AARP, the interest group advocating for the wellbeing of older Americans, revealed in a policy paper this month its priorities for a national plan on aging that sufficiently recognizes the changing demographics of the U.S. population, and the trend that will see 20% of all Americans become at least the age of 65 by 2030.

“While other countries are responding to these changes by developing and implementing national strategic plans to help them meet the challenges and maximize opportunities to increase longevity, the U.S. has yet to develop a comprehensive national plan on aging,” the announcement of the paper begins. “Importantly, aging itself is not a challenge; being unprepared for aging is.”

While acknowledging progress in different cities, counties and states that are proactively taking steps to bolster services and infrastructure for older Americans, a national comprehensive plan is still required due to the realities of the aging population.

“A national plan on aging is essential to ensuring that as Americans age, they are able to build financial resilience, maintain good health, and remain in their homes and communities,” the paper said. “For many older Americans, these goals are out of reach. The need for a national plan on aging is more crucial than ever.”

As of July, “over 887 communities across the country and 11 states have joined the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities,” the organization said, leading to a core goal of the proposed national plan: livable communities, which can support the needs of older people including through aging in place.

AARP laid out four key goals of its proposed national plan that it expanded upon in the dedicated policy paper, written by staffers of the organization’s public policy institute and other collaborators.

Those goals are to “promote healthy living and access to affordable, high-quality health care;” to “support family caregivers and ensure access to affordable, high-quality long-term services and supports (LTSS) that maximizes the dignity, independence, and protection of older adults;” to “provide ample opportunities to generate, save, and preserve financial resources;” and finally to “create age-friendly, livable communities that enable people to age in place, and continue as engaged members of their communities.”

The aging in place goals are detailed more in the policy paper. Citing 2021 data from an AARP study, 78% of all adults aged 50 and older want to remain in their own communities as they age. But in order to allow for this, communities need to have the right resources in place that allow its older residents to remain and live independently.

The plan prioritizes accessible housing principles through both construction and renovation under age-friendly standards, citing a need illustrated by a Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) report detailing how only 1% of U.S. homes have key accessibility features (down from 4% in 2011), a national plan on aging can help develop universal design standards to address these challenges that will become more pronounced as the population ages.

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