One in five seniors living in the Conejo Valley relies solely on Social Security for his or her post-retirement income.

Nine out of 10 have a need or concern they feel is not being adequately addressed by the local community.

Those are among the preliminary findings from a survey conducted by the Thousand Oaks Council on Aging, a city advisory panel.

The early results also show the number of retirees will continue to grow as 91 per cent of baby boomers now living in the Thousand Oaks area plan to remain after retirement.

The survey's information will be used to form a Senior Adult Master Plan for Thousand Oaks.

"Most of us know that there is a huge age wave coming right at us, and it's essential for the city to look at that for planning purposes," said Susan Poprock, a commissioner on the Council on Aging and the chief nurse executive of the Motion Picture and Television Fund in Calabasas. "We went to the city with the idea of a master plan, they embraced it and they asked us to do this."

Advisers to city government

The Council on Aging is made up of 10 senior volunteers. The panel has an advisory role in city government.

Poprock and three other commissioners formed a subcommittee that worked with representatives from several city and county agencies and other seniors interested in the project to devise the questionnaires.

"There are two sets of questions, one for seniors and one for baby boomers," said Francine Sprigel, a city staff member who acts as a liaison between the Council on Aging and City Hall.

"We want this survey to be a full community venture and open to the senior community as a whole, both those who are seniors now and those born between 1946 and 1964 who will be seniors in a few years time," Sprigel said.

Organizers of the survey aim to receive information from at least 10 percent of the senior population — about 1,800 people — on issues ranging from access to healthcare and transportation, to lifestyle and recreational issues, and access to help and information. They were also hoping a significant number of baby boomers would respond.

"We want to know what services are needed now and to anticipate what the need will be in the future," Sprigel said.

22% rely on Social Security

The results from the 541 questionnaires completed so far show just over 31 percent of the those responding have lived in Thousand Oaks for 31 years or longer, 22 percent rely solely on Social Security for their post-retirement income and 16 percent over the age of 63 live alone.

Early indications from questionnaires completed by baby boomers show two-thirds anticipate retiring at 65.

Carol Freeman, president of the nonprofit group Senior Concerns, which provides services to frail and special-needs elderly people in the community, said the information should prove extremely useful to city and county agencies.

"This is a very necessary project," said Freeman. "It's very important to identify and somehow quantify the needs of the aging population."

Freeman said Thousand Oaks may be a wealthy community, but 6 percent to 10 percent of seniors living in the city have below poverty-level income. She and her staff are increasingly concerned about how the needs of seniors will be met as the number of retirees continues to grow.

Poprock said she believes there already is a group of people in the Conejo Valley whose needs are underserved. She says identifying areas of need and finding ways the senior population can help address them will be crucial to future success.

"Part of our thought on the advisory group is that we won't be able to serve the big baby boomer population without having a large number of people who will volunteer their skills and talents after retirement to help others," Poprock said.

The Senior Adult Survey is available at the Goebel Senior Adult Center on Janss Road in Thousand Oaks, and it can also be accessed via the city of Thousand Oaks Web site at http://www.toaks.org.

The survey will continue to run until the end of April. Anyone wishing to receive a copy directly by mail or e-mail may contact Sprigel at 449-2743 or by e-mailing her at fsprigel@toaks.org.