HOUSING ALTERNATIVES FOR THE ELDERLY

Abstract

The declining birth rate, better health care and an overall improvement in the quality of life has caused the age pyramid to change dramatically. The growing number of old people has generated considerable public interest. It's implications on the society include the increased demand for community based services, housing, medical and financial support services. The housing alternatives for the elderly is the main issue of this exercise. Many studies have been done on the housing alternatives for the elderly in the Western Countries, but very little has been done for the case of Singapore. This Academic Exercise aims to analyse the various housing schemes in the Western Countries and comment on its applicability to Singapore. It also examines the future demand for institutional homes and evaluates the financial ability of the elderly in Singapore. The first chapter gives the statistical demography of the population and presents the impact of an ageing population on the society. The second chapter elaborates on the various living arrangement for the elderly in Western Countries, together with the various types of annuities schemes that will assist the elderly in their retirement years. An evaluation on the applicability of these housing schemes to Singapore is done at the end of chapter three. Findings show that, except for the Accessory Apartment, majority of the housing schemes implemented in Western Countries are applicable here. The availability of community based services and institutional homes as an housing alternative are considered in chapter VI. From the findings, it is established that the number of institutional homes should be increased to meet the increased demand for beds by the year 2030. However, due to imperfect information, many of these housing alternatives are unknown to the elderly. It has also been found that older people tend to have higher search cost and therefore undertake less search. Findings in chapter five show that whether or not a flat is purchased with the CPF savings, the balance a CPF member has at the age of 55 should be sufficient for him to live through his retirement years. Finally, chapter VI presents the conclusions and recommendations.