Investment
retirement villages visit a GP less frequently, require fewer ambulance callouts, and spend less time in hospital when the need arises. This is thanks to a strong emphasis on wellbeing, and the properties being better designed and adapted to meet the needs of older people.
Additionally, retirement villages ease pressure on the NHS through the provision of onsite medical facilities and wellbeing amenities which promote a healthy lifestyle for older residents. A report by Homes for Later Living found that each person living in a retirement village saves the NHS and social services an estimated £3,500 per year. The current energy crisis will only
serve to exacerbate the strains on the NHS. Dementia, arthritis, osteoarthritis, and other illnesses associated with age-related falls are all worsened by the cold. Retirees are disproportionally impacted by higher energy bills as they tend to have a fixed income stream from their pension. For older people, retirement communities could offer a welcome relief from the worry of rising energy costs, increasing food prices, and the knock-on effect that financial concerns have on mental health.
Making retirement communities an enticing option While government and investors lead the way in championing a new reality for retirement living, and while there is clear societal impetus, there are still lingering reservations from the retired population. This is where the real estate industry has an important role to play. We must promote retirement living as the positive lifestyle choice it is, demonstrating that a retirement community is much more than simply a home to spend one’s retirement in. Retirement communities bring greater choice for older people, while enabling them to lead healthier lives for longer. They provide many health benefits, they mitigate the stress of managing a larger property, and the social side of community living improves happiness, wellbeing, and mental health. Importantly, these communities should not only be seen as a bridge between family home and care home, as they are commonly regarded. This generation has aspirations for later life that are vastly different to those of their parents and grandparents, as Robert De Niro’s character demonstrated. Those retiring at 65 in 2022 can expect to live for at least another 20 years, and they rightfully have bold ambitions for their futures. For many, retirement is an opportunity
March 2023
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com
Those retiring at 65 in 2022 can expect to live for at least another 20 years, and they rightfully have bold ambitions for their futures
to embrace a renewed zest for everything life has to offer. Octopus surveyed those approaching retirement age about their perspectives on retirement and found that almost two in three over-55s believe that retirement will be the best years of their life. When asked what they wanted to support their retirement lifestyle, restaurants and coffee shops came top of the list, followed by social areas and activities such as exercise classes and swimming. This matches the very lifestyle that comes with being part of a retirement community. All our communities have managed communal facilities, which typically include landscaped gardens, spas, swimming pools, gyms, restaurants, bars, and hair salons. And they all run varied social activity programmes, which are particularly attractive for those who worry about loneliness in later life. Once respondents were given an insight into the modern designs of the homes, the services available and the wide range of amenities on offer, increasing numbers were interested in considering this type of lifestyle for their retirement. In fact, more than 1 in 4 of homeowners aged over 65 surveyed would “definitely or maybe be likely to move to a retirement community.” Based on the latest population numbers for over-65s, this already equates to more than 2.5 million people potentially wanting a retirement community home.
Reimagining what retirement villages offer It is up to the industry to ensure that we are developing the kinds of modern, fit-for- purpose retirement communities that will help older people to lead fulfilling, engaging and uplifting lives. It is not just about developing high quality properties that anyone would be happy living in. We must provide lifestyle, wellbeing, and care services to support people’s independence and aspirations. We must design communities that foster and prioritise socialisation and shared experiences. We need to provide facilities that promote physical and mental health. We need to offer attractive and flexible
financial arrangements, such as enabling residents to acquire their properties on a leasehold basis, so they can continue to benefit from their investment and choose to sell their property if they wish. And we need to develop retirement communities that are energy efficient, to lessen their contributions to the world’s energy and climate concerns. If, as an industry, we can get these things right, we can address the many outdated notions that have plagued the retired community. We can help redirect the NHS’s resources. We can support the government’s levelling up ambitions. We can help institutional investors pay people their pensions or their insurance claims. We can aid the housing crises that affect many generations in the UK. And ultimately, we can reinvent what retirement real estate means to retirees and help them to lead better, longer lives.
n
Kevin Beirne
Kevin Beirne is head of retirement living at Octopus Real Estate (part of Octopus Group), a leading specialist real estate investor with over £3.5 billion in real estate assets and secured lending and a highly experienced team of over 90 professionals.
The property lending team provides bespoke, customer focused financing solutions across the UK residential, commercial, and development sectors. The team has lent more than £5.7 bn across over 4,100 loans, providing competitively priced financing throughout the UK and spanning the property investment lifecycle, with loans typically ranging from £100,000 to £100 m. The investment team manages over £1.6 bn of investments, with a focus on care homes, retirement communities, and affordable housing.
27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
