I keep a list of the readers who have written to me about difficulty finding homes to accommodate their retirement years. Most include the complaint that “they are building over-55 communities that are not for me.”
Indeed, as retirement creeps up on me, I’ve concluded that I will be looking to spend the equity I’ve accumulated on a mortgage-free house in an area with livable taxes.
I’ll send you a postcard, since it won’t be here. The postcard will have lots of snow on it, ayyy-up.
Although some readers say they have found what they need, a recent report suggests that the United States is not prepared to meet the housing needs of this fast-growing, fast-aging group of Americans.
In the report this month, Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies and the AARP Foundation said the number of adults 50 and older is expected to grow to 133 million by 2030, an increase of more than 70 percent since 2000. But housing that is affordable, physically accessible, well-located, and coordinated with supports and services is in too-short supply.
High housing costs currently force a third of adults 50 and older, including 37 percent of those 80 and over, to pay more than 30 percent of their income for homes that may or may not fit their needs, forcing them to cut back on food, health care, and, for those 50 to 64, retirement savings, the report said.
It noted that much of the nation’s housing inventory lacks basic accessibility features such as no-step entries, extra-wide doorways, and lever-style door and faucet handles, preventing older people with disabilities from living safely and comfortably in their homes.
