Movement, community and purpose key to ensure B.C. seniors enjoy a happy life
A panel of experts explored ways for B.C. seniors to live a long life and prosper during a Conversations Live project hosted by Stuart McNish on Tuesday night.
'The enemy is the sofa. Mobility is the key thing to longevity,' said B.C. seniors advocate Dan Levitt.
The panel comprised Levitt, B.C. Care Providers Association CEO Terry Lake, B.C. Securities Commission communications director Pamela McDonald, International Council on Active Ageing founder Colin Milner and health care consultant Carolyn Bell.
There are 1.1 million British Columbians aged 65 and over, representing around 20 per cent of the province's population. In a decade this number is expected to climb to 1.5 million, representing a quarter of the population.
Bell said that in 1960 in Canada there were eight people in the workforce for every one person retired and that number had now dropped to three workers for every one retired person.
She said that represented a huge drop in revenue for government that had to provide health and other services to seniors.
Research Co. pollster Mario Canseco said that half of retired people are worried about their physical and financial health, while 20 per cent are concerned about their mental health. Among working adults, 73 per cent are concerned about their financial health, 56 per cent are concerned with physical health and 48 per cent with their mental health.
Milner said that while life expectancy has grown by 30 years on average since 1900 (to around 82), retirees needed to focus on extending their health span, which is the number of years you remain healthy before dying. He said that, on average, a person is not healthy for nine years before death.
'You need to move, eat well, don't smoke or drink and have a good (body mass index). Doing that at age 50 can increase a man's lifespan by 12 years. We know what we need to do, we are just not doing it,' Milner said.
Financial health was also very important for seniors, with Levitt noting half of retired people in Canada were living on 34,000 a year or less.
A recent Leger poll found three in ten Canadians (29 per cent) planning to retire in 2025 or 2026 will carry a mortgage into retirement.
According to Statistics Canada, 14 per cent of households with income earners aged 65 and over had a mortgage in 2016, up significantly from eight per cent in 1999.
McDonald said families needed to talk about money before retirement, and that retirees should work with a certified financial planner.
Lake said there were 30,000 people in B.C. living in long-term care, mostly because of cognitive reasons that meant the seniors were not safe alone at home or in assisted living. He noted there is a wait-list of 3,000 people needing long-term care who either had to remain where they were or go into expensive private care.
Lake said seniors needed to remain engaged with community and to have a purpose, whether it be a garden or owning a pet.
dcarrigg@postmedia.com
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