They say that 50 is the new 40 and in the next few years the percentage of the population aged over 50 is set to increase enormously. What will you do with increased longevity? How will you finance and survive what could be a thirty year spell?

In line with the modern thinking of labelling everything with a silly phrase, apparently I am a GOTY (Getting older, thinking younger). The over 50s are the largest and wealthiest consumer group in the UK and, research tells me, that we enjoy a better lifestyle and have more money than our parents did at the same age.

So what should we do with it?

Gone are the days when the banks looked at you as if you were about to run off with their money. You’ll find that your bank will treat you with the utmost respect (well more respect than you got in your 20s anyway). And with good reason.

The UK’s over 50s are worth £175 billion (en masse). The over 45s own 80% of the country’s wealth and over 50s have a 30% higher disposable income than those under 50.

Car insurance is an area where age is very much in our favour. People in their sixties pay the lowest premiums of anyone. But the over 50s also benefit from being generally regarded as a lower risk on the roads.

Your years of experience, substantial no-claims record and the insurance industry’s perception of you as a calmer, less stressed person all pay dividends when it comes to premiums.

Employment rates for over 50s have risen sharply over the past 10 years as employers have wised up to the fact that mature, knowledgeable staff are worth their weight in gold.

And if you want to start your own business you’re more assured of a better reception from the banks and more likely to make a success of it than younger entrepreneurs.

According to Barclays Bank, the number of middle-aged people starting businesses has grown by 50% over the past decade and now accounts for almost a quarter of new businesses.

More than 24% of over 50s check their shares online, according to the NatWest OnLine Banking survey. Which means that many over 50s are also trading online. This is good as the best dealing rates are available from online execution-only brokers.

One company that specialises in share dealing for the over 50s is Saga and its rates start at a competitive £11.50. But you can do better than that. There is now so much competition, that as a stock market investor you will be able to find low dealing rates, whatever your age.

Companies, until now, have always stuck rigidly to the 60/65 retirement age and pushed long-standing employees out of the door quick-smart as soon as their birthday arrived.

But since October 2006 UK firms have had to comply with EC law (the European Employment Directive to be precise) which bans age discrimination at work and effectively means people will be able to work longer – if they really want to.

Older homeowners are considered a better bet than flighty youngsters as they’re seen as more security-conscious, less likely to try to make a fraudulent claim, and more likely to be at home more during the day (they’re also likely to have a longer no claims history too), which means premiums come down in price. There are even companies that target over 50s with preferential rates. So it’s worth shopping around.

This is not a definite – but if you automatically think the insurance industry will write you off as someone with one foot in the grave you’ll be pleasantly surprised to hear that you can probably cut your premium if you shop around.

Traditionally, life insurance premiums rise by up to 33% every five years older you are and up to 50% every ten years. However, the number of newcomers to the market and increased life expectancy rates are forcing insurers to take another look at their premiums.

So, if you’ve been with your insurer for some time, it’s definitely worth checking to see whether you couldn’t get the same cover elsewhere, for less.

While you may hope (and might rightfully expect to be able) to leave all your worldly possessions to your children when you die, you may be alarmed to find out that there’s someone else with a claim to at least part of your property: the Inland Revenue.

In the current tax year, as morbid as this may sound, if you were to die tomorrow, anything in your estate worth more than £263,000 would be taxed at 40%. That’s a lot of money for your grieving legatees to find to get the taxman off their backs and get their hands on what is rightfully theirs. But there are ways around this.

An outright gift to an individual is exempt from inheritance tax as long as you have gifted the asset (money, property and so on) more than seven years before the date of your death.

So if you haven’t yet and you do die tomorrow I’m afraid it is too late. But, what I’m getting at is it’s time to start making provisions now. God willing you’re young enough to stick around another seven years minimum, so it pays to speak to a tax adviser or your solicitor about cutting the Revenue’s claim on your estate, while you still can.

And if you’re not yet 50, well, it’s something to look forward to then, isn’t it? Because by 2048 more than half the population will be 50-plus and if advances in technology and healthcare come up to expectation it will mean that tomorrow’s over-50s can look forward to fabulous 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond.

Graham Smith for Third Age.