I spent some time this morning touring the newly opened Charters Village in West Sussex and interviewing Retirement Villages chairman Nigel Welby.
Nigel was the 11th person I’ve interviewed for my feature-length documentary about the Baby Boomer generation reaching retirement, their Financial Planning and what it means for all of us.
Nigel and I chatted about the history of retirement villages, how Baby Boomers are making decisions about where to live in later life and what trends are developing in the space of retirement living.
Charters Village is a lovely retirement village and the type of place you would want to live in later life.
The development is based around Charters Towers, a historic building which was the centrepiece of the world-renowned dance and drama school, the Bush Davies School, for much of the last century.
Facilities include the stunning main hall, now a restful lounge, an orangery, restaurant, conservatory, library, bar and multi function room.
Guest suites are also available should residents choose to invite friends to stay with them at Charters Village.
Charters Court, a 60 bed nursing and residential home at Charters Village, is also open to cater for individuals and couples who require round the clock care.
Decisions on where to live in retirement are very important but often difficult to make.
It was interesting to learn this morning that people often defer decisions about where they want to live in later life until an event, such as a stroke or fall, forces such a decision.
What I really like about the retirement village model, which was originally founded in the United States, is the way residents quickly form a community and decide which activities they would like to undertake.
From speaking to clients, there is often still a stigma attached to retirement living and care homes in particular, but recent visits to several of these suggest that things are changing for the better.
Gone in many cases is the institutional look and feel of care homes and retirement accommodation, replaced with something more like a luxury hotel and a comfortable home.
Of course the same cannot usually be said about local authority funded care, where budget constraints dictate the quality of care and living environment.
Thinking ahead to where you want to live in retirement, and what standard of care you wish to receive, is an important part of Financial Planning.