Retirees Can Help Energize Local Economy

A new study by the University of Idaho underscores the economic importance of retirement as an industry, especially in smaller rural communities.

While most don’t work for a living, the income of immigrant retirees - “clustering in the $25,000 to $35,000 range” - exceeds the average earnings of Idaho workers in general. Hence, retirees are able to contribute more to the local economy in disposable income than are most employees of new, highly-courted companies.

In short, retirement recruiting is a cost-effective strategy for building payrolls. However, even more profitable than recruiting retirees, University of Idaho researcher Sandra Everett Cann told me, may be developing services and amenities that will induce older citizens to stay put when they retire, rather than going someplace else to spend their savings.

As with other forms of payroll building, the big new buzzword with retirement would seem to be “retention.”

The study was conducted by the university’s School of Family and Consumer Sciences in the College of Agriculture. Some 500 retirees age 50 and over responded to a lengthy set of questions designed to tell researchers what attracts older immigrants to the state and how communities can get them to stay.

Several members of the faculty and various specialists took part in the study. “The research results showed,” said Cann, “that retirees come to Idaho principally because of its scenic attractiveness and recreational opportunities.”

A summary published by the university says some Idaho communities stand out as immigration “magnets,” in particular Kootenai and Bonner counties and most especially the resort community of Coeur d’Alene.

Gundars Rudzitis, a geographer, noted that almost one in four retirees cited “racial/ethnic composition” as a factor in their move to Idaho. He said he suspects they may be refugees from urban centers where crime is associated with ethnic diversity.

By moving to Idaho, he observed, “They did pick an area which tends to be the least culturally diverse of any region in the country.”

But, for whatever reason, the ability to attract older immigrants “can enhance a community’s economic resources, as they are likely to remain and contribute to community stability, both socially and monetarily,” the study concludes.

“For example, in the interior Northwest, retirement money alone accounted for more personal income in rural counties than from traditional extractive industries,” the report says. “An increasing source of personal income is from non-labor sources, and older persons make up a major contributor of that income.”

“Communities that attract older immigrants will most likely have new residents with a stable and consistent flow of money that will largely be spent in their community. The incomes derived from these non-labor sources is not subject to the severe fluctuations often suffered by places dependent on industries affected by macroeconomic national and international trends over which they have little control.”

Most of the retirees surveyed “left behind crowds, traffic, and crime for what they see as a higher quality of life in Idaho,” writes Diane Noel in the current issue of Programs and People, a publication of the College of Agriculture.

“They were drawn to Idaho’s slower pace, outdoor recreation, scenic beauty, small communities, and friendly residents.”

One of four had previously lived in the state. Many had family or friends in Idaho whom they had visited before moving to the state. Others had made a practice of spending at least part of their vacation in Idaho over the years.

The top reasons they gave for leaving their previous environs were: Population density, 68 percent; traffic congestion, 64 percent; crime, 55 percent; cost of housing/living, 54 percent; air quality, 54 percent.

Nearly half - 43 percent - are transplanted Californians. A surprisingly large number come from Washington - 18 percent. Oregon is third with 6 percent.

, DataTimes MEMO: Associate Editor Frank Bartel writes on retirement issues each Sunday. He can be reached with ideas for future columns at 459-5467 or fax 459-5482.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Frank Bartel The Spokesman-Review