You might be wondering what age is the right age to buy into a retirement village. There's no correct answer. Some people join as soon as they turn 55, others move in when they're 70, or even 100!
In many cases it's not so much a matter of age but events, or preparing for possible events, that moves people to review their life plan and take action.
Our survey of 2700 people who joined a village showed that 6% were between the age of 55 and 64, but a further 33% joined between the age of 65 and 74. That’s nearly 40% under the age of 75.
Another 41% joined between the age of 75 and 84, so the vast majority of people were settled into a retirement village before they turned 85.
Meet any village resident and you will be advised to make the move earlier rather than later - and you will be given three reasons why.
The first is that you don’t appreciate what you are missing out on.
They're talking about the sense of community that you will experience in a village, the new friendships, the newfound camaraderie and a sense of security.
Residents talk about moving from their old suburbs where they no longer knew anybody, to their new community where they are appreciated and respected. And this doesn’t have anything to do with how old you are; it has to do with feeling comfortable and safe where you live – and that has value at any age.
The second reason they’ll give you is that it’s a lot easier to overcome the dread of the big move from the big family home. Most of us in our heart of hearts know that downsizing make sense for a whole range of reasons but the job seems overwhelming, and even more so with each year that we get older.
The third reason is planning ahead and taking control. We all develop more aches and pains and health concerns as we age past 50 or 60. It’s a lot better to be set up and established should any major health challenge come along, and it’s a lot easier to make the move when were younger than when we're older.
So really it’s not a question of what's the right age to join a village. It's a matter of looking ahead and planning to age well.
