Under Lead candidate Henk Krol, the party entered the House of Representatives for the first time at the 2012 general election.

On 6 May 2021, party leader Liane den Haan, its sole member in the House of Representatives, left to sit as an Independent following an internal dispute.

[6] The party was founded under the name Onafhankelijke Ouderen en Kinderen Unie (Independent Elderly and Children Union) in 2009, succeeding the Partij voor Rechtvaardigheid, Daadkracht en Vooruitgang (Party for Justice, Vigour and Progress).

In return for this, 50PLUS member Kees de Lange would be the OSF's lead candidate on the electoral list.

On 15 September 2013, sympathizers and former employees founded the movement Ouderen Politiek Actief (OPA) after 50PLUS decided not to participate in the 2014 municipal elections.

On 20 September, OPA founder Dick Schouw and his partner, board member Adriana Hernández, were expelled from the party for "repeated violation of party-established boundaries" and "breach of integrity," respectively.

[12] Krol was unaware of the decision, which led to the leaking of confidential emails, also involving Nagel.

The reason for this was a publication in the newspaper de Volkskrant about unpaid pension premiums during the period when he was the owner of the Gay Krant.

The criticism was mainly focused on the high placement of candidates who had only recently become members or active, such as former TV presenter Léonie Sazias and former chair of the ABVA-KABO Corrie van Brenk.

He remained in this position until 1 August 2020, when Jan Nagel was again elected chairman at the party congress after a digital vote.

[24] On 2 June 2020, the only 50PLUS Member of the European Parliament, Toine Manders, switched to the CDA delegation.

Liane den Haan, director of the ANBO, was nominated by the board in August 2020 as the lead candidate for the next general election, as she was deemed by chairman Nagel to be well-versed in senior citizens' issues and capable of debating well.

However, the choice of Den Haan was not without controversy: as ANBO director, she was accused of dictatorial behavior[25] and had also expressed support for a revision of the pension system, which 50PLUS strongly opposed.

On 24 June 2023, Jorien van den Herik was elected as the new party chairman during the members' meeting.

Due to conflicts with the board,[34] he was expelled shortly before the party congress on 30 September 2023, after the court had overturned a previous expulsion.