Five trends taking retirement outside the square
A host of new products and models are emerging to reshape the way people live in retirement, says seniors’ living consultant Emma Plasier ahead of the National Retirement Living Summit.
“Whether it’s affordable housing or exclusive six star living we are seeing the retirement living industry invest a lot more in design and attention to detail to meet people’s growing expectations,” Plasier, the executive director of Imagine Projects, says.
With expertise in project marketing, research and strategy, Plasier will be heading to Canberra in November to share her secrets at the Retirement Living Summit. She says there are five clear trends driving the retirement
living sector.
- Design matters: Senior living design features are now “stock standard”, Plasier says, but operators are engaging architects to deliver inspiring, innovative and increasingly vertical designs. Aveo’s Gasworks in Brisbane’s Newstead “sets the benchmark” with “palatial apartments, sweeping water views and penthouses that you’d expect to see in New York”.
- Access to amenity: As the Baby Boomer generation ages, they are demanding new levels of service and amenity, Plasier explains. Mark Moran Vaucluse in Sydney features an entire wellness precinct, with rehabilitation centre, luxury spa, infra-red sauna, providore, state-of-the-art gyms, rooftop terrace and a restaurant offering gluten-free meals.
- Community partnerships: Collaborations between retirement living and recreation clubs are helping “ailing and failing clubs by tapping into the right cohort that is already on the database,” Plaiser explains. Harbord Diggers in Sydney offers all the bells and whistles, including bars and restaurants, an aquatic centre, health club, child care centre and live entertainment on retirees’ doorsteps.
- Clear contracts: As retirees look for more options, clarity and transparency, operators are responding with clearer contracts. “Aveo, for example, has three new models, and the main one supports people moving from a serviced apartment into retirement living without having to activate their deferred management fee. This means consumers have a lot more flexibility in housing choice, particularly as their needs change.”
- New business models: “While traditional operators have achieved their return on investment through buying and selling, we are seeing more demand for rental options – and this rental option will become more popular as Baby Boomers demand lifestyle options that suit their budgets.”
“Operators are really starting to think outside the square – and the result is a retirement living industry going from strength to strength,” Plasier concludes.
Join Emma Plasier at the National Retirement Living Summit in Canberra from 28-30 November. Tickets are available online.