Building for Aging: Conclusion

Massachusetts is at a pivotal moment as its population ages, and the housing needs of older adults become increasingly central to the Commonwealth’s economic strength, community vitality, and long-term health outcomes.

The work of the Special Commission on Senior Housing underscores that addressing these needs requires an integrated approach, one that modernizes housing production and finance, expands access to supportive services, improves accessibility in existing homes, and equips older adults and their caregivers with the tools needed to plan for each stage of the housing lifecycle. The recommendations in this report reflect the collective expertise of housing, aging, health care, and community leaders and offer a roadmap for aligning policy and practice to ensure that every older adult can age with dignity, stability, and choice. 

Implementing these strategies will demand coordination across state agencies, collaboration with local partners, and sustained commitment from public, private, and nonprofit sectors. But it also presents a profound opportunity: by strengthening the housing system for older adults, Massachusetts strengthens its housing system for everyone. Advancing these recommendations will not only improve individual well-being and reduce costly emergency interventions, it will support inclusive, age-friendly communities, bolster the state’s economic competitiveness, and help ensure that residents of all ages can thrive. The Commonwealth now has a clear path forward; the task ahead is to translate this vision into action.

1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, What Is the Lifetime Risk of Needing and Receiving Long-Term Services and Supports?
2. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, A Home for Everyone.
3. Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative, Massachusetts Highlights 2025, May 2025.
4. Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative, Massachusetts Highlights 2025, May 2025.
5. Pew Research Center, “Older Workers Are Growing in Number and Earning Higher Wages,” December 14, 2023,
6. Boston Indicators, State of the State for Older Adults.
7. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, Affordable Homes Act Brief II: Public Housing.
8. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 1-Year Estimates, Table S0101 (Massachusetts).
9. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 1-Year Estimates, Table S0101 (Massachusetts).
10. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 1-Year Estimates, Table B19049 (Massachusetts); EOHLC tabulation.
11. University of Massachusetts Boston, Gerontology Institute, Economic Security Reports.
12. Boston Indicators, State of the State for Older Adults.
13. Boston Indicators, State of the State for Older Adults.
14. University of Massachusetts Boston, Gerontology Institute, Economic Security Reports.
15. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR): 2024 Reports. (using age 55+ as the cutoff for older adults experiencing homelessness)
16. AARP Public Policy Institute, LTSS State Scorecard: Massachusetts, 2023.
17. Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA), Massachusetts Healthcare Workforce Survey.
18. Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA), “Mass Health Care Labor Shortage Is Hard for Nursing Home Care,” Boston Globe.
19. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Housing Supply and Production.
20. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 1-Year Estimates, Table B25007 (Massachusetts); EOHLC tabulation.
21. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 1-Year Estimates, Table B25128 (Massachusetts); EOHLC tabulation. 35
22. 22 U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 1-Year Estimates, Table B25077 (Massachusetts); U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census 2000, Table H085; inflation adjusted from 2000 to 2024 using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Inflation Calculator.
23. Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, Housing America’s Older Adults: Meeting the Needs of an Aging Population, 2014.
24. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Health Care Facilities in Massachusetts.
25. Kaiser Family Foundation, “Number of Nursing Facility Residents,”
26. Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA), Massachusetts Nursing Facilities.
27. Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA), Nursing Facility Report, 2019.
28. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Public Housing Dashboard.
29. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Public Housing Dashboard.
30. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, Affordable Homes Act Brief II: Public Housing.
31. Housing Navigator Massachusetts, Housing Dashboard.
32. Housing Navigator Massachusetts, Housing Dashboard.
33. Research around homelessness often considers “older adults” to be age 50+ while most age restricted housing in MA is for people age 60 or 62 and older
34. Thomas Byrne et al., The Emerging Crisis of Aged Homelessness, Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy, University of Pennsylvania, 2019.
35. Forbes Advisor, “Cost of Living by State,” ; National Low Income Housing Coalition, Housing Needs by State: Massachusetts.
36. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR): 2024 Reports.  (using age 55+ as the cutoff for older adults experiencing homelessness).
37. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, No-Growth Housing Needs.  
38. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Future Housing Demand in Massachusetts.
39. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Senior Housing Aging-in-Place Guidelines (July 2020) ; Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Draft 2025–2026 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Qualified Allocation Plan, Section M (Senior Housing Design Self-Evaluation Checklist).
40. National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care, “Research Shows Senior Living Communities Promote Wellness and Healthy Aging,”
41. Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), The Year 30 Challenge: Preserving Affordable Housing, 2020.
42. University of Massachusetts Boston, Gerontology Institute, Economic Security Reports.
43. 2Life Communities, “Frequently Asked Questions,”
44. “Low Vision and Health Care Access,” Health Services Research.
45. Massachusetts House Bill 1369 (194th General Court).
46. Massachusetts House Bill 2569 (194th General Court).
47. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Order No. 642, Instituting Age-Friendly Practices.
48. Massachusetts House Bill 777 (194th General Court).
49. Massachusetts House Bill 4695 (194th General Court).
50. Massachusetts Senate Bill 475 (194th General Court).