People should be starting to think about moving into retirement accommodation in their 40s rather than later in life, experts have claimed.
Speaking at a Communities and Local Government Committee meeting yesterday (23 October), Jeremy Porteus, director of the Housing Learning and Improvement Network, called for a change in the public’s attitude towards housing in later life.
He told MPs: “We need to start talking about later life housing from 45, 50 onwards. This is about ageing, not older people. What protections are we making for our future?”
Claudia Wood, chief executive of political and social affairs think tank Demos, said the same approach should be taken to later-life housing as to pensions.
“The earlier the better,” she said. “A lot of retirement developments you can move into from 55. These things are built for people from 55 plus. A lot of people are still working while living there.”
The committee heard that older people face a number of emotional, financial and practical barriers when it comes to moving into later-life accommodation, such as retirement villages.
Ms Wood said older people find the experience of moving much more difficult when they are 75 to 80 due to the physical effort of relocating, while sentimental attachment to the family home and cost factors also play a role.
Dr Brian Beach, senior research fellow, International Longevity Centre UK, said most of those who move into retirement housing do so reactively, in response to a health shock, rather than as a result of forward planning.
Later-life housing is a growing market, with around 60 per cent of projected growth in households over the next two decades set to be among those aged 65 and over.
But the committee heard there is a significant shortage of new units being provided – a shortfall of around 20,000 a year – as the market fails to keep paced with demand.
This is partly due to a lack of suitable sites, as developers require larger areas to provide additional services, and the fact that investors are likely to receive small returns on their investment.
Matthew Fleming-Duffy, director at Bournemouth-based Cherry Finance, said while he agreed with the idea of early forward-planning for retirement in principle, he thought it would be beyond the means of many middle-aged people today.
He said: “For a lot of people a few years ago, forward planning was a lot easier than it is today. A lot of younger people buy on credit and don’t save or invest. There is a housing crisis and property is expensive.
“There are not many direct solutions outside of a downturn in population growth or an increase in property building. I should be thinking about retirement and start planning and saving for it now. Can I do that? Personally, no.
“There are lots of potential solutions, but I don’t think telling people in their 30s and 40s to forward plan is where you are going to find the solution.”
simon.allin@ft.com
