The Other Side of Retirement: Mental Preparation

Everybody talks about, and many people even do something about, the two obvious aspects of retirement planning. But almost nobody is attending to the third leg of retirement planning: mental preparation.

The usual parts of retirement planning; finding a place to retire that matches your lifestyle preferences, and having the financial wherewithal to pull it off, are obviously important. The mental side of retirement planning, the one that most people forget about, is critical too. In fact there are at least 2 dimensions of retirement mental preparation. The first, and most obvious, factor is advance preparation. Well before the day you get your gold watch, you need to have some idea of what you will be doing starting on day 1 of retirement. Even more important, you need to plan for what you might be doing on day 1,365 of your hard-earned respite from the working world. Far too many folks assume they are going to travel a bit, play lots of golf, spend a little more time with the grandchildren - and that’s as far as it goes. Unfortunately after a while the trips peter out, winter puts snow on the fairways, and the grandchildren move away or grow up. In our experience the happiest retirements are those where the person has spent some time and energy researching how they will spend their time every day, and not letting the days fill up with whatever happens. To help with this aspect of retirement planning, we recommend searching the Topretirements Retirement Planning Bookstore at Amazon (or your favorite local bookstore) for ideas on how to focus your thoughts on working in retirement, volunteering, starting a new business, finding an interesting hobby, etc. Of course Topretirements’ practical “100 Best Retirement Towns” is another resource to check out. We guarantee it, your investment in this side of retirement planning will help you be a lot happier in the long run. By the way, here is a great WSJ article on finding volunteer gigs.

Increased Longevity Has a Downside
The second side of mental preparation is not so obvious. The CDC reports that the average American male who reaches 65 years of age has another 17.2 years of life expectancy. The average female has 20 more years. And these are averages; in other words, a lot of people will live considerably longer. The average life expectancy keeps going up; almost 5 years were added between 1950 and 2005. Meanwhile the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s Disease dramatically increases after 65. The Journal of the American Medical Association published an article that concludes: “The incidence of Alzheimer’s disease is substantial and is approximately 14 times higher among persons older than 85 years compared with those between 65 and 69 years of age”. Having just spent a week helping to care for my Alzheimer’s Disease afflicted father-in-law I can tell you definitively - you do not want to get this horrible disease.

“Where Do We Live Honey?”
Since you can now expect to live a lot longer as retired people, you should take steps to reduce the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s Disease. A number of regimens have been proposed as good prevention, specifically red wine and the Mediterranean Diet. Dr. Vincent Fortanasce, a neurologist at UCLA, has written a new and excellent book, “The Anti-Alzheimer’s Prescription: The Science-Proven Plan to Start at Any Age“, This easy to read book is brimming with scientifically substantiated advice for preventing the disease. Here are some of the factors in the book (from the Penguin website):
• Assess your risk factors and determine your “Real Brain Age”
• Step One: the Anti-Alzheimer’s Diet, including recipes and a twenty-eight-day menu
• Step Two: daily physical exercises for the body and mind
• Step Three: daily “neurobics” to build a big brain reserve
• Step Four: the importance of stress reduction and quality sleep

His book has certainly got this editor thinking. The wife and I started on a campaign to memorize common telephone numbers instead of simply relying on speed dialing. I even realized a life-long ambition, memorizing the 23rd Psalm (”The Lord is My Shepherd”). As I brag to anyone who will listen, if anyone dies on a camping trip I will now be able to cover the service. Next up: “The Gettysburg Address”.

Other suggestions to keep your mind sharp include crossword puzzles, learning new skills (like a language), classes, saduko, and Wii “brain-teaser” games. Anything that keeps your brain exercised and thinking in new ways seems to help.

What are you doing to prepare mentally for retirement? Please share your ideas in the Comments section below.

Retirement Your Way - Co-Housing Might Be Your Answer

For millions of baby boomers, adult communities and 55+ communities are a great retirement option. For these retirees, having everything pre-packaged; from recreation to housing and even to even friends; has a lot of appeal. But for many other boomers, the active adult community is anathema.

But before you give up on the idea of communal living, know that there are many different ways to have it your way. The cooperative senior housing movement has different names and concepts, including: co-housing, Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs), and aging in place. They all share the same common ideal –finding a way to keep people living in their own homes longer - but in a way that promotes health, safety, and a rich social life. Let’s look at each movement.

Co-housing (cohousing) takes many forms but usually combines independent living with the sharing of some communal facilities. The movement started in the 1960’s in Denmark. Most are located in rural areas. One of the most famous, Silver Sage in Boulder Colorado, features single family homes with a large common area where residents gather to eat, recreate, do yoga, and just plain hang together. Trails and other recreation are available. The community is located adjacent to a mixed generation community so residents do not feel separated from people of other ages. The residents are committed to supporting one another in their retirements and as they age. They also support sustainability and great architecture. In Brooklyn New York another group, Brooklyn Cohousing LLC, has been formed to find an urban solution to co-housing. As yet the group has not found a site, but it does have several possibilities and a number of active members committed to the project.

Naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs) occur in some parts of the country where many of the residents, for one reason or another, happen to be of retirement age. In some of them, most notably Beacon Hill Village in Boston, a formal organization has been created to promote a cooperative approach to aging in place. Members pay an annual fee to be part of Beacon Hill Village and get many services in exchange. They can also barter for services (shopping, driving, eldercare, cooking, home repairs, etc.). The idea is to let people keep living where they have for years and years by giving them the tools to live well and happily. Similar ventures are in place or planned in a number of other communities. NORCs are a great example of aging in place strategies in action.

Another good example of a cooperative approach to retirement living was profiled in the February 1 NY Times, “My Sister’s Keeper“. The article explores the world of about 20 women who have built a lesbian only community in rural Alabama called Alapine. The women enjoy a communal lifestyle in their gated community and get together frequently for pot-luck dinners, poetry reading, etc. There are other lesbian communities like Alapine elsewhere in the country. The idea could be and is applied to other groups of like-minded people who choose to live among their own kind in a world of their own creation.

Start your own co-op community
Beacon Hill Village and the co-housing movement are eager for other communities to take up their approaches to retirement. You can buy workbooks and talk with their members for advice. Let’s say you have a core of friends or acquaintances in your area. It would take a lot of organization, skill, and energy, but you could buy a distressed property and develop it with your friends. If you plan well and choose your members carefully, you could end up with your own active adult community – one that fits your lifestyle on your terms – and that gives you all the perks and benefits you need for the rest of your life. For example as you age you could hire eldercare and medical assistance and use these services cooperatively. To us the cooperative approach has a lot of appeal. The major advantage is that you get to live with friends or relatives you like, instead of being stuck with strangers. You also get to live where you want to for the rest of your life. Plus, you win that extra special baby boomer benefit – you get to have it your way!

Our New Guest Columnist Writes: “The Pleasure of Nothing”

Topretirements is thrilled to announce that our frequent contributor, Betty Fitterman, has agreed to be a guest columnist on this site. Her new column will appear in our Tips and Picks Section under the heading, Betty’s Thoughts on Retirement. As many readers will remember, Betty has already contributed one of our best read collection of articles, a 6 part series on the trials, tribulations, and tantalizing highs that comes from “Turtle Living” - that is, retiring to a home that is really a 41′ Class A Motor Coach.

First Installment - The Pleasure of Nothing
Betty’s series will touch on other parts of the retirement life as it applies to over-achieving baby boomers. Over her long career as a successful advertising agency executive from the creative side, her perspectives are sure to be entertaining as well as thought provoking. Witness her first column, “The Pleasure of Nothing“, just posted to the site. Check it out. Betty welcomes comments on her musings, which you can do in the Topretirements’ Forum under “Baby Boomer Stuff“.

Will Retiring Baby Boomers Pull Us out of This Recession

The deluge of unending bad economic news is enough to make Pollyanna turn downright crabby. Stocks are down, Madoff type pyramid schemes are up, and real estate can barely be given away in some parts of the country. What is worse is that Americans have forgotten their economic history. Lost is the experience we learned the hard way - that lack of confidence fuels the downturn – individuals and businesses continue to feel worse, cutting back more, so more and more people lose their jobs. The bad news cycle just goes on, until some magical day (Inauguration Day!?) when confidence returns, people start spending again, and businesses feel like they have to hire more people to keep up with demand.

Baby Boomers as Captain America, the potential savior of the free world
More impossible schemes have come true. Picture this scenario, which is based on solid numbers – millions and millions of baby boomers will be in their early 60’s this year. Almost all are close to retirement, and a significant percentage already have the resources for a comfortable one. Perhaps they invested wisely in the stock markets and shielded a lot of it from last year’s big downturn. Or they have a secure government pension that they can count on for the rest of their life. If even a small percentage of them were to invest in their retirement dream home in 2009, hire a lawyer for the closing, pay a real estate commission, pay for a moving company, buy new furniture and household items, do some small remodeling – the impact on the national budget would be huge. Their self-interest would be the confidence that they are buying low – for real estate and services.

As a strategy, we would not deny that it carries some risks. Many will no doubt find this prescription too radical. Given 2008’s performance, real estate and stock values might sink even further, and the pensions of even the soundest governments or corporations could be compromised. On the other hand we might be looking at a period of genuine opportunity, one that could help restore confidence and even do some good. At the least though, you can take this strategy as a rationalization to tell your friends why, as Captain America, you just had to save the free world and buy into that great active adult community in 2009!

Baby Boomers Should Plan Now to Avoid Outgrowing Their Homes

It seems like an oxymoron to think that, just when you were beginning to think about down-sizing, you could actually soon outgrow your existing home. Worse yet, you could do the same for the home you are about to build or buy for retirement.

The more precise statement is that you probably won’t outgrow your home, but if you are not careful, your needs will change to the point that your home no longer fits you. Anyone’s health and/or mobility can change quickly - and when it does your choice is either to move, or put in expensive and inconvenient renovations.

Several important concepts apply to this issue. “Universal design”, as the name implies, means that one set of design principles should be applied when it comes to accessibility. In other words, whether you are a young child, healthy and athletic 40-something, a slowed-down senior, or confined to a wheelchair - your home ought to be able to accommodate you. Universal design fits nicely with another principle, the goal of “aging in place”. The AARP has statistics showing that 84% of Americans 50 and over would like to age where they live now.

So with these two concepts in mind, what can you do to promote your future aging in place - whether you are renovating your existing home, building a retirement home, or buying into an active adult community? First, you should read up on universal design as it applies to aging in place (see references below). If you are buying an existing home or one that is in the process of being built you might be able to negotiate some of these improvments into your purchase contract. Or you can choose to look elsewhere.

Some of the obvious steps are:
- Wide doorways and hallways
- No changes in levels (unless they are ramped) between rooms
- Ramped entry(ies) to your home
- Tall toilets and grab bars in bathrooms
- Non slip floors
- No glare, contrasting lighting and paint
- Lever style handles instead of doorknobs
- First floor master bedroom (or the option for that)
- Provision for future elevator (if building or remodelling)
- Kitchens and major appliances on the main floor
- Kitchen counters at varying heights to fit a range of users

Building in universal design principles now will save you time and trouble, and allow you to age in place. Incorporating universal design principles in new construction can add about 5% to the cost, an enormous savings compared to the 30% of a home’s value retrofitting can cost. Most people tend to think they are 10 years younger than they actually are, so Topretirements urges our visitors to carefully consider universal design and incorporate it now. If we are fortunate enough, we will all age and lose mobility. It’s smarter to prepare now.

The National Association of Home Builders has a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist program to help builders and designers. Pima County, Arizona is just one town that has mandated universal design elements for all new housing.

Resources:
NAHB Aging in Place Suggestions
NC State R.L. Mace Universal Design Institute
Blueprint for Boomers

Your Next Real Estate Tour - On a Bike!

Looking over the handlebars at 6 lanes of busy traffic that bars the way to your daily destination, you might wish you had done your bike-friendly research a little better. Fortunately that’s a lot easier in some parts of the country, because believe it or not, according to the Wall Street Journal the real estate tour by bicycle is here!

In Northampton Massachusetts these tours are so popular that one agent,Craig Della Penna of Murphys Realtors Inc., closes about half his sales that way. Strapping on his spandex in Ventor NJ is Cris Noreen of Farley and Ferry GMAC. He takes clients on 5-10 mile rides and shows them 5 or so houses. The technique is working well for him too.

The idea is perfect for bicyclists - either those who cycle for exercise or the thousand of folks who are moving to bikes to save gas. After all there is nothing worse than buying a home only to discover you are hemmed in by busy traffic, or face a 2 mile hill every time you want to head downtown. While on a bike tour you’ll be able to see firsthand if claims about bike paths are really true, and get a good gauge on traffic too.

One thing the new real estate tour transportation method is doing is changing the realtor dress code a bit. Picture your agent in spandex and helmet, perspiring gently in the heat. And even if you can’t find a real estate agent in your area who offers the service, you can still give yourself the tour. Happy biking!

Retirement Communities Prepare for U-Boomer Invasion

April 5 — You’ve heard of the U(na)-Bomber and U-2 the rock group. Now get ready for another U, the U-Boomers. Forbes Magazine recently published an article that differentiates among different sub-sets of baby boomers. The U-Boomers are a huge segment that constitutes about 24 million of the 76 or so million baby boomers out there.

The “U” stands for uncompromising, so U-Boomers are folks who intend to maintain their lofty lifestyle aspirations - but who won’t necessarily have the financial means to execute on those dreams. The article is a call to action for baby boomer marketers. U-Boomers are such a big and important group that these marketers have to figure out creative ways to meet boomer demands — without going beyond the resources available to them. This group is expected to represent 25% of total U.S. consumption by 2015.

For marketers of active adult communities, that will be a challenge. Part of the solution is in positioning communities so they deliver high value and prestige without pricing the product out of reach. Maybe that means inexpensive hiking and biking trails instead of ultra-expensive golf courses. Or intimate clubhouses instead of monstrous edifices. A la carte services instead of the buffet approach. Environmentally sustainable communities that not only keep energy expenses down, but make U-Boomers feel like they are fashionable and responsible. Or, co-housing communities that use the community to deliver services at a reduced cost.

From all we here about the poor state of retirement preparation that exists among baby boomers, there certainly seems to be something to this demographic. We can’t wait to see which over 55 developers try to tackle it - and how they do it.

With Dire Straits Predicted for Suburbia, Should Baby Boomers Head for Exits?

February 24 — According to a duo of college professors, suburbia as we know it is headed for trouble. Their prediction is that McMansion-land could become the next depressed “outer cities”, filled with blight, poverty, and crime. Once again baby boomer demographic trends are among the culprits.

Topretirements just wrote a feature in our “Tips and Picks” section which examines this theory. Furthermore we went out on a limb, outlining a sure to be controversial real estate strategy that baby boomers should take now to capitalize on it. The article, “If Suburbs Become the New Slums, A New Baby Boomer Real Estate Strategy“, recommends that boomers put their existing suburban homes on the market now, and get busy looking to buy for their retirement community.

Check out our Tips and Picks article at the link above. For more on what the two college professors, Christopher Leinberger and Arthur C. Nelson, check out the March issue of The Atlantic and Virgina Tech’s Metropolitan Institute.

To discuss this issue please go to our Forum article, Suburbs, the Next Slums: A New Baby Boomer Real Estate Strategy)

Top 10 Baby Boomer Retirement Community Trends for 2008

With many baby boomers expecting their first social security checks in the mail soon, the next obvious question is…. where will all of these boomers live in retirement? Indeed, a favorite baby boomer cocktail party conversational gambit these days is “Where are you thinking about living in retirement?” With big events like this afoot, we thought we would try our hand at predicting 2008’s top 10 trends for baby boomer retirement communities. One thing is certain - baby boomers are so diverse that just about every retirement will be different. Here goes:

- Boomers will be wary of buying a property in 2008 over fears that they might overpay, or that their developer might go bankrupt

- The vast majority of baby boomers will stay in their own homes, but 25% plan on moving to another area (but mostly in their own area or state). Source: MetLife Mature Market study
- Baby boomers are looking for something different; cookie cutter developments are out
- They are going to seek out communities where there is a lot going on - college towns, urban environments, smaller towns with vibrant downtowns.
- Active adult communities with extensive and unusual recreational facilities are treasured. To a certain segment, “being green” is important
- Good transportation infrastructure is a plus - boomers don’t want to have to drive everywhere. Walking, biking, golf carts are OK; just so long as they don’t have to drive everywhere
- They will start investigating an active adult community near (but not too close) to their children or grandchildren
- The segment of baby boomers that the Age Wave consulting firm calls the “Live for Todays”, characterized as wanting to have fun but haven’t saved enough, will be attracted to expatriate retirement communities in countries like Costa Rica, Mexico, and Panama. Many of them will be disappointed to find out what it is like to live in the third world. But many more will be unhappy to discover how far that puts them from family members
- Marketers who continue to market to “seniors” will wonder why they have no customers. The average baby boomer doesn’t think he will be old until he reaches about 78 years of age. Active adults, or just plain “baby boomers”, will be the terms of preference to describe these retiring baby boomers
- For the first time in their lives boomers will be more concerned about property taxes than they are about the quality of schools in their new communities. States and communities with reputations for being tax and retiree-friendly will get a larger share of baby boomer retirees.
For more information:

New York Times article on baby boomers
Metlife Research Study

Baby Boomers to Builders: We Don’t Want Our Fathers’ Retirement Communities

October 15 — Ask 10 baby boomers what they are looking for in retirement communities and you are likely to come up with dozens of different answers. Baby boomers are used to marching to their own drummers, and there is no reason that their choices in retirement communities will be any different. This article draws from a number of different sources and is intended to provide a representative sample of different opinions.

Golf attracts many to active adult communities

Amenities. Here are some of the top amenities found in a survey done in 2000 by the National Association of Home Builders:

1. Hiking or Jogging Trails. More than half say these would influence purchase decision; interest goes up with income
2. Outdoor spaces. Park areas and the like are a must
3. Public transportation. Reliance on driving a car for everything is undesirable
4. Lakes. Being near a body of water such as a lake or ocean is very desirable.

Retirement Community Preferences
We reviewed some random preferences at some online sites where baby boomers discussed what they were looking for in a retirement community. These are the issues that were most often mentioned (in random order):
- Proximity of medical care. This is particularly important for people in less than optimum health. It is not yet much of a factor for baby boomers, but older people see the availability of a continuum of care at the same facility (independent to assisted to nursing care) as being very important
- Themed recreation. Some people are looking for very specific recreation opportunities - golf, marinas, flying, arts, cooperative living, astronomy, equestrian, etc.
- Gated - or not. Some people love gated communities - others loathe the idea
- Mixed generations vs. age restricted communities. Some people wouldn’t think of living with people of mixed ages, others think enough of those young people already!
- One story living and low maintenance. Builders constructing multi-level homes for baby boomers do so at their peril. Most baby boomers are ready to take it easy and have some fun.
- Health clubs are very popular
- Lots to do in the community
- Proximity to a city
- Location near family. This is perhaps the biggest determinant of where someone retires - people usually don’t want to be too far away from loved ones.
- A real downtown. Communities that have a thriving commercial center where people can walk around (and even better, walk to) are viewed very positively. The more activities - like festivals, farmer’s markets, cultural events - the better. Even in a private active adult community a viable community center is a real plus.
- Sustainability. This issue isn’t as pervasive as some others, but there are many baby boomers for whom the issue of environmental sustainability (i.e,; the green movement) is a key factor in their retirement community decision
- One (or two) home offices. 27% of baby boomers say they never intend to retire. Many will work from home
- Vacation homes. According to the National Association of Realtors, four out of 10 will convert their existing vacation home into a permanent retirement residence
- Urban vs. rural. Many want to live in an urban environment, while quite a few want rural
- Lower cost of living and warmer climate are important

Summary - How Will Baby Boomer Retirements Differ?
Obviously there are a lot of similarities between baby boomers and their parents’ generations. One big difference is in the preference for more physical activities like walking and jogging trails. Another is a strong preference for public transportation. The market is relatively new and very dynamic - the builders who can read the pulse of this big and changing market will come out on top.

Links:
Baby Boomer Housing Preferences
Hawaii is #1 State for Baby Boomer Moves