Life begins at 40, it's said. But it seems the saying will have to be changed as a new study has found that happiness now begins at 55 for Britons. According to the study, one million 45 to 54-year-olds are unhappy with their lives - making their age group the most miserable in the country. Of 8.5 million Britons born from the mid-Fifties to mid-Sixties just 4.5 million, or 39 per cent, are completely happy, compared with an average for all age groups of 48 per cent. Fifty three per cent say they are miserable. Fears for jobs and pensions and the strain of dealing with young children and ageing parents have left more than half feeling unhappy, the British media reported. Not until the age of 55 do the majority — 53 per cent — say they are "happy" and "content", while 71 per cent of over-65s are happy with their lot, the study by online bank 'First Direct' found. "The first generation of Baby Boomers is known as the 'Golden Generation'; those who came a decade later appear less fortunate, facing work and financial pressures that seem to be weighing down on them particularly," the bank's marketing head Paul Say was quoted as saying.