Roommates in retirement: a new paradigm in retirement living.

• Author: Anastasia, Christina
• Position: Report

1. INTRODUCTION

   It has been over a year since the first wave of Baby boomers became eligible for social security benefits (Munnell, 2007). In 2008, the housing market plummeted due to questionable mortgage practices and economic exigencies. For many retirees, their accumulated equity in a house has been one of the key components of wealth in retirement. The stock market plunge from 14,000 in 2007 to 6,500 in 2009 disrupted another economic base retirees have historically relied on for a comfortable retirement. With a new leader in the White House, and a country seeking solutions to long-term multi-minded systemic problems (Gharajedaghi, 2006), economic woes abound. What a year for that first group of eligible baby boomers to think about retirement.

   Modern retirees look to retirement as a way to enjoy life after years of hard work and raising families (Duay & Bryan, 2006). Many have invested in retirement plans, the stock market, and home equity to ensure that they can retire comfortably. Approximately 25 percent of people eligible for retirement will rely entirely on social security benefits for their retirement income (Munnell, Golub-Sass, Perun, & Webb, 2007). Based upon the number of quarters paid into social security, for some, this source of income equates to living at or below poverty level in the United States. While the majority of this group is female, women are not alone in this quagmire. A large number of men who worked at low paying jobs without retirement benefits find themselves in the same situation. In addition, death of a spouse or divorce frequently reduces retirement benefits up to fifty percent, leaving these retirees wondering how they are going to survive retirement.

   The process of planning for retirement includes career decisions and financial planning, as well as relationships. Although men have planned for retirement since the early part of the 20th century (Munnell, 2007), women are still working to catch up on retirement planning efforts. Marketable skills and jobs have a direct effect on the type of retirement planning. Lower income jobs have created limited retirement options for both men and women. According to data provided by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) divorce rates are on the rise in the USA showing approximately 39-49 percent of marriages ending in divorce (p. 15). Choices to stay home and care for a family also restricted options in retirement, especially if divorce or death severed a marital relationship and the associated financial or emotional stability of the relationship. These situations and others have resulted in potential retirees reaching retirement age, without the necessary retirement incomes and assets to stop working.

   Aging, itself, is a broad term suggesting both positive and negative connotations depending on the use of the word. The biological assumption that human aging is simply the process of getting older lacks depth and understanding. Human aging includes biological (Gems, 2003), psychological (Dailey, 1998), social (Martina & Stevens, 2006), and economic factors (Munnell, 2007) that when combined, create the temporal elements that influence decisions and life choices in retirement (Ebersole & Hess, 1998).

2. NEW LIVING ARRANGEMENTS

   Creative ideas for retirement living are growing at a time when people are contemplating whether they will be able to retire at all. One alternative entails retirees living in cooperative arrangements (Anastasia, 2008; Mahoney, 2007). As young adults in college, the concept of two or more people sharing an apartment or house was an acceptable practice. Yet, as people age, the same scenario appears strange, although, more retirees are doing just that. Cooperative living in retirement not only reduces the cost of retirement, it also appears to have some unexpected side benefits. The social interaction created by this type of living situation may have a positive impact on the mental factors associated with aging, resulting from an active lifestyle in retirement.

   A research project conducted in 2008 examined the lives of 18 individuals currently retired, or preparing for retirement, living in cooperative situations (Anastasia, 2008). Utilizing narrative inquiry (Chase, 1995), the study explored the factors that encouraged individuals to live cooperatively as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the living conditions. Participants in the study ranged in age from 52-88 and consisted of both men and women. While reasons for entering into a cooperative living scenario focused initially on financial need, mainly due to divorce or death of a spouse, the social interaction created by the arrangements eventually replaced the financial concerns, presenting an entirely new reason for living cooperatively.

3. COOPERATIVE LIVING

   Cooperative living arrangements are home-sharing situations in which two or more individuals (male or female) cohabitate under the same roof, allocate expenses and divide responsibilities, without sharing a romantic or marital relationship (Calasanti & Kiecolt, 2007). The nature of the living arrangement is independent: individuals are able to care for themselves without the assistance of a caregiver; can pay for their expenses entirely by private funds; and, no state or federal regulations or licensing applies to the arrangement. The living arrangements...