Aging in Place

Why Do People Want to Age in Place?

Older people prefer to age in place for three main reasons: financial considerations, proximity to family members and a familiar community, and psychological attachments to the home itself. The first reason that aging in place is a preference is that older adults are financially invested in staying in their homes because they have a high rate of homeownership. [Page 17]Almost 80% of housing units occupied by older adults aged 65 and over are owned, totaling 18.5 million households. Furthermore, two thirds of older homeowners own their homes free and clear with no home mortgages, making home equity one of their greatest assets for aging in place.

Proximity to social networks is the second reason that older adults want to age in place. Two thirds of respondents in AARP's 2010 survey indicated that as older adults age, it is extremely important to them to be near loved ones and familiar community resources such as doctors or shopping. Besides cohabitating spouses, adult children provide the majority of supportive care to community-dwelling older adults, and living in proximity to their parents allows for this informal caregiving relationship. Additionally, up to 24% of caregivers are friends and neighbors rather than family members, and the majority of informal caregivers live within 20 minutes of those to whom they provide care.

Third, although proximity to loved ones is very important, the psychological attachment to the home itself is a strong influence as well. The home is the place where, over decades, older adults have cultivated intimate relationships, raised their own families, entertained neighbors, cared for other family members, and created a lifetime of memories. The lifelong home also represents ties to the wider community, and in many cases, the location of one's home within the neighborhood is part of his or her personal identity. The home can have strong personal significance, cultural significance, and even spiritual meaning, which makes living there part of an older adult's survival and motivates him or her to age in place.

What Programs and Services Facilitate Aging in Place?

In addition to the provision of informal family care-giving provided by family, friends, and neighbors, aging in place is made possible by in-home health and personal care delivered by professionals. Professional supportive services can be funded through a variety of sources: savings of the resident, the generosity of family members, private long-term care insurance policies, monies received when an older homeowner acquires a reverse equity mortgage, or with government subsidized care for eligible low-income frail elders. Furthermore, the aging network, often federally funded by the Administration on Aging through the Older Americans Act, provides services such as home-delivered meals, transportation, and supportive home modifications that allow older residents with declining physical function to adapt to their home environment. Older adults generally access community-based aging services through a senior center or local community center. However, meals, transportation, and home modification programs are also available in other nonprofit settings, such as a religious institution, medical clinic, or low-income senior apartment building.

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