Retirement Living Council Executive Director Daniel Gannon and Nathan Cockerill, Chief Executive of Keyton, one of the leading retirement living operators, have extolled the benefits of moving into retirement living in a paid advertisement in the Australian Financial Review.
Nathan said people living in retirement villages are a lot healthier than people living outside of retirement villages, and on average, they’re “20% less likely to need hospitalisation”.
“It is a huge benefit to the public health sector that the retirement living sector is providing at this point in time,” Cockerill says.
“There are plenty of studies highlighting that if you’re both physical and mentally active, you live a healthier and happier life and that’s what retirement living provides to residents.”
Daniel said, “Retirement communities offer a unique housing option that enhances wellbeing and lifespan for older Australians, and delays – and can even prevent – entry into aged care.”
He added research published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has indicated that people entering permanent residential aged care from retirement communities tended to do so later than those in regular rentals or owned homes.
This reduced interaction with GPs and hospitals results in significant savings for governments to the tune of almost $3.5 billion per annum, he claimed.