Abstract:

The aim of this article is to analyse the relationship between the subjective well-being of older adults and selected objective and subjective indicators of quality of life in six European Union countries: the Czechia, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Spain and Sweden. Using SHARE Wave 8 data supplemented with macroeconomic indicators, the study compares self-rated health, life satisfaction and the frequency of social contacts with data on pension expenditure and the pension gap. The findings reveal clear discrepancies between objective living conditions and reported well-being. Countries with high levels of pension system expenditure and well-developed social services — Germany and, in particular, Sweden — show relatively high levels of life satisfaction despite only moderate levels of social contact frequency. In turn, Poland and Spain, despite similar levels of self-rated health and comparable social contact intensity, achieve lower levels of life satisfaction, suggesting a stronger role of institutional factors, perceived stability and social expectations. Lithuania and the Czechia — countries with lower incomes and poorer health outcomes — paradoxically report higher levels of well-being than Poland and Spain, indicating that life satisfaction is not a simple derivative of material living conditions.
The analysis highlights the multidimensional nature of well-being in older adulthood and underscores the need for public policies that address not only economic and health conditions but also institutional stability, the quality of public services, levels of social trust and the adequacy of pension systems in relation to citizens’ expectations.