The Personal, Practical and Policy Implications of Older Australians’ Residential Choice: Impact of Retirement Village vs. Community Living on Family and Formal Support

Despite ever-increasing popularity, little is known about retirement village living for older Australian adults and whether and how this might affect family visitation patterns, the provision of informal family care-giving and usage of formal instrumental support. This research examines who, paid help vs. family, provides instrumental support to older people living in retirement villages (n=237) and the community (n=338) in Queensland, Australia. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the provider of instrumental support to older people differs according to residential address. Family provide help to community-dwelling older people, whereas retirement village residents rely on paid assistance for help with everyday household chores and report less face-to-face contact with family members. These findings, implying that informal care-giving ensures regular family contact for community-dwelling older people, inform policy and highlight the need for further research investigating how living in a retirement village might impact on caregiving and family support patterns