WASHINGTON, June 29 (UPI) -- Growing old isn't as bad -- nor as good -- as Americans think it will be, results of a Pew Research Center study released Monday indicated.

The study revealed a sizable gap between expectations of young adults and middle-age adults have about getting older and the actual experience as reported by seniors.

Nearly eight in 10 adults surveyed indicated there was "a major difference in the point of view of younger people and older people today," up from 74 percent in 1969, considered the height of the counterculture's challenges to the establishment, the Pew Research Center said.

When is one considered old? The survey found respondents ages 18 to 29 thought the average person becomes old at 60. Middle-age respondents said 70. Respondents 65 and better said the threshold was crossed at 74.

About one in four respondents at least 65 years old reported experiencing memory loss, while one in five indicated they weren't sexually active, or often feel sad or depressed, the survey found. One in six participants said they were lonely or have trouble paying bills, and one in seven said they can't drive.

The number of younger and middle-age adults who told interviewers they expect to encounter the same ills was higher than the number of older adults who said they actually experienced them, Pew said.

Results were based on interviews with 2,969 adults conducted Feb. 23-March 23. The overall margin of error is 2.6 percentage points.

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