Adapting for mobility
Do you take mobility and the ability to get around for the rest of your life for granted? Do you know that over half of people over the age of 65 have some form of disability? Thinking about this — will your home suit your needs as you do age? I am not trying to be a scaremonger, but in order to maximise retirement, mobility and accessibility will become ever more important. As retirement approaches, careful consideration to many different aspects of life will need to happen to maximise our opportunities to enjoy life.
Thinking about our New Zealand demographic, and how the baby boom started earlier here and went on for longer, we are one of the countries likely to be most affected by the following demographic changes.
In the next 18 years there will be 1,258,500 New Zealanders over the age of 65 — a 77 per cent increase from 2016, taking our percentage of over 65-year-olds from 12 per cent to 23 per cent of our total population. Apparently this will be the new normal. When considering this we need to recognise that the retirement of the baby boomer generation is but the beginning of these changes.
Taking all this into consideration, businesses will need to adapt to the changing demographic in order to maximise opportunities relating to this change. If we simply look at accessibility as a basic but important aspect of life in general, when thinking about driving around any part of our country would those people — say in wheelchairs — be able to live their lives the closest to what we call normal? Will they be able to move from their cars then into a building and even to upper levels in that building without encountering any potential obstructions such as steps or raised strips at entry points to such buildings?
We all know that as we age we need to keep as active as we can and we often hear use it or lose it. Realising that exercise will improve strength, balance, and can even help with preventing or delaying some diseases gives even more emphasis on the need to keep as fit as possible. Exercise is also credited with improving our mood, fighting off depression and may even improve how our brains work. All great ways of maintaining our independence for as long as possible.
Kapiti Older Persons Council meets on the last Wednesday of every month, usually in council chambers.