The recipe for the perfect retirement
RETIREMENT is a horrible word. Ernest Hemingway thought it "the ugliest in the English language" and it can be a difficult time.
So while many extol the freedom to do just what they want, to be their own boss and to squander time in the simple enjoyment of living, it is vital to get a few things right.
Income is generally seen as the bottom line but there are other things to think about to ensure that this time in life is enjoyed to the fullest extent possible. Housing is one.
Anchor, a developer and care provider, has just published Recipe For The Perfect Retirement, a guide based on research into how most people feel they could best spend their autumn years.
According to those questioned, the key ingredients for a perfect life after work are:
- Retire at 63
- Be mortgage-free
- Have a three-bedroom bungalow
- Live within 12 miles of your family
- Have a pet dog
- Take two holidays a year
- Acquire a new skill
- Be able to access care and carers when necessary
- Have an income of £13,500 per person in addition to the state pension (from around £5,400 a year).
Retirement has become an opportunity to fulfil many aspirations
Important extra factors which emerged from the research that would add to the sense of a perfect retirement were proximity to shops and a surgery, being near the sea and leisure facilities, access to the internet, a manageable garden and a social life. Many of these things will be provided by a welldesigned retirement development.
"Retirement has become an opportunity to fulfil many aspirations," says Howard Nankivell, Sales and Marketing Director at Anchor.
"The impact of increased life expectancy, with more of those years spent in relatively good health, is compelling Britons to think more carefully about what constitutes their dream retirement, and where they live is fundamental to that."
Bishopstoke Park in Eastleigh, Hampshire, one of Anchor's new bespoke retirement villages, offers a number of apartments for both independent and assisted living. The 19th-century Mount building at Bishopstoke, once home to international bankers, Victorian power brokers, local philanthropists and natural scientists, is currently undergoing a major restoration.
Once complete, the building will become the heart of Bishopstoke Park retirement village, housing a luxurious swimming pool, spa and state-of-the-art wellness centre.
The village will have more than 170 prestigious independent and assisted living apartments, giving over 65s the opportunity to live independently and receive care by highly trained professionals should they need it. There will be a 48-room care home on the site and the village will also feature a juice bar, bistro and delicatessen, general store and craft room.
Last weekend saw the launch of another new retirement village by Richmond Villages at Aston-on-Trent in Derbyshire on which construction will start this winter.
Aspects of the village life were showcased at the Castle Donington event and care team members were on hand to explain the 24/7 support available.
"We wanted to give people a real flavour for what living at a Richmond Village is like," says Paddy Brice, managing director.
The new £30million retirement village is located on the site of a former hospital, and will comprise a care home providing 24-hour nursing and dementia care, village apartments for independent living and village suites for assisted living.
It will also provide a wellness spa with swimming pool and gym, hair and beauty salon, a library, IT room, terrace caf©, garden bar and restaurant, all set in landscaped grounds with a croquet lawn. Activities, events and a village transport service will also be provided.
Once completed the development will provide 125 homes for those over 55, and 60 care-home beds. Village suites will start at £195,000 and village apartments from £270,000. One of the pioneers in bringing the retirement village concept to the UK, Richmond Villages has been designing, building and operating its own villages for more than 18 years.
The company currently operates five luxury retirement villages located in Cheshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire. Construction of a new village at Witney, Oxfordshire, began this summer.
INFORMATION:
www.anchor.org.uk/0808 274 3922
www.richmond-villages.com/aston /01332 895685
