Plenty of retirement villages say they’re focused on people over profit, but there are those who actually put their money where their mouth is.
It’s still rare for residents of New Zealand retirement villages to receive capital gains when they sell up but, at the Tamahere Eventide Home Trust’s two villages, Tamahere Eventide and Atawhai Assisi, residents keep 80 per cent of any capital gains.
“We offer the capital gains because we really do put people first,” says David McGeorge, the trust’s General Manager Villages. “That is part of our philosophy as a Christian organisation. We treat the place as peoples’ homes, and we make an adequate return on our investment with the way we operate.
“The retirement village industry isn’t all vanilla, and there are various ways of running them that work better for the residents.” Returning 80 per cent of any capital gains to residents upon sale, based on fair market value, is only one of those ways.
Tamahere Eventide Home Trust is an outreach of the Methodist Church of New Zealand, though residents and staff from all beliefs are welcome.
Both villages, which are each set in semi-rural surrounds just outside Hamilton, offer hospital-level care, rest home care, respite care, and specialised dementia care along with villa and apartment options. Atawhai Assisi is about to enter its next stage of villa construction, with its central community centre slated to be ready by Christmas.
Another point of difference is that the trust allows people to buy into the village at age 55; many other villages require people to be 70 or 75, although some allow people in at 65 or 60.
“Age doesn’t define people, but it does mean there is a range of generations in our villages,” McGeorge says. “Plenty of people are still working when they move in and they are setting themselves up well before they retire. It makes the transition easier.”
Tamahere resident Carole Fleming thinks this is an ideal way to approach retirement. Now 78, she moved into the village about 11 years ago with a friend, both freeing themselves from dealing with contractors, rates, insurance, and maintenance in their own homes.
Fleming liked it so much she joined the Tamahere board five years ago and now edits the monthly newsletter. She and her friend take turns cooking, share meals, and support each other while enjoying their own space.
“It felt right and it still is,” she says. “It was a huge saving and took away all the stress of running a house. We looked at different places and they felt quite sterile, almost like a POW camp. Very cramped, little wee huts side by side. But this was semi-rural with park-like grounds. If you had this in Auckland, you’d pay millions.”
Fleming says retaining her capital gains wasn’t at the top of her importance list when she moved in, but it has become so since – especially as she has seen what happens in other retirement villages.
“I have friends in other villages and it’s quite a raw deal for them. You feel like you want all your friends to come here.”
Fleming was one of the younger residents there when she moved in, and she decided to continue working in her social services career for another year. These decisions made her transition to retirement, and village living, a lot easier. She recommends other people also move in when they are younger, well before their hand is forced by health issues or the loss of a partner.
McGeorge says one reason monthly fees can be kept reasonable is that the villages do not employ too many unnecessary staff. For example, although there is gardening staff, a chaplain, and a registered nurse on call 24/7, the residents run their own residents’ committee, leisure activities and groups. Popular activities are evening movies with ice-cream; bingo; bowls; a vision-impaired club and various social groups.
At Tamahere Eventide, there is a village café with barista coffee and chef-made meals, and both villages have ecumenical chapels seating 100 people each.
Being connected to the church also means becoming part of a flourishing community. One popular move has been introducing village residents to young people from China who have recently arrived in New Zealand and attend a local Mandarin church. The young people have enjoyed adopting new Kiwi grandparents.
“Their grandparents are in China and they are missing them a lot, so they build up a wonderful rapport with the older people in the village,” McGeorge says. “The other day they came in and taught our residents how to make Chinese dumplings, and the next month our residents taught them how to make pikelets. Our people just absolutely love it.”
McGeorge says the church is “pretty wide in its view of the world”, making the whole village operations inclusive.
“The philosophy of the villages and our staff is that all people have value, meaning and purpose at every point in their life.”
For more information visit tamahere.co.nz