Retirement Communities

Most older Americans wish to remain in their homes if at all possible—to “age in place” without having to move. Thus, much of the current policy thrusts are directed to supporting this desire. One approach is through making home and community-based services more available, while another initiative is toward making communities more “livable” [Page 634]or age-friendly. At the same time, however, a small but significant percentage of older adults continue to choose to move, and many of these moves will be to retirement communities of various forms. Although retirement communities have been around for over 50 years, there is still confusion about them. Such confusion is exacerbated by the fact that the term is used interchangeably with nursing homes and assisted living housing options.

The early retirement communities that were launched in the 1960s for the “active adult” still exemplify the concept for many people. Del Webb, with his first Sun City in Arizona, and Ross Cortese, with his Leisure World also in Arizona, were early leaders who dominated this market, and variations on their models continue to survive. These communities began with modest units surrounded by many amenities, but gradually underwent a competitive upscaling of both homes and amenities as a greater understanding of the market potential of such communities emerged.

A single consensus on a definition of retirement communities remains elusive. There are several characteristics, however, that are commonly associated with retirement communities. They are communities that have been planned intentionally for older adults, and there is a requirement that at least one member of the household is above a certain age, typically age 55, but sometimes 45 or 50. This requirement is often referred to as “age-restricted,” or sometimes “age-qualified.” Children under age 19 are generally not expected (or even allowed) to be permanent fulltime residents. Some or all residents will be partially or fully retired. The retirement community is contained within a bounded geographic area, whether it is vertically arranged (such as a high-rise apartment building) or horizontally arranged (as in detached single, duplex, or triplex homes). Another common denominator is some level of shared services and/or amenities. Retirement communities vary in the degree of supportive services they offer; some examples of such services include light housekeeping, grounds maintenance, transportation, and a common meal in a congregate dining room but not personal care. Amenities are generally tied to leisure activities and often include swimming pools, golf courses, walking paths, activity programs and classes, trips, and special events. Further, to differentiate retirement communities from nursing homes and assisted living facilities, the majority of residents cannot be receiving home health or personal care services.

Retirement communities can also be differentiated from “naturally occurring retirement communities” (NORCs) by the requirement that people must relocate to live in them. A NORC is a setting not originally intended specifically for older adults. Whether an apartment building or a horizontal neighborhood, it has, as the name implies, become an environment in which residents have aged in place until the population is “elder-rich.” Embedded as they are in the larger community, not all NORCs have even been identified, but they are likely to grow in numbers as our population ages. Among those that have been labeled, over 50 NORCs have become organized and have begun providing some level of services to their residents.

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