Reflection on the wellbeing of the elderly is a priority factor for the design of public policies to ensure the quality of life of this age group at an unusual demographic moment. This article summarizes the findings from applying a focus group technique to two groups of older adults selected by convenience and located in two-day centers. The organization of the focus group responded to a tripartite temporal structure -looking at the past, the present and the future-to evoke in the informant’s previous experiences that would allow the researchers to evaluate variations in the perception of wellbeing according to the advance of the lifeline in order to conclude that, at this stage of life, more is lost than gained. The information obtained, analyzed according to the triple coding system of Grounded Theory, resulted in a grounded theory in which family attachment serves as the substantive element of the perception of subjective wellbeing of the older adult. This theory was contrasted with what is suggested by the specialized literature to conclude that the older adult advocates autonomy over-dependence, is not comfortable with family ties that he/she considers dysfunctional and, from a chronological perspective, evokes the past in a gratifying way, copes with the present with attempts at adaptation that are not always successful and imagines the future from a perspective of uncertainty and resigned acceptance in the face of a possible state of dependence and death.