Assessing the determinants of retirement home ownership among Malaysian young-old seniors

Purpose - Many of the existing senior living accommodation options in Malaysia are ill-suited to the needs and requirements of seniors as they age further. To establish best practice guidance to meet the housing needs for seniors, the purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of neighbourhood quality, locational and structural attributes on the likelihood of owning a retirement home among the young-old aged 60 to 74 years in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach - In this paper, 300 young-old retirees from Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were interviewed using purposive sampling. Only 240 were used for the analysis. Findings - The results revealed that respondents are likely to own the retirement home which could support their overall health and well-being within a safe and supportive senior-friendly neighbourhood. Furthermore, respondents are willing to reside in the retirement home that is served with good access to amenities. Research limitations/implications - The likelihood of young-old seniors adjusting their housing disequilibrium situation is higher as long as the right housing attributes are incorporated into the retirement home. Practical implications - The results of this paper would be very pertinent for the development of the physical planning guidelines on settlements and facilities for the elderly in Malaysia. Originality/value - With the change in cultural values, the increasing life expectancy in senior adult population and improved household income in Malaysia, there is great potential for purpose-built senior housing projects for seniors who need help with activities of daily living, but desire to live as independently as possible.