Contemporary demographic changes and the ageing of populations pose the question on how old age, as a stage of life, is shaped by preceding events, experiences and behaviors. This article proposes to use the life course perspective in research on social policy and social work, with a specific focus on ageing policies. It reviews selected areas of social policy (such as labor market policy, social security policy, health policy, family policy, education policy, long-term care and others), in which the use of the life course perspective may bring positive effects, such as establishing pro-active and preventive policy instruments. The dominant theoretical perspective used in the research is a new institutionalism and, in particular, its sociological and normative streams. The article elaborates the process of life-course institutionalization and deinstitutionalization and emphasizes benefits resulting from integrating the process of policy-making and new institutional solutions with the input of gerontology, psychology, pedagogy and adult medicine.