Seniors Housing & Healthcare Trends

LOS ANGELES: At 81, Anna* no longer had much of a life outside her home, but she had to find a way to leave it. Her partner monitored who she spoke to and tightly controlled her access to money, which was tied up in joint accounts. This economic, psychological and physical abuse had been going on for years, but it had become worse since her dementia diagnosis.

Luckily, Anna found a moment to make a quiet call to Hourglass (formerly Action on Elder Abuse), and found Poppy Everton on the other end of the line. Having previously worked as a healthcare assistant in various nursing homes, Everton said she “witnessed first-hand the abuse that older people face” and decided to be part of the solution as a frontline caseworker for the charity.

She helped to put together an extensive safety plan for Anna that involved police, adult safeguarding and animal welfare teams, to transport her and her beloved pets to a place of safety where her health needs would be met and she could rebuild her life. The team also had to ensure that the alleged perpetrator, who also required care and support, would have assistance once Anna had fled.

It often takes a village to intervene in situations like Anna’s. “Older victim-survivors often experience extreme levels of isolation,” Everton says.

Like other forms of domestic abuse, elder abuse often unfolds quietly behind closed doors, but without the regular intervention of school or frequent visitors.

This is where specialised retirement housing can play a vital role in stopping and preventing this abuse. Residents have neighbours, a shared lounge, someone at reception they recognise, and regular social activities.

Research from a 2024 government report shows that we need 30,000 to 50,000 new later-living homes a year, but only about 7,000 have been built. Polling by Homes for Later Living suggests that around three million people over 65 would like to downsize but feel “stuck”, often due to the costs associated with moving house, such as estate agency fees and stamp duty land tax.

“Loneliness can be worse for your health than 15 cigarettes a day,” says Ian Payne from Churchill Retirement Living, quoting the former US surgeon general Vivek Murthy. “Isolation is a big factor in health, and it’s also a big contributor towards being a potential victim of domestic abuse when you have no one around to check in with.”

The retirement housing provider’s recent partnership with Hourglass, the only UK-wide charity tackling the harm, abuse, neglect and exploitation of older people, could not come at a more opportune time. Richard Robinson, Hourglass’s chief executive officer, says it is dealing with “an epidemic of abuse” that has been building up since Covid-19 trapped older people inside their homes.

The scale of the problem is shocking and growing. Last year alone, the charity recorded more than £36 million lost to economic abuse, a 49 per cent increase from the year before. Since 2021, older victims have lost over £90 million, averaging £70,000 per person.

In 84 per cent of economic abuse cases, the perpetrator is a family member. As Robinson says, “We are still clearly within an economic crisis, with more people than ever looking to the Bank of Mum and Dad — an expression I dislike — whether they are 15 years old or 50. Sometimes people resort to awful means to get access to that bank, effectively stealing from their own families by taking their inheritance now, and often leaving the family destitute.

“The most common issues are centred on theft of funds from older people and, in effect, gaining control of somebody’s wealth and income without their consent. For example, there was a case recently where a carer was taking a weekly cheque to a donkey sanctuary, changing the amount, and posting the cheque to herself. That didn’t come to light until after the death of the victim.”

Older people often do not report this abuse. They fear criminalising their own children or partners. They worry that if they speak out, the emotional and practical support they depend on might vanish.

Robinson explains that this dynamic does not occur in the same way in other age groups, which is why the prosecution rate is extremely low.

Despite this, the charity receives less than half a million pounds a year from government funding, supporting 30 staff working on more than 75,000 cases annually across the UK. By contrast, other areas of domestic abuse and children’s services receive higher per-person spending and stronger legal protections.

Unlike crimes based on legally protected characteristics like race or sex, there is no statutory requirement to make age an aggravating factor when sentencing for offences against older people (a legal anomaly Hourglass is lobbying to change). Official crime surveys have also historically excluded those over 74 entirely.

Robinson says: “I hate to say it, but if this were any other part of society, any other age group, this would be a major issue, but it’s not treated that way.”

Churchill, which has over 200 developments and serves more than 11,000 senior residents, is the first retirement housing provider to step into the breach. Through its charity, the Churchill Foundation, it has committed to donating £400,000 to Hourglass over three years, including £200,000 in the first year.

Robinson says the funding is “saving lives” already because it has been used to hire specialist caseworkers in areas where the charity has no contracts with local authorities, such as “a horrific case of abuse in Northumberland”, Robinson highlights, where previously Hourglass couldn’t afford to have a presence.

The company has also invited Hourglass into its developments to train lodge managers to spot abuse and, crucially, know who to call. The warning signs are usually subtle; a previously sociable person becoming withdrawn, suddenly counting pennies, looking nervous around a certain visitor, or unexplained bruises. Churchill retirement homes recently hosted “Raise a Cup” gatherings to raise funds and awareness about the issue and will look at providing volunteers in the longer term.

Hourglass’s cause is not the easiest for a retirement housing developer to align themselves with; after all, few developers would want their homes being associated with economic abuse of the elderly.

Churchill itself has had to respond to concerns in the past about financial fairness, especially around exit fees (also known as transfer or event fees) where the company took a percentage of the equity when one of their homes was resold or sublet.

In August Churchill permanently abolished these fees, reduced its ground rents to a peppercorn amount and offers 999-year leases that will never need to be renewed, in line with new leasehold legislation. Payne says: “That makes things more transparent for people, so they know exactly what they’re getting. It is also fairer, more reasonable and clearer.”

Service charges are kept “as low as possible”, Payne claims, and Churchill has introduced deferral options for these charges when properties are being resold.

Nevertheless, Churchill believes retirement housing has “a unique opportunity to raise awareness” about elder abuse and to promote safer living in later life.

Robinson agrees: “We’re dealing with a tidal wave of abuse and neglect of older people, which the vast majority of society is unaware of or it’s too horrible for them to think about. So, kudos to Churchill for working on a challenging issue that many organisations struggle with.”

Abuse of older people is often seen as an unfortunate private matter rather than a national issue. It remains largely unseen, often unreported, and poorly prosecuted. But for older people like Anna, having someone notice, someone trained to see the signs, can change everything.