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How sociocultural contexts shape individual functioning is of prime interest for psychological inquiry. Secular increases favoring later-born cohorts in fluid intelligence measures are widely documented for young adults. In the current study, we quantified such trends in old age using data from highly comparable participants living in a narrowly defined geographical area and examined whether these trends would generalize to quality-of-life indicators. To do so, we compared data obtained 20 years apart in the Berlin Aging Study (in 1990–1993) and the Berlin Aging Study II (in 2013–2014), applied a case-matched control design (per cohort, n= 161, Mage= 75), quantified sample selection using a nationally representative sample as the reference, and controlled for number of physical diseases. The later cohort performed better on the fluid intelligence measure (d=. 85) and reported higher morale, less negative affect …