With the aging of the population, research on suicide in older adults should be the subject of numerous studies, yet this topic is strongly neglected. Moreover, research on protective factors is also very limited and there is a need to examine psychosocial variables that could help in the prevention of suicide. A systematic review was conducted to examine the empirical data on the variables that are associated with reduced suicidality in older adults. The review identified 10 different intrapersonal psychosocial variables that could protect older adults against suicidality: perceived control, well-being, quality of life, life satisfaction, happiness, purpose-in-life, resilience, coping, religiosity, and hope. Surprisingly, there were no studies on self-regulation, even if the literature considers that the ability to control impulsive behaviours and deal with emotional pain is an important factor for suicide prevention. Results also indicated that purpose-in-life and resilience seem to be the most valuable protective factors, showing recurrent positive associations with reduced suicidality. These findings suggest potential value in attending to both of these psychological dimensions, when assessing suicidal ideation and when developing interventions for vulnerable older adults. Results on coping were also interesting. They showed that problem-focused coping (managing or altering the circumstance that is causing distress) was not a significant predictor, indicating that it may be less relevant for older adults. As for emotion-focused coping, the associations with suicidal ideation vary according to the strategies that were assessed for regulating the emotional response to distress. Seeking emotional support, positive reinterpretation, acceptance, humor, and turning to religion were protective against suicidal ideation, while other emotion-focused coping strategies, such as self-distraction, behaviour disengagement, denial, self-blame and venting were not. Therefore, it is important to distinguish between various adaptive strategies and avoid using large categories, such as emotion-focused strategies, that include many modes of coping. Finally, it is possible that the review did not identify all psychosocial protective factors, such as mattering or self-forgiveness. Nonetheless, it seems that improving protective factors is essential for the development of late-life suicide prevention, instead of merely focusing on risk factors.