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One in five over 50s have four different hobbies
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Most common hobbies are walking and gardening
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Around one million over 50s attend yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi classes
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Saga insures £7 million worth of golf equipment, £28 million worth of bikes and £36 million worth of musical instruments
While the majority of over 50s say they have at least one hobby, one in five say four different activities keeps them busy every month*. The most common being gardening (51%), walking or hiking (42%) and photography (16%). Other activities that keep the over 50s busy are swimming (13%), sewing or knitting (12%) and cycling (11%).
The over 50s are also in touch with their spiritual side and keen to keep supple as they get older, as Saga estimates that around one million attend yoga, Pilates or Tai Chi classes a couple of times a month.
It seems that the most popular hobbies suit people of all ages as the under 50s also say they enjoy walking or hiking (36%), swimming (20%) and gardening (19%). However, while the under 50s seem more likely to hit the road running (under 50s, 18% v over 50s, 3%), the over 50s are more likely to hit the golf course (under 50s, 3% v over 50s, 6%).
Hobbies seem to be costing the over 50s a pretty penny as they have around £1,250 worth of equipment or specialised clothing around the home, whereas the under 50s have around £700*. This suggests the over 50s live by the mantra that “if you buy cheap, you buy twice”.
However, the over 50s are wise and recognise the amount of money they invest in their kit. In fact, Saga estimates that it insures almost £7 million worth of golf equipment, such as clubs, trolleys and buggies and more than £2 million of fishing gear.
When it comes to cycling no expense is spared as the over 50s insure almost £28 million worth of bikes with Saga Home Insurance.
And while the over 50s spend around £700 on their bike on average, some say they have spent as much as £15,000 on bicycles. Perhaps ‘mamils’ – middle aged men in lycra – are making younger riders jealous of their top of the range wheels.
Sports aren’t the only activities keeping the over 50s busy. More than one million** are keen musicians and Saga insures £36 million worth of musical instruments, from pianos and violins to Gibson guitars and cellos.
The over 50s are also keen collectors and Saga estimates that it insures more than 1,000 stamp collections, 700 coin collections, 200 medal collections and 50 collections of fine wines. In fact, the average value of a Saga Home Insurance customer’s wine collection is around £14,000.
Roger Ramsden, Chief Executive, Saga Services, commented:
“The over 50s have clearly invested in their hobbies over the years and are keen to keep up with the latest trends by buying top of the range equipment. It’s easy to forget just how expensive it is to replace things like fishing rods or cameras so people are wise to add them to their home insurance policy so that they don’t have to fork out for new gear if something happens to it.”
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