A retirement community, or active adult community, is a very broad, generic term that covers many varieties of housing for retirees and seniors - especially designed or geared for people who no longer work, or restricted to those over a certain age . It differs from a retirement home which is a single building or small complex where no "common areas" for socializing exist. Many retirement communities are planned for that purpose, and have special facilities catering to the needs and wants of retirees, including extensive amenities like clubhouses, swimming pools, arts and crafts, boating, trails, golf courses, active adult retail and on-site medical facilities. Other facilities have no or very few common amenities. An Age-restricted community generally requires at least one household resident to be 55 plus years of age or older (occasionally 50+ or 60+ years of age). Retirement communities are often built in warm climates, and are common in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas but are increasingly being built in and around major cities throughout the United States. Youngtown, Arizona, established in 1954, was the first age-restricted community. Del Webb opened Sun City, Arizona, with the active adult concept, in 1960.[1] In 2011, The Villages, Florida is the largest of these communities.[2]
Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) can involve low-income residents receiving a richer mix of public services through a NORC model. They might serve people of all income levels who got together to furnish cost-effective transportation services. And there are NORCs for relatively affluent households that may charge $1,000 or even more in annual dues, and support paid and volunteer staffers who provide a rich variety of support services and cultural enrichment activities. NORCs can be very effective mechanisms to identify populations of people who need government-provided services and then provide those services in cost-effective ways[3]. An example would be Beacon Hill Village in Boston[4] provide support and resources for those who do not want to leave their current neighborhoods. Another term may be used for a predominantly senior citizen community, in which residence is unrestricted by age and job affiliation.
One categorization of retirement communities:
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At the time of writing (late 2010), the term Continuing Care Retirement Community is the primary term for a major part of the retirement scene, in books, magazines, accreditation and legislation, in parallel with the categorization just presented. A typical definition, from a New York Department of Health website [1] is "Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) and fee-for-service continuing care retirement communities (FFSCCRCs) are residential alternatives for adults that offer, under one contract, an independent living unit (an apartment or cottage), residential amenities and access to a continuum of long term care services, as residents' health and social needs change over time." The accrediting agency CCRC/CARF [2] uses the term CCRC with the same meaning. So do texts that include Senior Living Communities: Operations Management and Marketing for Assisted Living, Congregate, and Continuing Care Retirement Communities by Benjamin W. Pearce. (For a perspective on this paragraph in relation to the overall article see Discussion.)
A number of publishers have created lists of the 100 best retirement communities or "100 best places (or towns) to retire"[5]. For the most part these lists are helpful in terms of finding desirable communities to live in. The extent to which desirable amenities are "priced" in labor markets (lower wages in nice places) or housing markets (higher housing prices in nice places) will have a large impact on their appeal elderly retirees who no longer have to pay in the labor market.[6] One drawback to these lists is that these communities often become more expensive as a result of their popularity.
So far 6 U.S. states have created Certified Retirement Community programs with approximately 70 towns and communities included (see list).[7] The obvious purpose of these programs is to encourage economic development - retirement, particularly baby boomer retirement - is very big business. States seek to encourage retirement in their states; keeping existing residents and encouraging out of state residents to move to a new state. Bill Haas of the University of North Carolina's Institute for the Future of Retirement estimates that the economic impact of a retiree household moving to a state is the equivalent of 1.4 factory jobs.
The six states that have publicized their certification programs are:
Golf Shore By Sarian is unusual as an active adult village, because the community includes continuing care residences with the full range of services you may need later on. That means you’ll be able to remain in the community you’ve come to call home, among friends you care for and enjoy the comfort of knowing you have the freedom to choose your level of care as your needs increase.[14]
In India too, due to the diaspora associated with IT Industry, the traditional family system in which elders would be cared for by their children has been collapsing in recent years. This has necessitated the development of retirement homes and communities in India. Ashiana Housing Ltd. and Serene Retirement Communities by Covai Property Centre (I) Pvt Ltd. are foremost names in retirement communities in India.
Once recent trend to emerge in the Indian retirement industry is the "retirement resort": a long-term rental unit within a resort-like community, with many of the amenities of a traditional vacation resort.[15] This trend is just starting, and there is no evidence that it will take hold. Although no official statistics exist, HelpAge India, an organization servicing the senior community in India, estimates that of the 80 million senior citizens in India, perhaps only 1 million would accept the notion of a retirement resort, and of that number, perhaps only 50% (500,000) are even aware of the idea.[15]
Villamartin Hills is a totally new concept in Retirement Accommodation and Retirement Living for the Over 55's. The complex consists of 68 luxury apartments arranged on two levels. The apartments are set in beautifully landscaped gardens and a gardener will ensure that they remain that way. There are a wealth of other facilities on site as well, such as a covered, climate controlled swimming pool, a Wellness Centre, a library and a cinema.
In the United Kingdom retirement villages are becoming more and more prevalent. According to a recent BBC report (Aug 2009) there are approximately 25,000 people across the UK now living within a retirement village model.[16]
Models do vary - from local authority funded and charitable schemes such as Hartrigg Oaks in York led by the Joseph Rowntree Trust[17] through to privately-funded projects such as Roseland Parc in Cornwall by Retirement Villages Ltd,[18], Fleet house retirement village in Devon,[19] and Boughton Hall in Chester.[20]
Retirement Villages Ltd opened their first scheme in the UK over 25 years ago so the model is not so new to the UK as people think. There is now an umbrella organisation called the Association of Retirement Village Operators UK (ARVOUK) working to collaborate thinking and best practice in this popular retirement homes market.[21]
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