At the HCCA’s recent annual meeting, Director, Paul Verchinski, gave an update on some of the work he’s been doing around ‘Aging in Place’ in Howard County. Notably, Paul likes to call the years after age 55, “The Longevity Bonus Years”. After all, if we plan for them financially and focus on keeping as healthy as possible, they are indeed a “bonus” few would turn down.
“Aging, no one likes to hear about it, and it’s a negative,” Paul shared, “but longevity bonus years, now that puts a positive spin on it.”
Though due to be released in January, 2015, we are still waiting on Howard County’s Master Plan for the Aging Population. You can find the information presented at the December, 2014 public meeting on the Howard County website.
In the meantime, while we are waiting on the Master Plan, here are a few AARP resources you may be interested in.
1) The Livability Index – This tool, developed by the Public Policy Institute, rates the livability of communities based on 7 factors: housing, neighborhoods, transportation, environment, health, engagement and opportunity. Check it out. Find out how livable your community is.
2) Livability Fact Sheets – For some additional perspective or ideas re: making your community more “livable”, check out these AARP “Livability Fact Sheets”.
3) The Most Livable Places at 50+ – Here’s a link to the article Paul’s holding up in the photo.
So…if you are 55+, here’s to enjoying that “bonus”!