Incomes Vary Among Residents of Retirement Communities

Incomes Vary Among Residents of Retirement Communities

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Seeking to explore income and housing choices from a new angle, a team of economists explored the incomes and assets of people who lived in private residences versus those living in seniors housing and retirement communities (independent living facilities, assisted living residences and continuing care retirement communities).

STUDY: Data were analyzed from the US national Health and Retirement Study, National Long-Term Care Survey and the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey.

FINDINGS: Older adults living in private residences own their own homes (80%) and have a median household income of US $20,000-$30,000, while residents in independent living or assisted living generally do not. Residents in independent living communities have a net worth that is lower than that of people living in private residences, which the authors suggest may be related to the need to convert assets to pay for the retirement community. Residents of continuing care retirement communities have the most wealth and average net worth of all the groups, and an average household income of $40,000-$45,000.

COMMENT: The authors wrote that “residents in both independent living communities and assisted living communities have average incomes that are lower than the average costs of those types of care communities. ...Conversely, CCRCs attract the wealthiest residents of all three care facilities. CCRC residents also tend to have higher incomes and assets than even those living in private residences, suggesting a substantial difference in the type of clientele that moves into continuing care versus other types of care communities.”

SOURCE: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College