A home is what one makes of it. For the future retirees, it appears that they will have plenty to work with.
The AARP is encouraging its 820,000 members in Maryland to be sure to plan ahead regarding where they want to live. By 2011, those born in 1946, the first year of the baby boomer generation, will turn 65. This means that the first group of 76 million Americans will be getting ready to develop ties to a specific community and find a place to grow.
“The time to plan for [the future] is inadvance of that aging,” said Joe DeMattos, Maryland state director of the AARP. “There are a number of options for people as they age, from adapting their house, to participating in community programs, to looking into continuing care options.”
As is the current trend in retirement communities, more and more options of specified care are being offered to older citizens, providing them with individualized plans. Maryland-based retirement communities recognize these trends. On the Web site of Glen Meadows, a retirement community in Glen Arm, there are more than 20 different social activities listed, along with several weekly trips.
“It?s obviously growing because you have a wave of baby boomers that are coming along and the first part of that wave hit 60 last year,” said Mel Tansill, senior director of public affairs for Erickson. “It is a growing market from what we see.”
According to the president of Retirement Living Information Center, Tom Wetzel, a continuing-care retirement community will have an average deposit of $150,000 to $600,000. However, factors like level of care, a meal plan, health care received on property, a cleaning service, apartment size and other options can quickly add to up change to cost of even the most basic of housing plans.
“One of the things you are going to see as they grow is more amenities being offered for the communities,” Wetzel said. “Many now have fitness centers and libraries and computer centers. I think the trend is to provide more and more amenities to keep people happy.”
