The age group was top in five measures with 63 per cent saying they felt content, 82 per cent saying they had strong relationships.