UK retirement villages & communities: An essential guide

Inside today’s guide: Find out how to choose between different types of retirement villages and communities.

Browse according to your lifestyle preferences, budget, and care needs.

Why can’t it be easy, this whole retirement thing?

Accommodation is one of the most vital factors to get right for quality of life in retirement.

But having to weigh up all of the information out there is enough to make your head throb! So — in this essential guide — we’ll aim to make the research process as simple as possible.

4 easy ways to search for retirement villages and communities in the UK

Lifestyle

Ever typed “UK retirement communities”or “retirement villages near me” into Google and been left confused about what you should look for?

For many, the lifestyle benefits of these villages and communities are one of the biggest plus points. So, this could be the best place to begin.

Facilities

If someone were to ask what facilities you’d love to have at your doorstep, what would be your top picks?

A cafe? Cinema? Perhaps a cosy library?

UK retirement communities can feature one or more of the above, along with many other facilities.

For example, if you use the Autumna search tool to look for communities and retirement villages in Surrey, a list of developments will be displayed.

And then, when click on the development you like the look of best a page you’ll see more detail in a drop-down menu in orange text.

From there, you can find out more about the kind of lifestyle benefits on offer. In this case, Botanical Place has the following facilities available:

• Wellness centre
• Gym
• Cafe
• Cinema
• Library
• Communal lounge
• Restaurant

A lot of retirement villages and communities offer a diverse range of facilities, so that points of interest are only a short distance away. But what if you want to keep fit and mobile, too?

Next up, it’s time to look at activities.

Wellbeing activities

As you get older, it becomes even more important to take care of your health. So, it’s no surprise that many retirement villages and communities promote wellbeing with a broad array of activities.

For instance, the Audley retirement village - Nightingale Place has a swimming pool, spa, gym, hot tub, sauna and runs exercise classes for its residents..

Not every retirement development will have this level of wellbeing facilities and activites, nonetheless, hopefully it gives you an idea of what makes these UK retirement communities very tempting for those aged 55 and over.

Care and support

Historically, retirement villages and communities haven’t provided care to residents. Or in the circumstances where they did, it was a relatively small amount of support.

Instead, the focus was much more on villages being a place for independent seniors who wanted to be around similar people.

But what we’re finding at Autumna is that developers of these UK retirement communities are moving towards a more flexible support structure. This will come as welcome news to those who are keen to plan for later-life care.

It’s true that some retirement villages still offer no care at all. These locations are intended for seniors who remain in good health and can function well without support.

Increasingly, though, care is accessible within the retirement community setting...

Whether that be receiving housekeeping help, home care from a registered care provider, or an actual care home on-site, there’s scope to get the help you need as time goes on.

In truth, what developers have come to realise is that the average age of somebody moving into retirement living is 82. For instance, the organisation Retirement Villages say their average buyer is between the age of 78 and 84.

What do these statistics hint at?

Well — realistically — the average resident may only move into a retirement community for a year or two before they need care.

As a result, the direction developers are going in is to try to appeal to more people in the 55-75 age bracket.

For minimal (or no) care needs

Frequently, this group will include your “downsizers” — people who want to sell and move somewhere that’s less hassle to maintain, whilst still being able to furnish their new home according to personal preference.

Plus, more able retirement village residents can invite family and friends over whenever they like, and take advantage of the leisure facilities.

In many ways, it’s a win-win for the village developers and the residents…

The developers bring in residents at a younger age, so they’re living there for longer. And the residents in decent health — they still get the freedom to go on holiday, and come and go as they please.

Overall, the setup feels more personalised. Residents avoid the restrictions and “stuffiness” that other types of retirement living might suffer from.

For more significant care needs

As mentioned, an increasing number of UK retirement communities and villages do supply care on-site. But how could this play out, in practise?

Well, one example we can look at is Newlands of Stow in the Cotswolds.

When you carry out a search on the Autumna site, you’ll see that care at the retirement village is customisable.

Domestic help, personal alarm monitoring, and on-site assistance is available 24 hours a day.

Also, there are companionship services for meal times, hobbies, travel, and other social activities.

And for residents who may need more substantial care as they get older, Newlands of Stow has a nursing home on site too.

So, as you can tell, these newer retirement villages aim to cater to people with different wants and care needs — as well as giving the flexibility to scale the level of care over time.

Pricing structure

One of the most common questions that comes up about retirement villages and communities is “what’s the price?”

Naturally, seniors and their families want to get a firm idea of how much this is going to cost...

So is it good news?

We’d say yes, it is. Because there are now more payment options than ever, from retirement village rentals to paying the full amount upfront. Here’s a quick summary!

Buying outright vs. rentals

Got a limited budget to work with?

More than ever, retirement communities in the UK are trying to make themselves approachable.

Unfortunately, a percentage of seniors will still be priced out. But a greater amount of communities are coming onto the market with lower-priced entry points.

So, for example, the Ripon-based retirement village, The Red House, used to be purchase only with one and two-bed apartments priced from £250,000.

Now though, Enterprise Retirement Living (ERL) - who own The Red House - like an increasing number of other operators is offering a rental package too.

Retirement village rentals act as an alternative for seniors whose eyes are left watering at lofty purchase prices — which can rise to as much as £1 million.

Remember, though, that the UK government’s help-to-buy scheme may be an option for some people.

And if you need help with moving, you might want to take a look at The Senior Move Partnership. They work with retirement developers and support older adults who are planning to move.

Tasks they have expertise in include:

• Making arrangements for the sale (or letting) of your current property

• Assisting with cleaning and repairs to boost your sell price

• Organising which items to sort, keep, and discard for downsizing

• Liaising with solicitors, estate agents, developers, and keeping family members in-the-loop

Extra benefits

Okay, so we’ve covered lifestyle, care, and pricing.

Now let’s touch on two further benefits of retirement villages, which have become even more essential since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Infection control

The topic of infection control has been top of mind for the past year — and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be any less relevant in 2021.

Seniors wanting to move into retirement housing have wisely been thinking, “is this place going to be safe?”

As an organisation that helps families find care, our team at Autumna wanted to take action to give movers clarity. Our solution is S.A.F.E. which allows you to see which retirement communities and villages are getting things right when it comes to infection control.

S.A.F.E. stands for “Safety Assurance for Everyone.” And we have three big goals here:

1. To feature S.A.F.E care homes and retirement villages on the Autumna website, so you can search for them. The green S.A.F.E. badge (as shown in the example below) is displayed for locations that we know meet the guidelines

2. Publish validated third-party information that gives evidence of safe practices

3. Promote transparency of symptom checks and testing

Community hub in difficult times

As you can tell, with names such as “retirement communities” and “retirement villages,” these hubs want to showcase their social opportunities — and rightly so.

During the Coronavirus pandemic, many older adults were (and continue to be) left isolated.

It’s a tricky situation for everyone involved. Safety risks stop family and friends from being able to visit. Shops and leisure hubs, too, have taken the brunt of lockdown, further limiting seniors’ ability to stay social.

We know that isolation can have negative effects on mental wellbeing. And helpline calls have soared, according to the mental health charity, MIND.

So, for seniors who may have been weighing up the pros and cons of retirement villages, the social aspect of these villages has become a genuinely health-promoting benefit.

If you lived in your own house in a street, during the lockdown, you would have barely seen anybody — that’s been the reality for a lot of people.

We think that's why people are starting to look at retirement communities in the UK, even more than they were before.

At least, if you're in a retirement community, you can be walking around the community and chat with people from a safe distance...

And whilst the community facilities might be closed, you can still stand and talk to somebody in the courtyard. Plus, there’s always staff at hand if you need it. These small details can make all the difference to someone’s wellbeing.

How to Find Retirement Villages or Communities That Suit Your Budget & Needs

Searching for retirement living locations that meet your criteria?

Let us help you. When you send Autumna a quick email explaining what you’re looking for we’ll give you a customised list of retirement properties. Here’s our email address to get in touch:

EMAIL: info@autumna.co.uk

Another option is to call our Advice Line on 01892 335 330. We’re here to chat from Monday to Sunday (8:30am - 5:30pm Mon-Fri, 10am - 5pm Sat, 10am - 4pm Sun).

And don't forget, you can find out more about the benefits of Retirement Living in this Autumna YouTube Live presentation.