<p>Population ageing has become a major policy issue. Older adults are especially vulnerable to negative life events. However, the effects of negative events on different aspects of well-being are not fully understood. We contribute to this literature by examining how negative life events experienced in the preceding 12 months influence the well-being of adults aged 50 to 85. Using nationally representative panel data for Australia and fixed effects regressions, we consider three indicators of well-being: life satisfaction, eudaimonic well-being, and hedonic well-being. We find that most negative events are associated with lower well-being, and this result holds across a range of sensitivity checks, including tests for omitted variable bias. In addition, four events – a serious personal injury or illness, being a victim of physical violence, a major worsening in finances, and separation from one’s spouse – are associated with lower well-being in all the gender, income, and education subgroups we consider. These results may have important implications for policies that aim to promote well-being in later life.</p>