OREANDA-NEWS. July 31, 2014. According to a representative survey conducted for ThyssenKrupp, one in three Germans over the age of 40, approximately 16 million, have never thought about the potential challenges of senior living.

One in two Germans over the age of 40 would like to stay in their own homes when they get older, and approximately one quarter of this population already have barrier-free homes, while another quarter expect they will have to make some changes to accommodate age-induced limitations, such as fitting a chair lift, according to the results of a survey conducted for ThyssenKrupp by the market research institute, Innofact.

In the survey, titled "Living in old age/Barrier-free living", health services topped the list of reasons for wishing to remain at home, with 82.5 percent of respondents citing close proximity to a doctor or pharmacist. Other reasons included predictable housing costs (79.4 percent of respondents), remaining close to good neighbors (77.6 percent), and living close to family and friends (70.2 percent).

"In our experience, what people want more than anything is to avoid having to leave their familiar surroundings", says Markus Liesen, Managing Director ThyssenKrupp Encasa.

Providing insight into the difference in priorities of men and women, the survey found that when it comes to "barrier-free living", stair lifts are more important to women than men; 46 percent of the women surveyed considered chair lifts "important" to "very important", while only 40 percent of men agreed. However, it was also noted that men are prepared to invest more in stair lifts, with one in three men estimating a spend of more than 5,000 euros, while approximately half the women surveyed preferred lower-cost alternatives. For all the differences, however, there is one thing both sexes agree on – the wish to remain in their own homes as they get older. This was found to be the case for one in two people, or 50.5 percent of those surveyed. As health care funds in Germany subsidize 2,557 Euros this is a good basis for a barrier-free facility.

An estimated 16 million Germans over 40 have no plan for senior living
According to the ThyssenKrupp survey, only two in three Germans in the over-forties age group have given serious, or at least some thought to where they will live in their old age, and only half the privately owned homes in Germany are senior-friendly. That leaves a third of this population segment, or approximately 16 million Germans, who have given the subject little or no thought, indicating that there is a dire need to raise awareness about the challenges of senior living.

As people get older, the shift in Germany's demographic will become greater, and planning for everyday life as a senior citizen will become increasingly important, even for young persons. ThyssenKrupp offers a range of products that help to simplify senior living, including chair and platform lifts as well as compact home elevators. Together with intelligent solutions for entrance areas and sanitary facilities, these solutions can help to easily achieve the objective of allowing the country's ageing population to spend their retirement in familiar surroundings.

The Elevator Technology business area brings together the ThyssenKrupp Group’s global activities in passenger transportation systems. With sales of 6.2 billion euros in fiscal 2012/2013 and customers in 150 countries, ThyssenKrupp Elevator is one of the world’s leading elevator companies. With more than 49,000 highly skilled employees, the company offers innovative and energy-efficient products designed to meet customers’ individual requirements. The portfolio includes passenger and freight elevators, escalators and moving walks, passenger boarding bridges, stair and platform lifts as well as tailored service solutions for all products. Over 900 locations around the world provide an extensive sales and service network to guarantee closeness to customers.