More people in their sixties have a LAT relationship, especially men

In 2024, fewer people in their sixties were living with a partner than ten years earlier. Increasingly, they are in a LAT relationship or are single. Men in this age group are more likely to have a LAT relationship than women. This is reported by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) based on the Social Cohesion and Well-being survey.There will be more and more elderly people in the future. In particular, the number of elderly people living without a partner is expected to rise sharply, from 1.4 million in 2024 to 2.1 million in 2070. Not everyone living alone is single. Some of them have a steady partner but do not live with them: they have a LAT relationship.Among 60- to 70-year-olds, 5 percent have a LAT relationship and 70 percent live with their partner. Among 70- to 80-year-olds, this is slightly lower: 3 percent had a LAT relationship and 66 percent lived with their partner. Compared to 2014, the share of LAT relationships has increased especially among people in their sixties. Ten years ago, only 3 percent of people in their sixties had a LAT relationship.Particularly young people (aged 18 to 30) often have LAT relationships: nearly 21 percent have a steady partner but do not yet live together. This is partly because they still live with their parents.

Fewer people in their sixties are living together

Fewer people in their sixties are living with their partner: 70 percent in 2024, compared to 76 percent in 2014. One important reason for this is that the current 60- to 70-year-olds are more often divorced than ten years ago.Men in this age group are more likely to have a partner and live with them than their female peers: 73 percent, compared to 68 percent of women. Men in this age group are also more likely to have a LAT relationship (23 percent, compared to 13 percent of women).

People in their seventies: men more often have a partner, differences are narrowing

Men aged 70 to 80 also more often have a partner than women. They are more likely to live with a partner and more likely to have a LAT relationship. 76 percent of men in their seventies live with a partner, compared to 57 percent of women. In addition, 4 percent of men have a LAT relationship, compared to 2 percent of women.Compared to 2014, the differences between men and women in this age group have narrowed. Men are slightly less likely to live together, while women are slightly more likely to do so. This is mainly because life expectancy, especially among men, has increased over the past ten years, meaning women are less likely to end up alone after their partner’s death.

Why older men are more likely to have a partner

There are several reasons why men aged 60 to 80 are more likely to have a partner than women. There are more women than men in this age group because men on average die earlier. In addition, the man in a heterosexual couple is on average a few years older than the woman. Research has also shown that single women aged 50 or older are less likely to want a partner than single men.

Women more often remain single after partner’s death

Among men aged 60 or older, LAT relationships are more common among divorced and widowed men than among men who have never been married. Among women of that age, LAT relationships are more common among divorced women and women who have never been married. Widowed women, on the other hand, are less likely to have a LAT relationship.

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