The UK stands at the threshold of a demographic revolution. According to the Centre for Ageing Better, the number of people aged 65-79 is predicted to increase by nearly a third (30%) to over 10 million in the next 40 years, while those aged 80 and over will more than double to over 6 million. The Resolution Foundation reports that the over-60s now hold 53% of Britain's property wealth, 59% of financial wealth, and 45% of pension wealth.
Yet despite this demographic shift, public perception of retirement living has lagged behind reality. Enter an unlikely catalyst: Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club. This bestselling series, now a star-studded Netflix film, has achieved something the retirement living industry has struggled with for decades—making retirement communities genuinely aspirational.
The fictional Cooper's Chase isn't just entertainment; it's a blueprint for modern Integrated Retirement Communities (IRCs). Osman has created a masterclass in how independent living, shared amenities, and care provision can combine to create thriving communities.
If The Thursday Murder Club can shift public perception, the retirement living sector may finally see demand match demographic reality.
IRCs
“anytime you wanted to be alone, you would simply close your front door, and anytime you wanted to be with people, you would open it up again. If there was a better recipe for happiness than that, then Ibrahim was yet to hear it.” – Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club
At Cooper's Chase residents have their own apartments - their own front doors - but also shared facilities - a jigsaw/murder-solving room, a restaurant and a swimming pool. There’s even a specialised care unit where Thursday Murder Club founder Penny moved when she developed dementia. This is what defines an IRC: independent living with shared spaces for those who want them, and the ability to bring in care as needed. It’s not care-driven—it’s lifestyle-driven, which brings me on to point 2.
Joy
Osman's characters remind us that the third age is a whole chapter, not an ending. Nobody at Cooper’s Chase is sitting quietly waiting for the curtain to fall. The club is made up of well-rounded people, who have had full lives and exciting careers. They're smart, witty, and freed from the shackles of their earlier responsibilities. IRCs allow people to unburden themselves from clearing drains, fixing leaky roofs, or spending hours comparing insurance quotes. Operators take these on—so residents can spend their time doing what they love, whether that’s mountain biking or solving cold cases.
Security
There’s a subplot where Ian Ventham, the greedy developer trope, played by David Tenant, threatens to throw out the residents when he sees a chance to make more money. The residents gather in a “town-hall” meeting to protest. Ultimately, Ian decides he doesn’t have to listen. I watched this scene with horror. When lawyers scream at the TV, it’s usually at the inaccuracies (Suits is very stressful for me). The truth? Residents of IRCs most often occupy on leases (other tenures are available). There’s security in that. Ian can’t just turf them out. But the fear is real. People who’ve owned freeholds all their lives are now asked to adjust to owning a leasehold, a tenure that has attracted a lot of press attention in recent years for its flaws. No system is perfect, of course, and we've been working with ARCO (Associated Retirement Community Operators) on options for alternative tenures in retirement living which aim to provide security, certainty and confidence to residents and investors alike.
Investment
One might suspect from the dodgy dealings going on in the background that the funding for Cooper's Chase was not entirely above board. Let me take this apart. The vast majority of retirement living in the UK is operated by regulated affordable housing providers, watched over by a very careful and thorough regulator, and often using public money to invest. In the private sector, IRCs have tended to be funded by funds with social purpose at their core and again, often regulated. In any case, their lovely legal teams (yours, truly included, of course) are required to undertake strict checks to ensure the funds are clean. But again, there are concerns for investors – reputation , sales rates, technical legal risks - and this is part of the driver for our proposals on tenure reform for retirement living.
Affordability
But what of the residents – how do they fund it? Allow me some artistic licence for a moment as I stray beyond what Mr Osman considered would make a bestseller. Not all IRCs come with Pierce Brosnan doing aqua aerobics, orangeries for the knitting club or llamas, which would undoubtedly bring down costs. But the residents at Coopers Chase have had wildly varied careers, so how have they managed it? Deferred payment structures, which have in the past been criticised, allow residents to acquire an aspirational home that they otherwise may not have been able to afford. Provided these are presented up-front transparently (and nobody is going to fool Elizabeth or Ibrahim) these are a great option. In addition, many IRCs give residents some level of certainty over ongoing costs operating on a fixed charge model, rather than the more common variable service charge which is directly related to costs incurred.
The Thursday Murder Club has done more than entertain millions—it has reimagined what retirement living could be. Through Cooper's Chase, Richard Osman has shown us that IRCs aren't just about housing an ageing population; they're about creating communities where people can thrive in their third age.
As the UK faces its demographic revolution, the retirement living sector has a unique opportunity.
But success will depend on learning the lessons that Cooper's Chase teaches us: prioritising joy, providing genuine security through appropriate tenure structures, ensuring transparent funding and affordability, and above all, recognising that retirement isn't an ending—it's a new beginning.
The question isn't whether demand will match demographic reality, but whether the industry can rise to meet it with the same imagination and ambition that Osman brought to his fictional community. If it can, the future of retirement living looks not just secure, but genuinely exciting.
If you want to understand more about retirement living, what we're doing in this space or even just have a chat about your favourite book-turned-movie, please do reach out.
