Retiree impacts on community Judith I. Stallmann, Professor Agricultural Economics Rural Sociology Truman School of Public Affairs.

Retiree impacts on community

Judith I. Stallmann, ProfessorAgricultural Economics

Rural SociologyTruman School of Public Affairs

Retirement community types & Columbia

Resource/ amenity

Old home town

Regional center

• Natural or man-made amenity

• Social ties & living assistance

• Social ties & living assistance, man-made amenities

Retirement community types

Planned

Seasonal

Continuing care

• Natural and social amenities, planned for retirees

• Natural amenity and/or climate

• Living assistance and medical care

Types of Retirees

Aging in Place

Amenity migrant

Assistance migrant

• Middle and lower income, all ages, mix of health and marital statuses

• Upper and middle (some lower) income, newly retired, healthy, married

• Middle and lower income, older, poor health, widowed

Comparative research• 500 households of retirees:

– All persons 65 and older: assumes homogeneity of elderly (the baseline group)

– 65-75: young, healthy, active, married, mix of incomes

– 76 and older: aging, chronic health problems, more likely widowed female, lower income; age in place or assistance migrant

– Income below $20,000: often elderly, few assets; age in-place or assistance migrant

– Income over $50,000: younger, healthy, married likely to migrate; amenity seekers.

Findings

• All groups generate positive economic impacts

• Retirees take many of the new jobs• Housing starts and housing values• Retail impacts differ by type of

retiree ($4.6 million to $21 million)

Per capita retail sales

• High-income: increase sales the most, low apparel sales

• Low-income: increase only apparel sales

• Over 75: increase sales only in apparel and drug stores

• Both high-income and young retirees: increase building supply sales

Housing• Most retirees live in their own homes--

maintains property values and tax base

• A large in-migration of retirees can drive up housing prices, making it difficult for lower-income residents to afford housing or pay property taxes

• The increase in housing prices can help local residents who already own a home by increasing the value of their homes

Fiscal impacts• Positive net fiscal impacts do not

mean that there will be no increase in local budgets, only that costs attributable to the elderly do not exceed tax revenues attributable to them ($.5 million to 1.3 million)

• Older and poorer retirees will have higher budget demands than those with younger, healthier, wealthier retirees.

Fiscal impacts• Elderly present few new demands (beyond

that of the average citizen) on most local expenditure categories.

• Younger retirees tend to have lower per capita government costs than do older. Aging affects the quantity and mix of demand for public goods.

• Demands by older retirees still do not cause negative fiscal impacts.

Fiscal issues, cont.

• Retirees may increase demand for certain services, public and private (medical, shopping), which non-retirees also use.

• In-migrants may prefer a different mix of local government taxes and services than does the existing population– That may be available for all, but are not

expected by other citizens– That other citizens favor and they do not– That may be available just for them

Fiscal issues, cont.

• Capacity constraints of public infrastructure---capital investments can affect the fiscal impact.

• Impact on local publicly owned hospitals of Medicare and Medicaid rules changes.

• Transportation needs

The state• The accounting stance for impact

assessment affects which impacts, costs and revenues are included. There are differences between local and state impacts.

• Impact on the state if Medicare and Medicaid rules change

• Should state encourage or restrain communities because of costs to the state?

Positive community impacts but individual retirees face problems

• Widowhood• Living alone in own home• Chronic health problems• Lack of transportation/inability to

drive• Limited social network• Isolation affects quality of life and

survival--depression among elderly