Enabling residents to maintain independence
Phil Usher, co-founder of Queensland aged care provider, Tall Trees, doesn’t believe in the traditional approach to aged care. Here, in his blog, he writes about allowing residents to maintain their dignity and independence for the rest of their lives.
Tall Trees co-founder, Phil Usher (right), with his mother, Betty.
As anyone who has experienced a Tall Trees Care Community knows, we don’t believe in the traditional approach to aged care as practised in Brisbane, on the Gold Coast or across Australia. We use an approach called consumer directed care, which is designed to allow our residents to maintain their dignity for the rest of their lives and their independence for as long as they are able.
Sometimes we don’t agree with certain industry trends, but sometimes we find kindred spirits who approach ageing in the same way we do. On 3 September 2014, a group we consider to be our allies in the fight for the independence and dignity of every aged person met and drafted a plan called Blueprint for an Ageing Australia.
The plan was created by a panel including representatives from the National Seniors, National Australia Bank Group and Per Capita. It is an action plan for the transition from the current demographic makeup of Australia to an ageing Australia. The document suggests seven areas in which policy needs to be changed.
Over the next two or three months, we are going to take a serious look at the policy changes recommended by the panel. This piece will examine business opportunities and their effects on the aged population.
Between 1994 and 2012, the 55-74 age bracket had the fastest rate of household wealth growth of any age group. In 2011, the average net worth of the 55-74 age bracket ranged from $743,000 to $828,800. That makes for a lot of discretionary spending power. About 40% of Australia’s wealth was concentrated in the 50-69 years age bracket.
This generation of retirees are retiring with more money than previous generations and they are changing the marketplace due to a different set of needs. They are more likely to participate in home renovation, dining out and travel than previous generations. They pay more attention to nice clothes than other generations.
Consequently, Blueprint for an Ageing Australia calls the 'baby boomer' market “a market segment crying out for entrepreneurial attention.” Examples used in the document are longevity insurance, dating websites and different food choices.
The trend of the baby boomer generation spending money as they age is not just an Australian trend, but a global one as well. In 2010, consumers older than 60 spent more than $8 trillion globally. By 2020, this number is projected to exceed $20 trillion.
According to Blueprint for an Ageing Australia, the people best suited to take advantage of this growing market is baby boomers themselves. People who are ageing know firsthand the needs and desires of the ageing population.
The numbers tend to agree with this conclusion. In 2011, 22% of workers aged 65 years and older were business owners. Blueprint for an Ageing Australia recommends that the older segment of the workforce is going to be more valuable as the ageing of Australia continues.
According to Blueprint for an Ageing Australia, the main barrier that is preventing business from adequately serving an ageing population is stereotyping. Decision makers stereotype the elderly as people who need hearing aids, insurance, palliative care, mobility aids and funerals.
There is also a stereotype that seniors are “set in their ways,” and not seeking new experiences or new products.
These stereotypes are obviously wrong. Luckily for seniors, there are some entrepreneurs who are savvy enough to understand that seniors spend a lot of time shopping, especially online. They are beginning to realise that seniors are an untapped market that has a wide range of interests and needs.
Blueprint for an Ageing Australia reports older entrepreneurs need to be enabled and encouraged by new initiatives and policies. We agree with this approach.
At Tall Trees Care Communities, we are like a retirement village with access to the standard of care at a world class aged care community. We know that seniors have a lot more productive years left in them than younger people may think they do.
Follow Tall Trees' Phil Usher's aged care blog.
