Retirees don't want senior communities
Baby boomers and older Americans are looking, by choice and by necessity, at different retirement-housing options.
Baby boomers and seniors are looking at a number of options for places to live in retirement, but they rank traditional senior-living communities toward the bottom of the list.
According to Housing in America – The Baby Boomers Turn 65, a new report from the Urban Land Institute, more older Americans prefer to age in place or are stuck with homes they can’t get rid of, forcing them to stay put in retirement.
More than half of U.S. residents over 65 already live in the suburbs, which is likely to create some naturally occurring senior communities in those suburbs, as well as demands on municipalities to provide support services such as transportation for older residents.
Seniors who move are drawn not to the exurban retirement communities of the past but to cities and suburban "town centers," near their grown children, friends, work and services.
"Leading-edge boomers will not settle gracefully into quiet retirement and move into traditional seniors housing communities for years, if they ever do," John K. McIlwain, senior resident fellow for housing and the author of the report, said in a news release.
His report divided older Americans into three categories: Leading-Edge boomers (those born between 1946 and 1956), the Silent Generation (ages 67 to 85) and the Greatest Generation (85 and older).
"The combination of the Leading Edge boomers reaching 65 with expectations of a longer life than ever before, and the fact that many of the Silent and Greatest generations are running through their limited retirement savings — combined with a continuing reduction in federal and state resources for housing subsidies — is leading to a coming crisis in U.S. housing for those over 65," McIlwain said in the news release.
In addition to staying in their suburban homes or moving to downtown cores, retirees also are exploring other types of living arrangements, the report says. Those include:
- Living in college towns, near children and grandchildren, and participating in activities on campus.
- Mobile homes.
- Co-housing and communal living.
- Multigenerational housing.
- Retirement communities for people with shared interests.
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Feel lucky if you have a choice.
I was born Oct 1940 (now 72) I was always refered to as the silent majority. My parents in '17 & '19 both 1st gen. born Americans. A child then was to be seen and not heard. Discipline then is now child abuse and we were given chores as we could handle them, not expecting money for them or an allowance.
This began changing by the era of 1960. Korea was the first war we never won. The era of socialist anti-war riots and communalism.
I've worked hard all my life and now living on Social in-Security and medicareless and diying from heart disease. The cuts from obamacare affect me severely. Several diagnostics were postponded until they could be done by related study grants that could be used to diagnose my condition. Medicareless no longer buys or repairs medical equipment and mobility devices. Batteries for my power chair cost nearly $400. Not paid for but cash in advance before they are ordered.
People my age made less income than those later and that effected the amount of retirement. One commenter said they had a hard time on $1500/mo, I get $990 and must live in subsidized housing after waiting two yrs. to get a room. Since I'm disabled I've been able to get a small one Bdrm because of my chair. One third of my income is for rent and pay extra for utilities. After 3 yrs. of no SSA COLA I got $37 and my rent and utilities went up and I got less than before. Medicareless and Rx went up also. Milk is double what it was in 2009. Another twist? Because of my income I can get $16 in food stamps the DHHS has not made an adjustment to income levels in 10 yrs. and are now having to make cuts to senior and disabled services. My homecare worker was cut from 54 hrs/mo to 37 and senior centers have had to make cuts also. I can get one free meal a week if I'm able to get to the community center.
I was able to buy a new computer because a friend took me to a casino and I won a jackpot back in Oct 2011 when I was still able to get around a little with a walker. )(In case someone was wondering why I'm on the internet. I have a wireless laptop and feed off a local Wi-Fi outlet with their permission.
Over 50 percent of today's grandparents are raising their grandkids or have their children living with them. This is the reason why. Retirement communities do not accept children, at least none of them here in my state do. It is the same thing for subsidized housing for the elderly. Only spouse's are welcome.
Before giving a thumbs down on this, tell me where there are retirement communities that accept children. I live on $1,500 a month with my adopted child who is 5. Who else accepts children?
1. Affordability so that we could do some traveling. Our bucket list includes visiting every state in the nation along with making wonderful memories. Already have four extended trips under our belts.
2. Not having to live by any one's rules, home owner's associations are managed by the control Nazis' and that is not what we wanted in old age nor did we want to be subject to their ever increasing rates and expenses.
3. We brought more than we needed, but could afford so that we can sell some of it in case of emergency or for extra income.
4. Paid off all credit cards, cars, home and land before husband's retirement in 2009, because we limited ourselves to only using one paycheck to pay all of the bills. I still have 10.5 years to go before retirement, and we have never been people that lived beyond their means. A lesson well taught by parents & grandparents of the Great Depression era and at great dismay to bankers and builders.
5. Before we made our selection, we talked to several builders, but the building boom was in full swing and they could care less about building a two to three bedroom home on one level. They were chasing the almighty dollar and blinded as these smarter, older generations walk on by and did it their way. Only fools get sucked into their trap of unaffordability, so it is not that traditional, senior-communities were rejected, we were ignored and/or would not be gouged. Ironically years after we re-located, our community received the designation of a retirement community. So perhaps the builders should have listened to these wise old owls, because they are years late and now more than a $1 short.
About Teresa Mears
Teresa Mears is a veteran journalist who has been interested in houses since her father took her to tax auctions to carry the cash at age 10. A former editor of The Miami Herald's Home & Design section, she lives in South Florida where, in addition to writing about real estate, she publishes Miami on the Cheap to help her neighbors adjust to the loss of 60% of their property value.
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