Nexus Fellow Sara Zeff Geber will be speaking about solo aging at the Life After Loss Conference dedicated to assisting those who have lost a life partner with new connections, support and resources that facilitate moving forward in life in a healthy and meaningful way.
Are you single? Married without children? Do you have adult children who live far away? Is extended family not a part of your daily life? If you answer yes to any of these questions, you are a Solo Ager. Solo Agers are older adults who are making decisions about their future independently. They are optimistic about quality of life despite facing potential challenges.
Dr. Sara Zeff Geber is the nation’s foremost authority on Solo Aging. In this session, she will encourage Solo Agers to plan today in order to thrive later in life. This interactive presentation will help Solo Agers weigh life options and make decisions about the future – including care plans and living arrangements. It will focus on navigating post-retirement life, including identifying what matters most as you age, resources to provide care in later life, and understanding housing options.
This interactive presentation and discussion will provide you with information on how to be your best advocate in the years ahead and understand the steps that you need to take to build a happy, safe, and secure life regardless of family support. Dr. Sara Geber’s style is light-hearted, conversational, and provocative. Her presentation is based on her new book, Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers which will also be available for purchase following the talk.
Solo aging and retirement expert, Nexus Fellow Dr. Sara Zeff Geber, has been drawing attention to the challenges of aging alone, and urging aging services to address these challenges, for over a decade. With the recent demand for Dr. Geber’s expertise on the subject, it sounds like organizations across the United States are finally starting to listen.
And they should. The statistics show it’s past time to start thinking about solo agers. According to a Forbes.com piece authored by Geber, “Twelve million adults over age 65 live alone. That is 27% of the population–the highest rate in the world. The majority are women. By age 75, the rate of women living alone rises to 44%. With the mobility in today’s society, many family members live far away. Among boomer women, 19.4% never gave birth, so there are no children or grandchildren at all to pick up the mantle of caregiving. These numbers are very different from those of preceding generations.”
If we don’t address the needs of this sizable population, we’re in trouble. Who’s going to help them coordinate care? How will they combat the risk of loneliness and find community and purpose?
Dr. Geber wrote, “Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers: A Retirement and Aging Roadmap for Single and Childless Adults,” which was selected as a “best book on aging well” by the Wall Street Journal in 2018.
If you want to learn more from Geber, the pioneer who coined the term “solo ager,” check out her upcoming speaking events below:
Meeting the Challenges of Solo Aging with Sara Zeff Geber – Acacia Creek
April 13, 2023 – Union City, CA
Learn the best tips and tricks on solo aging at the Acacia Creek Retirement Community
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It’s Past Time to Think About Solo Agers – 2023 LeadingAge Leadership Summit
April 18, 2023 – Washington, D.C.
Hear from the expert who wrote the seminal book on solo aging, along with a panel of diverse providers and older consumers on how your organization can empower solo adults aging alone to make decisions about their future and thrive while aging solo.
The Panel
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Solo Agers Are Knocking at Your Door – Leading Age California Annual Conference
May 2, 2023 – Monterey, CA
Solo Agers, adults over 60 who have no children or are aging without family support, will need a community around them as they age. As Solo Agers begin to recognize this need, life plan Communities and other continuing care residential options will look appealing, but will those communities be ready to serve them in a way that supports who they are and who they have been?
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Join us for lunch and enjoy a fun, informative look at the nonfinancial side of retirement planning!
Nationally recognized speaker, author, and solo aging expert Sara Zeff Geber, PhD, is a Fellow with Nexus Insights, a think tank advancing the well-being of older adults. She’s passionate about raising awareness of the special challenges Solo Agers face. With a lighthearted yet practical approach, she’ll share insights into the value of a community of peers and a strong support system.
Solo Agers, adults over 60 who have no children or are aging without family support, will need a community around them as they age. As Solo Agers begin to recognize this need, Life Plan Communities and other continuing care residential options will look appealing, but will those communities be ready to serve them in a way that supports who they are and who they have been?
Speaker: Nexus Fellow Sara Zeff Geber
All of us, because of choice or circumstance, may find ourselves without the support of a spouse, adult children, or close family members. Solo aging is a universal issue that LeadingAge members are in a unique position to be an important resource to solo agers, through social networks, programs, and services, proving them the security and support they will need in their later years. While some solo agers believe that congregate living is the preferred setting to meet their needs, there are also many solo agers who either prefer to age in their exiting homes or are unable to afford market-rate senior living communities.
Hear from the expert who wrote the seminal book on solo aging, along with a panel of diverse providers and older consumers on how your organization can empower solo adults aging alone to make decisions about their future and thrive while aging solo.
Sara Zeff Geber, Consultant & Educator
Stephanie Chong, Executive Director, Northwest Neighbors Village
Karen Zuckerstein, Member, Northwest Neighbors Village
Kera Wooten, Executive Director, Westminster at Lake Ridge
Jacqueline Evans, Resident, Westminster at Lake Ridge
Visit LeadingAge to find out more info on events and how to register for the 2023 Leadership Summit.
This panel will feature wisdom from thought leaders in the field about what it means to be a solo ager in today’s world, reflections on how the pandemic increased awareness of the issue and what was learned, and steps that individuals and organizations can take to create safety nets and supportive environments where solo agers can thrive.
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Speakers:
On Thursday, April 13, from 2–4 p.m., Acacia Creek Retirement Community will host a free presentation on Solo Aging led by Nexus Fellow Dr. Sara Zeff Geber.
For the past ten years, Dr. Geber, a Bay Area native, has been raising awareness about the necessity to prepare and plan for a Solo Aging lifestyle. She has contributed to various publications on topics of aging and retirement, from Forbes and New York Times and is involved with many organizations such as American Society on Aging and Nexus Insights, a think tank for revolutionary concepts on senior living.
With her progressive ideas about building communities and housing for older adults, Acacia Creek invited Dr. Geber to speak to the community and share her revolutionary concepts in senior living and aging. In this short Q&A, we learn more about Dr. Sara Zeff Geber and what she’ll discuss in her upcoming presentation.
Sara Zeff Geber, a Nexus Insights Fellow, is a Solo Ager and expert on the topic. She will discuss how the number of Solo Agers is growing and will have a significant impact on how senior living will need to look.
Foresight TV is a Senior Living Foresight production hosted by Steve Moran. This will be a can’t-miss episode as we look into the future of Senior Living.
Watch LIVE on LinkedIn or YouTube.
“Solo Agers: Major players in the future of senior living”
Presenter: Sara Zeff Geber
Solo Agers are older adults without family support. The Baby Boom generation has twice as many solo agers as did their parents’ generation, and this growth is an unprecedented opportunity for senior living communities. However, adjustments need to be made to attract and serve this cohort of active adults. Communities that seize this opportunity to serve solo agers must become not just their homes, but their families as well. Explore unique ways of meeting the social and emotional needs of this growing group of older adults.
You’ll be able to:
More info at the ICAA Conference website.
Are you single? Married without children? Do you have adult children who live far away? Is extended family not a part of your daily life? If you answer yes to any of these questions, you are a Solo Ager. Solo Agers are older adults who are making decisions about their future independently. They are optimistic about quality of life despite facing potential challenges.
Dr. Sara Zeff Geber is the nation’s foremost authority on Solo Aging. In this session, she will encourage Solo Agers to plan today in order to thrive later in life. This interactive presentation will help Solo Agers weigh life options and make decisions about the future – including care plans and living arrangements. It will focus on navigating post-retirement life, including identifying what matters most as you age, resources to provide care in later life, and understanding housing options.
This interactive presentation and discussion will provide you with information on how to be your best advocate in the years ahead and understand the steps that you need to take to build a happy, safe, and secure life regardless of family support. Dr. Sara Geber’s style is light-hearted, conversational, and provocative. Her presentation is based on her new book, Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers which will also be available for purchase following the talk.
Nexus Fellow Sara Zeff Geber will be speaking about solo aging at the Life After Loss Conference dedicated to assisting those who have lost a life partner with new connections, support and resources that facilitate moving forward in life in a healthy and meaningful way.
