- Retirement

Retirement Economy
-- Thriving, Diverse & Sustainable Economy --

What are the Most Important Goals?

• Informed populace
• Visionary leaders
• Engaged institutions
• Accessible services
• Balanced demographics
• Good health
• Creative economy
• Directed growth
• Integrated infrastructure

What Can We Do?

Individuals:
• Establish "Good Neighbor" programs to include and assist the elderly in their neighborhoods and homes.
• Volunteer to befriend and help retired and elderly citizens in nursing homes and through other programs.

What is this Indicator?

Retirees account for a sizeable proportion of the Cape's population (23% of Cape Cod's population is 65 years old or older), and the U.S. Census 2000 indicated that 26% of households have retirement income. The retirement indicator helps to determine trends in population growth and identify characteristics of this group. It shows increasing or declining incomes per age group and employment trends among retirees. This indicator can help evaluate the potential positive and negative impacts from a growing and aging retirement population. The retirement indicator is a new sustainability indicator that establishes a baseline to assess trends in the retirement population on Cape Cod using data from the U.S. Census, MISER (the Massachusetts Institute for Social and Economic Research), U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Cape Cod Times, and the Cape Cod Commission.

Why is this Indicator Important?

The retirement population represents approximately one quarter of the Cape's population. It continues to grow, as many people who own second homes convert them to year-round residences. The Cape's population grew 19.1% from 1990 to 2000, while the number of residents age 65 and over increased 24.6%. These residents now represent 23% of the total population, an all-time high. This population will continue to grow in the coming years as the "baby boomers" reach retirement age.

When retirees move to Cape Cod, they bring many resources with them, including their incomes and savings. They also bring knowledge, education, and work experience. Retirees are often involved at the policy level in the Cape's municipalities through their work on boards and commissions.

While retirees may make significant contributions to their communities and the regional economy, they also demand quality-of-life services, such as leisure and healthcare, and they have an impact on the Cape's natural resources due to increased development. This indicator will attempt to look more closely at the characteristics of the retirement population, in the hope that it will help define the trends and needs of this group in our communities and have a bearing on future policy decisions.

What Can We Do?

Communities:
• Provide information to retirees about amenities and services.
• Improve local recreation and health-care facilities.
• Improve public transportation.
• Identify and track the elderly in their communities.
• Improve ongoing communications with isolated or ill seniors.
• Track emergency services, hospital visits, and other health service needs of seniors.

Decision-makers:
• Recognize the importance of the retirement sector on Cape Cod.
• Develop policies and programs for the retirement/elderly population.
• Develop alternative housing (i.e., co-housing opportunities; seniors/ young families solutions) for seniors who want fewer responsibilities and who desire an increased sense of community.

It is our task in our time and in our generation to hand down undiminished to those who come after us, as was handed down to us by those who went before, the natural wealth and beauty which is ours.
- John F. Kennedy

Analysis of Data

Based on the U.S. Census in 2000, Barnstable County led the 14 Massachusetts counties with the highest median age of 44.6 years. This was an increase of 5.1 years, or 13%, from the 1990 median age of 39.5. Throughout Massachusetts, the median age in 2000 was 36.5 years, up 2.9 years, or 8.7%, from 33.6 in 1990. More than one-third (34.5%) of Cape residents were age 55 or over in 2000, compared with 22% statewide.

U.S. Census 2000 counted 51,265 Barnstable County residents age 65 and over, an increase of 10,130, or 25%, from 1990, and 1,129 more than projected in the 2000 mid-level population projections issued by the Massachusetts Institute for Social and Economic Research (MISER) in July 1999.

Data show that while the over-65 age group is growing, there has been a decline in the 20-24 and 25-34 age groups on Cape Cod from 1990 to 2000, as in most of the state and nation.

All 15 towns of Barnstable County saw increases in residents age 45-54 in 2000. Town growth rates of residents age 45-54 ranged between 45% in Orleans and 158% in Mashpee. All 15 Cape towns saw growth in the 55-59 and the 85-and-over age groups. The 65-74 age group represent the largest percentage of population in the towns of Chatham, Dennis, Harwich, Orleans and Yarmouth. Neighboring Orleans and Chatham led the 351 Massachusetts cities and towns with the highest median ages in 2000 - 55 and 53.9 respectively. Eleven Cape towns ranked in the "Top 20 Oldest Communities in Massachusetts" in 2000.

Retirees may have a number of income sources. In 2000, retirement and related income received by Cape residents amounted to more than $1 billion of the county's $8.1 billion personal income total, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. In 1999 (Table 1 below), Barnstable County ranked first among the 14 Massachusetts counties in per-capita receipts of Old Age Survivors and Disability Insurance payments, as well as retirement and disability insurance benefit payments. In addition, the county ranked third in per-capita receipts of dividends, interest, rent, retirement and other related payments. Per-capita amounts received by Cape residents exceeded those received statewide by margins ranging from 24% in transfer payments to 73% in retirement and disability insurance benefit payments.

With regard to "Household Income Distribution in Barnstable County by Householder Age" (Table 2 ), the data show that in 1999 in the 65-74 age group there were 5,061 households with incomes under $25,000. There were 5,513 households with incomes of between $25,000 and $50,000, and 5,870 households with incomes of over $50,000. It is apparent that retirees are not a homogeneous group. These data show that there are three retirement groups with a fairly even distribution in each of the three income ranges. At the bottom of the income range is a less-recognized population of residents who may have been born on the Cape or have lived here for most of their lives. They have spent their working years on Cape Cod, often with less education, fewer skill requirements, and lower pay. Many people in this population must work longer and live with limited financial resources in retirement. As shown above, there is also a mid-income group and a high-income group of retirees. These three groups may have different interests and different needs.

Data for "Median Household Income by Householder Age" demonstrate a predictable income distribution with those in the 45-54 and the 55-64 age groups (i.e., those in their prime working years) with the highest median incomes.

Table 3 below shows that in 2000, 45.6% of those age 60-64, 26.2% of those age 65- 69, and 8% of those 70+ were in the work force.

See Table 4, "Barnstable County Households with Retirement Income,"" for a town-by-town listing of number of retirement households, percentage of total households, and mean income, as well as percent of change between 1989 and 1999 figures.

We are moving toward a preferred future, where environmental problems are solved before they are created, where economies are prosperous, where everyone has the opportunity to contribute to the fullest of their abilities.
- Alan AtKisson

What Connections Does This Indicator Have?

Sustainable communities are composed of residents of all ages, including retirees. As with all groups of residents, retirees have various economic, environmental and social impacts that must be balanced with the needs of other age groups in the region, as well as balanced with the need to protect the Cape's natural resources and community character.

Economic
Retirees contribute their educational knowledge and work experience to the Cape Cod community. They have the potential to contribute to and strengthen the Cape's economy through volunteer work, joining the workforce, sharing their expertise and stimulating entrepreneurial businesses, as well as spending their retirement funds in the local economy. While not immediately obvious, a dollar value can be attributed to volunteer hours; retirees contribute a significant number of volunteer hours annually to municipalities, as well as to cultural and other organizations. Retirees create demand for services, such as medical, financial and legal services. This demand contributes positively to the year-round economy. These economic benefits may be offset, however, by the demand for municipal services that support their interests and needs, such as senior centers, golf courses, public transportation, and emergency services. As active town meeting participants, retirees can affect decisions about municipal expenditures.

There are two other important economic factors to consider regarding retirees. The first is that while retirees contribute a large share of the property taxes, they do not have children in the public schools, and thus do not add to school costs. The second factor is that many retirees do not live on Cape Cod year-round, thus reducing the demand for services and consumption of resources to some degree in the winter months.

Environmental
As retirees and others move to Cape Cod and build new homes, land used to provide housing and services is lost to development. This can exacerbate impacts on groundwater and wildlife habitat and worsen traffic congestion. On the other hand, large numbers of retirees provide an advocacy group for protecting the environment. Many retirees are active on conservation commissions and make valuable financial contributions to land trusts. It is therefore important to balance the benefits brought by our retiree population with the stresses they may place on our environment.

Social
With fewer job and family demands, retirees have time to build social networks as well as to encourage the proliferation of recreation, arts and culture, and philanthropy on Cape Cod. These are important social pursuits in a sustainable society and they contribute to an enjoyable quality of life. On the other hand, many retirees become increasingly house-bound as they age, their health declines, and their financial resources diminish. Without adequate public transportation, those less able or unable to drive have difficulty getting around. Many social problems develop for this age group due to lack of funds and isolation, such as depression and alcoholism. In their younger retirement years seniors are able to contribute to and take advantage of many of the amenities on Cape Cod; however, they generally require greater health care and social services in their later years.