Retirement comes early for those with the means

BY BONNY FOURIE bronwyn.fourie@inl.co.za

Modern developments have to cater for both traditional retirees and those who are still active and working

Joan and Hugh Gaitskell.

Retirees are placing more focus on community and health care when choosing where to live out their golden years.

HASTENED by the pandemic, more South Africans are taking early retirement or voluntary retrenchment packages – even as early as 55.

For those with enough money for retirement it is a “life-is-short” attitude.

This is a trend also being seen in the US with a November study from Pew Research Center finding a surge in the number of baby boomers – those born between 1946 and 1964 – reporting being retired. Compared to previous years, there were 1.2 million more than the annual average.

Because many middle-class South Africans cannot afford this, and are forced to work way past typical retirement age, retirement developments have had to be reimagined to cater for those who must, as well as those who choose to, continue working.

The coronavirus pandemic also gave rise to the popularity of active-adult communities because people could feel safe within the bubble of their neighbourhoods, where they know everyone.

In fact, if the pandemic has taught retirement property developers and managers anything, it is that health and safety, lifestyle and financial peace of mind are priorities, says Cobus Bedeker, managing director of Evergreen Property Investments. The last thing that retirees want to do during their golden years is deal with daily cooking and cleaning.

“Upmarket villages... now take care of gardening, catering, laundry and housekeeping and you can choose to eat in a dining room or restaurant, rather than catering for yourself. Some estates also provide additional facilities like shops, beauty and hair salons and financial services, so you never have to leave the property.”

Rob Jones, retirement-living consultant to The Somerset Lifestyle and Retirement Village in the Western Cape, says the days of regimented, institutional frail-care units, run in a hospital-like fashion are gone.

“The modern crop of retirees – many of who are still very active and who often do not self-identify as ‘old’ – have necessitated this change.”

To cater for these evolutions and ensure that elderly residents still receive the care they need, Barry Kaganson, chief executive of Auria Senior Living, says the “big trend” both here and overseas is to offer various wellness aspects within senior-living facilities. These include fitness programmes; healthy eating plans and options; planned social activities; lifelong learning courses, volunteer opportunities and wellness education workshops.

“In addition, of course, from a design perspective, senior-living communities are now attractive, modern and appealing places to live, underpinned by the requisite operational and hospitality services.

“Availability of care and support is critical as people live longer and aspects such as dementia care need to be addressed... People also want choice as to how their care and support is delivered.”

Phil Barker, a consultant to Renishaw Property Developments, believes the homebased care model is the future of health care in mature-lifestyle villages.

“Current retirees are demanding this and successful developments will deliver.”

This model means units will be: • Wheelchair friendly. • Designed to facilitate ageing in the home rather than in a frail-care facility. • Managed by professional health-care organisations and manned by qualified nursing and supervised care-giving personnel.

Apart from physical changes, retirement developments also have had to restructure their offerings.

“Being creative in encouraging the residents to participate in organised and individual activities is one such change. Of course, these activities are always governed by strict Covid-19 heath protocols.”

Community and friendship are also vital aspects for retirees, and Helen and Corrie Peters who live in the Widenham Retirement Village, in KZN, say they now meet and talk to more people in one week than they did in three months in their previous complex.

“It is just so much better than I expected,” Helen says.

The sense of community that is a big feature in most modern retirement villages is evident in even small details, such as village newspapers and magazines where local and personal news is shared between residents.

The increasing numbers of people and traffic in Ballito on the KZN North Coast forced Joan and Hugh Gaitskell to consider alternate retirement living. In November 2019, they made the move to the Scottburgh on the South Coast.

They chose Renishaw Hills and it is a decision they have not regretted.

“The things that were influential to our decision were the views – those of the sea as well as the village – and the impossibility of any other dwelling being built in front of us to spoil the views,” says Joan, 72.

Hugh, 78, adds: “Our favourite parts of living here include the peace and quiet of the neighbourhood and also our fellow residents who have the same outlook on life as we do.”