“Getting old isn’t nearly as bad as people think it will be. Nor is it quite as good,” according to a Pew Research Center Social & Demographic Trends survey on aging released in June. Older adults feel younger, think life hasn’t turned out so bad, and are overall enjoying their later years. About six in 10 say they get more respect and feel less stress than when they were younger.

Expectations about aging were measured—on aspects of everyday life, ranging from mental acuity to physical dexterity to sexual activity to financial security—revealing a sizable gap between what young and middle-aged adults expect will happen in old age and the actual experiences reported by older Americans.

When it comes to the negative benchmarks associated with aging—illness, memory loss, the inability to drive, an end to sexual activity, struggling with loneliness and depression, difficulty paying bills—in every instance, older adults report experiencing them at lower levels (often far lower) than younger adults say they expect when they grow old.

On the other hand, older adults report experiencing fewer of the benefits of aging that younger adults say they are looking forward to. Those benefits include spending more time with family, traveling more for pleasure, having more time for hobbies, doing volunteer work, or starting a second career.