Canadians want to age in place, but they aren’t planning for it

During a recent longevity and reframing retirement workshop, I asked participants to think about retirement not as a single decision, but as a series of small experiments over time. We talked about testing new routines. Exploring phased work. Finding new ways to stay engaged.

Then someone raised a question that almost always comes up, and almost never gets planned for. “Why don’t we talk more about where we’re going to live?”

The room went quiet. Heads nodded.

Most people said they want to stay where they are. Recent data from the National Institute on Ageing reinforces what many advisors see firsthand — Canadians don’t want a big move as part of their retirement plan.

Canada officially becomes a “super-aged” country this year, with more than 15 million Canadians aged 50 and older. When asked where they want to live as they age, the preference is to stay in their current home or downsize locally.

But few have thought through what staying requires. Fewer still have considered alternatives if their health, mobility or social connections change. Almost no one has integrated housing decisions into their financial plans. No home assessments. No conversations about accessibility. No financial modelling for future care, maintenance or relocation.

That gap between intention and preparation is becoming one of the most consequential blind spots in retirement planning. People have preferences but not plans.

Housing decisions shape health, independence, social connection, caregiving needs and long-term costs. Yet in many retirement plans, housing is still treated as a static assumption rather than a dynamic, strategic variable.

That is where place planning comes in.

The missing layer of holistic retirement advice

Ryan Frederick, founder and CEO of Here, is based in Austin, Texas. Over the past decade, he has developed place planning as a structured discipline to help people make intentional decisions about where to live across different life stages.

Place planning is not about real estate. And it is not about forcing people to move. “It’s about aligning where you live with how you want to live, now and in the future,” Frederick told me.

At the centre of his work is a practical framework that examines four interconnected dimensions with an outsized impact on longevity outcomes:

Environment: walkability, climate, housing design, access to nature.
Health: proximity to care, ability to stay active, preventive supports.
Community: relationships, purpose, belonging, social infrastructure.
Finances: affordability, flexibility, long-term sustainability.

Research increasingly shows that these factors can influence health span and well-being as much as, and often more than, genetics. Yet they are rarely addressed in a structured way within financial planning conversations.

In a world of longer lives, place decisions are no longer one-and-done.

Many retirees will spend 25 to 30 years navigating changing needs. An active early retirement. Caregiving responsibilities. Mobility shifts. Widowhood. Cognitive decline. The home that works well at 65 may no longer be the right fit at 80.

Waiting until a crisis forces a move often leads to rushed decisions, higher costs and poorer outcomes. “People don’t lack options,” Frederick said. “They lack a framework to evaluate them before stress and urgency take over. Place planning gives people a way to make thoughtful decisions about where they live before circumstances force their hand.”

That framework is increasingly what clients expect from trusted advisors, even if they do not yet have the language for it.

Frederick works with financial advisors and wealth management firms to embed place planning alongside financial, tax and estate planning. Clients report greater clarity, improved conversations with spouses and greater confidence in future decisions.

Advisors see deeper relationships, stronger referrals and a more differentiated value proposition, particularly with clients in their 50s, 60s and early 70s.

Clients don’t expect advisors to have all the answers. They value being guided through the right questions before decisions become urgent or emotional.

Start the conversation

Advisors do not need to become housing experts to add value. What matters is expanding the planning lens and creating space for more intentional dialogue.

Three practical starting points:

Treat housing as a strategy, not an assumption. Ask clients how confident they are that their current home will support them physically, socially and financially over the next 10 to 20 years, not just today.
Model multiple place scenarios. Just as you model income scenarios, explore housing scenarios. Aging in place with modifications. Downsizing. Moving closer to family. Transitioning to a senior living community. Each comes with different costs, care and lifestyle implications.
Partner with specialists. Some advisors collaborate with place-planning specialists or host structured workshops to introduce the topic. Others integrate place planning at key moments, such as retirement, the loss of a spouse or emerging health concerns, when decisions feel especially loaded.

The goal is not to push clients toward change. It is to help them preserve choice.

Over the past decade, retirement planning has expanded beyond investments to include purpose, identity and well-being. Place planning is the next logical extension of that evolution.

Where we live shapes how we age, quietly, persistently and powerfully. For advisors navigating longer lives, rising client expectations and a crowded competitive landscape, integrating place into the planning conversation is no longer optional. It is becoming a core capability.

The most effective advisors will not just help clients retire. They will help them live well, wherever that life unfolds.