Resources - Mature Market Headlines

Aging Parents the Next Wave of Move-Ins

The OC Register, 7/11/08

Abstract:

While some parents are coping with their 20-somethings moving back home, the parents may be the ones moving in with the kids next.

John L. Graham, a UC Irvine marketing and international business professor, began studying the situation in 1997 when he wrote a paper on what the U.S. would look like demographically in 2020.

He concluded that many aging baby boomers, often without the money to afford retirement, will begin moving in with their children en masse in the next five years.

"What's happening is the pension and healthcare system are falling apart," says Graham. "We're going to face a demographic disaster as the baby boomers try to retire."

He says this will create a whole new range of living arrangements. Already he says people are beginning to add so-called "accessory units" to their homes for aging parents – granny flats, casitas, converted pool houses or garages for a separate living space.

"The economic problems are catalyzing the situation for housing," he says. "Combining households will make more sense."

> Read the full story > Return to 50+ Headlines