U.S. News: Majority of communities ill-equipped to deal with aging baby boomer population

U.S. News' "Ten Ways to Tell if Your Community is Ready for an Aging Population" could also be called "Ten Ways Your Elected Officials Might be Letting You Down." The article highlights the enormous logistical, societal, and attitudinal shifts that will need to occur to address the fact that in 24 years the country will have over 70 million seniors. If you are reading this blog, you will probably be one of them.

Excerpts from the article:

Housing. "The vast majority of older Americans want to stay in their homes and communities for as long as possible"....[so] homes must be adapted to the physical limitations of older adults.

Taxation and finance. Almost two thirds of communities provide tax assistance and property tax relief to those in financial need [meaning one third does not].

Workforce development. Many retirees plan on working beyond the traditional retirement age in a second career [requiring] job training, retraining, and lifelong learning opportunities.

Civic engagement and volunteer opportunities. [Look for] organizations like the Senior Corps, Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Senior Companions, and Foster Grandparents offer ample opportunities for seniors to remain active and involved by volunteering.

Emergency and public safety services. Mansfield, Mass., maintains emergency medical information files for every senior and has an Alzheimer's tracking system to locate older adults if they become ill or wander off, but many communities don't. [In other words some communities will implement specific services to reflect the needs of aging community members, others will not which means you will need to provide those yourself or pick a new community to grow old in.]

Healthcare. Access to healthcare is available in 76 percent of the counties surveyed. However, a successful healthcare utilization for older adults also involves transportation. [Tip: don't live in one of the 24 percent of counties who do not.]

Nutrition. Some 80 percent of communities offer home-delivered meals to elderly adults who have difficulty preparing their own meals. But Reno, Nev., takes it a step further. They provide transportation and vouchers for low-income seniors to use at accredited farmers' markets. [Tip: As with the above, if you are going to need this type of service then be careful to not live in the 20% that doesn't.]

Exercise. Exercise needs change as you age. When you decide to retire, you'll want to be sure to pick a place with age-appropriate recreational facilities such as walking trails with benches or gyms equipped with fitness equipment ideal for older people. [See our posting about seniors housing on university campuses.]

Transportation. MetLife found that only 40 percent of communities reported having road signs that meet the needs of older drivers. [This is scary.]

Aging and human services. Most communities do not have a single place where you can go to get information about all the aging services that your community offers such as address the transportation, educational, social, and recreational needs of seniors.

The aging population bubble is not "if" or not even a "when" question. We know exactly when it is going to happen. Since many of the changes necessary to address this increase take time and money to develop, it is certainly not too early to begin the process. As the underfunding pension crisis has shown, short-term thinking representatives don't always want to address long-term problems so this is one area that local activism and participation in the process is called for.