For many people approaching retirement age, the move to a retirement/lifestyle village comes down to two things – security and economics. John Collyns, executive director of the Retirement Villages Association (RVA) – a nationwide voluntary industry association that represents the interests of registered retirement village owners, developers and managers – says between 40 and 50 per cent of residents move to a village for security.

Security is a broad term and means different things to different people: Mr Collyns says it could mean that there’s a closed-circuit TV security system, it could mean that there’s a controlled gate entry system, or it could just mean that there’s simply somebody around to pick you up if you fall over.

Mr Collyns says economics can be another very influential factor.

“For most people, the equity they have in their family home means they can sell up and purchase a replacement in a retirement village for about two-thirds of what they sold their home for,” he says.

“In many cases, that enables them to release equity they have tied up in their home, and after they’ve moved into their new village, they can have tens – if not hundreds – of thousands of dollars that they can add to their retirement savings. A cash input of 200 thousand dollars into your savings makes a huge difference to people’s lives when they retire.

“A second economic reason is that they’ve moved somewhere warm, comfortable and purpose-built, so they don’t have to spend money on heating, or on maintenance and repairs and all that sort of thing. Not only is it significantly cheaper than a freehold home, but because they don’t own the property, they don’t to have to worry about those issues anymore.”

Mr Collyns says a third reason is that often people move in after a spouse has died or is sick, and they’re lonely – everyone else in their street goes to work, the kids live overseas somewhere, and they are looking for companionship.