For Elderly Clients, Home Design Is the New Hot Ticket

Home is where the heart is. 

Financial advisors collaborate with attorneys, accountants and other skilled professionals, and they’re increasingly adding a new player to the roster. The Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist designation, offered by the National Association of Home Builders and developed with AARP back in 2002, has now become a fast-growing builder designation. Elderly clients need the services of contractors who understand the physical challenges of aging and can help retirement proof their homes. Collaborating with these experts, in turn, can help advisors stand out among the older (and wealthier) crowd. Forward-thinking wealth pros are tapping certificants’ expertise to help clients navigate retirement at home. 

“The CAPS designation is really useful,” said Mike Lynch, managing director of applied insights at Hartford Funds. Lynch’s work involves interfacing with both retirees and financial advisors, and his anecdotal experience has been telling. “With the aging baby boomer population, many of whom are home owners who want to age in place, senior-friendly renovations have really come into focus.” 

Aging at Home

The CAPS curriculum teaches builders the skills essential to ensuring home modifications meet the needs of people hoping to age in place. Survey data from the AARP shows this population is indeed vast, and worried: 

• Three in four (75%) adults 50 and older wish to remain in their homes as they age, and 73% hope to stay local. 
• Nearly half of 50-plus adults foresee needed modifications such as grab bars, entryway enhancements and kitchen upgrades.

“We’ve heard of advisors bringing CAPS builders into client webinars or doing in-person events with prospects,” Lynch told Advisor Upside. “They talk about some of the design trends that are going on today and how they’re not really great for older folks.” 

For example, a lot of people who redo their homes favor central kitchen islands, complex appliances and tall cabinets. “They’re beautiful, and they’re great in your 50s and 60s,” Lynch said. “The problem is that you can’t navigate around the kitchen or reach your dishes when you’re in your 70s with jeopardized mobility.”

Samantha Mockford, an associate wealth advisor at Citrine Capital, saw one family take a different tract and renovate a home so that kids and grandkids could move in and share the space, while the grandparents were still healthy and active. The renovations included wider doorways, safe carpets, and weight-bearing towel bars in the bathroom. “But it still looks like a bathroom in a home, instead of a hospital.”

Tech Solutions. In-home monitoring and security technology can also support aging-in-place goals. “We’re seeing a lot of really innovative stuff coming out on that front,” Lynch said. “It’s everything from cooktops that automatically turn off if you leave them running to cameras and sensors in the home that can detect and respond to falls or other accidents. With better designs and better technology, aging at home is a lot more viable.”