RETIREMENT Retire with
RETIREMENT Retire with flexibility LIFESTYLE CHOICES FOR THE MODERN RETIREE While all our lives have been put on hold for at least a few months as a result of the lockdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, decisions about our futures still have to be made, and this includes older people making choices about the way they will live in their retirement. 38 www.bluechipdigital.co.za
RETIREMENT Making the big decision to move to a new home can be one of the toughest aspects of ageing. It is, understandably, hard to consider moving out of a home where you have spent years, or an entire lifetime, creating memories with your family. It is human nature to cling to what is familiar and to even be averse to moving to new surroundings. However, at some point, there inevitably comes a transition point where seniors either choose full-blown retirement or decide to adjust their lifestyle to allow for more flexibility. For most retirees, this means moving out of the family home. Today, it is the Baby Boomer generation that is looking to retire. They are, according to Prieshka Taylor, Head of Marketing for Evergreen Lifestyle Villages, “confident, optimistic, independent individuals who value innovation, self-reliance, accomplishment and change”. Taylor explains that they are still living active lives and showing no signs of slowing down. “We are seeing a trend in the retirement industry in terms of which the Baby Boomer generation wants more flexibility from their retirement options. They want to lead active lives, and many of them still work in some capacity and want to be able to downsize in stages,” she says. The traditional retirement home model – the aged home – does not fit these requirements. Instead, the focus must be on matching the lifestyle of the modern retiree with their personal life stages. Demand for modern retirement estates “It is for these reasons that retirement lifestyle estate developers are providing villages with far more flexibility to meet the needs, requirements and constraints of today’s working retirees,” says Taylor. “Developers must stay on the ball to ensure retirees feel comfortable about moving into a new environment, knowing that they have everything they need to live a full and active life.” She adds that one of the main concerns of retirees is financial security. Evergreen Lifestyle estates operate on the life rights model, Making the big decision to move to a new home can be one of the www.bluechipdigital.co.za 39
