NORC at the University of Chicago research will define and quantify middle-market seniors, supporting housing and care needs for the future
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, April 14, 2017
Contact: Rachel Griffith, RGriffith@MessagePartnersPR.com; 202-868-4824
Annapolis, Md. (April 10, 2017) – As the number of Americans over age 65 continues to grow, new research will help define and quantify the middle-market population of seniors—the group between the lowest and highest income levels. The National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC), in an effort to better understand and anticipate seniors’ future housing and care needs, awarded an 18-month research grant to NORC at the University of Chicago (NORC) to study the middle-market population.
“Better understanding middle-market seniors is essential for policymakers and the private sector to adequately address the future housing and health care needs of baby boomers,” said Bob Kramer, CEO of NIC. “With massive numbers of Americans about to enter their senior years, we must ensure that we have ample affordable, quality housing and care services.”
By 2030, the 65-and-older population will increase by 50 percent to 74.1 million. These seniors are expected to live longer and have more chronic health conditions than previous generations. Many will lack adequate retirement and long-term care savings, but exactly who these seniors are, and the size of the middle-market population, remains relatively unknown.
“As is true in every sector, including housing and healthcare, planning for the future requires a sophisticated understanding of the affected population and their unique needs,” said A. Rupa Datta, senior fellow and vice president at NORC. “Understanding the middle-market senior demographic is an essential element of good policy planning and providing more and better choices in seniors housing and care.”
NORC’s analysis will present socioeconomic, health and functional, psychographic, and demographic characteristics of America’s middle-market senior population to help policymakers and the seniors housing and care industry anticipate their needs. The results are expected to be shared at a national event in mid-to-late 2018.
“As federal and state budget pressures continue to intensify, providing this increased transparency on the middle-market seniors population will be essential to attract capital and stimulate private sector investment,” said Beth Burnham Mace, chief economist of NIC.
For more information, please visit nic.org.
The National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) is a 501(c)3 organization established in 1991 whose mission is to enable access and choice by providing data, analytics, and connections that bring together investors and providers. For more information, visit natinvcenterdv.wpengine.com, and follow NIC on Twitter.