A new study on housing solutions for the elderly has shown that care home and retirement living facilities will have to change in order to meet new demands from Europe’s ageing population.

French manager Primonial REIM has unveiled the results of its Fourth-age living in the 21st century study, which shows that people aged over 60 want to reside in senior living spaces that combine individuality and intimacy with self-sufficiency and sociability. Many of the study’s 4,000 respondents, based in France, Italy, Spain and Germany, also said that they want to be able to pick and choose stays of varying lengths in care homes and to be able to still travel independently late into life. They also want to be able to have their own room in a long-term care facility, or to have personalised fittings in a retirement apartment.

Care remains one of the main concerns for seniors, along with quality of staff, price and the level of medical support that they can expect whe