Senior housing comes of age

There are scope for setting up facilities offering comfortable living,specialised care.

Imagine India a decade ahead: there will be more senior citizens in the country given the improved healthcare and decreasing mortality rates. The average life expectancy has gone up from 20 years (1900) to 64 years in recent times. Add to this the low fertility rates and we have the 60+ age group as one of the fastest growing segments of the population. With 100 million senior citizens now,the numbers will shoot up to 177 million in 2025 and this is set to double in 20 years. Given the fast-paced urban lifestyle with few provisions for needs of the elderly,there is an opportunity to provide good living solutions for the senior population by being sensitive to their requirements.

In the West,a wide range of retirement living solutions have been available for over five decades,while in India the need for creating special spaces for seniors has had an emotional and psychological barrier. Indians pride themselves on their close-knit family structures and values with parents being integral to the parivar. Two factors have broken this age old tradition: the mobility of the working population and the nuclear family preference in modern times.

The Bollywood film Baghban (2003) captures the plight of aging parents in India it shows how financial stability and independent living brings love and respect to senior citizens from the younger family members. While the film may have dramatic impact,it did indeed reflect the reality of the sunset years. Retirement housing is,in fact,bridging this need by creating safe,age- friendly homes where seniors can live with easy access to medical facilities and have the companionship of like-minded people. Successful senior living solutions in the West are helping India to gear up to meet the growing potential of this sector.

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According to a report by real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle,only 4,000 units are available in the senior living space with a focus on providing specialised facilities. The key differentiators in the residential offering are safety in a gated community with 24×7 security,anti-skid flooring,hand rails,emergency management systems,access to medical facilities and community activity centres. What really gives value to retirement living beyond real estate is for the residents to get a sense of security and being cared for. Given the amount of free time available to the community,keeping them engaged and motivating them to remain active can add to the value of the facility.

Research among the 55+ age group urban population shows that their vision of an ideal retired life to be with children or living in their ancestral home. However,with the high mobility of children,they are faced with the fear of being alone and being incapable of managing day to day activities. These are the key triggers for them to look at retirement community living where they hope to find a healthy and hygienic environment along with easy access to medical facilities.

In India,senior living has three different kind of facilities:

Independent living for those in good health and able to manage their lives;

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Assisted living for those who need help to manage daily activities

Skilled nursing care for residents having physical health or mental disability.

Most retirement facilities in the country have units ranging between Rs 25-40 lakh with additional maintenance costs. Resistance to the concept of moving into a senior living facility comes in the form of social stigma. This is an inferred belief,which can be reversed through changing the positioning from retirement housing to an aspirational lifestyle and with the kind of easy access to clubs,gyms,medicare that many of them offer,this is indeed a luxury option for the seniors.

As Hartman Jule said of his retirement: Im not just retiring from the company,Im also retiring from my stress,my commute,my alarm clock,and my iron. These are the pleasures retirement living provides and will be the engine behind the growth of the Senior living sector.

 The author is Joint MD,Ashiana Housing