The 2021 Silver Survey Finds Older Homeowners May Need Creative Solutions to Realize Their Retirement Lifestyle Dreams

This summer, the Silvernest team started wondering: How do older American homeowners feel about their retirement finances and ability to age in place, 15 months into this new pandemic-framed reality?

Because we love data, we commissioned a survey to find out. The 2021 Silver Survey went out to a group of older homeowners, none of which are current Silvernest members. Armed with pre-2020 research on retirement and aging in place, we wanted to see whether older Americans’ plans and prospects are changing—and, if so, how.

We interviewed Jim Firman, President and CEO of the National Council on Aging (NCOA) about Aging Mastery. Watch his interview here.

In the latest installment of our Experts in Aging interview series, we spoke with Dr. Sara Zeff Geber, founder of LifeEncore and an expert on solo aging and retirement transitions. Watch her interview below.

“We don’t deny our age. We deny the cultural scripts about what it means to be an older person.” That’s Mary Pipher, clinical psychologist and best-selling author of Reviving Ophelia, Another Country and her newest book, Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing As We Age.

Experienced professionals have much to offer employers and volunteer organizations—and it’s not just “been there, done that.” It’s about deeper insight, more profound intuition, emotional intelligence and more. 

Chip Conley is the founder and former CEO of Joie de Vivre Hospitality (JdV) and later, Airbnb’s Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy. In his latest act, he’s an author and founder of Modern Elder Academy, the world's first midlife wisdom school. In the latest episode of Share Your Story, Silvernest CEO Wendi Burkhardt and co-host Patricia Raskin spoke with Chip about how the work world is starting to more fully appreciate the value of having elders on staff. 

We interviewed President and CEO, the South Florida Institute on Aging (SoFIA), Peter Kaldes, about his ideas regarding Rethinking Aging. Watch our Experts in Aging interview with him below.

Mother's Day is a day to honor the mother figures in our lives. Yours may be near, far or no longer with us. She may be your mother-in-law or your grandmother, or part of your chosen family. Whoever the mother figure is in your life, we hope you'll celebrate her this weekend and reflect on the power of that relationship. 

Did you hear? Silvernest has a podcast! Welcome to Share Your Story, a series of conversations with expert guests about issues affecting those over 50: retirement, housing, personal finance, friendships, activities and much more. Join Silvernest CEO Wendi Burkhardt and lifestyle and aging expert Patricia Raskin as they dive into topics that help boomers make smart decisions and live their best lives. Tune in for a non-technical look at these topics that touch us at every stage in life—and have fun and learn something new while you’re at it!

In my book, Who Will Take Care of Me When I’m Old? I write about an incident that continues to haunt me to this day.

In 1995, my hometown of Chicago experienced a social nightmare. On July 13, the heat index peaked at 119°F—a record high for the city—causing 465 people to lose their life due to the heat. Of the decedents for whom age could be determined, 51 percent were seventy-five years of age or older.

When I looked around me at age 60, I noticed many of my friends spending a tremendous number of hours taking care of their aging parents. The tasks they performed took months and those months often turned into years. They arranged drop-in caregivers, picked up prescriptions, took over management of their finances, helped sell their home, chauffeured them to doctor appointments, and in some cases, moved back into their childhood room to take on the role of live-in caregiver. 

My own parents both died rather suddenly when I was in my thirties, so I haven't had a personal experience of this parent-child reversal, but nevertheless it struck me profoundly. I turned to my husband and asked, “Who is going to do that for us?”