The older a person gets, the happier they are, according to new research.

A study conducted in the US has shown that happiness increased five per cent with every decade, in terms of how interviewees perceived their life.

The author of the University of Chicago study and sociology professor Yang Yang performed 28,000 interviews over 30 years and found that as people grow older their feeling of contentment grows, despite an increase in distress caused by health problems and deaths of loved ones.

Some 33 per cent of people claimed to be very happy at the age of 88, compared to 24 per cent of people in their late teens and early 20s.

"The good news is that age comes with happiness," Mr Yang commented.

"Life gets better in one's perception as one ages."

Staying socially active has been cited as a major factor in maintaining happiness.

According to the Office for National Statistics, some 85 per cent of people approaching retirement would be willing to find employment to give their pensions a boost.