Retirement Services
Retirement services refers to developing the types of facilities, amenities, and resources which may make a community attractive to those persons who are retired or who are nearing retirement age. While traditional economic development focuses on attracting manufacturing or commercial businesses to locate in an area, communities are now beginning to incorporate the recruitment of retirees and retirement services as part of their economic development strategies.Retirees often have a larger disposable income to spend on goods and services which leads to an increase in tax revenues for a community. Attracting retirees and recruiting retirement services firms impacts not only the health care and housing industries, but also the financial, entertainment, hospitality, retail, and tourism sectors.
It is anticipated that the next generation of retirees will be the healthiest, best educated, most affluent, and have the greatest longevity in our nation’s history. As the Baby Boomer generation reaches retirement age, the number of Americans age 55 and older is projected to almost double by 2030 increasing from 60 million people to 107.6 million people, or 31 percent of the total population. Also by 2030, the number of Americans over age 65 will more than double, growing from 34.8 million people to 70.3 million, representing 20 percent of the total population. Additionally, the probability that an American who reaches the age of 65 will survive to the age of 90 has nearly doubled over the past 40 years, and by 2050, is it estimated that 40 percent of 65-year-olds are likely to reach age 90. Including retiree recruitment and retirement services recruitment as part of an economic development strategy often makes sense for communities because the services and amenities retirees require will provide jobs for younger residents of the community, therefore preventing them from seeking jobs elsewhere and also because many highly skilled retirees may want to work part time, which increases the skill set of a smaller community’s workforce. In a recent survey conducted by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), 45 percent of the respondents indicated that they expected to continue working into their 70s or later because of the desire to stay mentally and physically active and to remain productive or useful. It is estimated that a typical retired couple has the same economic impact to a town as the attraction of 3.4 manufacturing jobs. More affluent seniors tend to buy higher-priced property and more expensive consumer goods, leading to higher property and sales tax payments to local and state governments.
