They are billed as a retiree's utopia: A playground for adults that is fun, safe and can even help you live a longer, healthier, and happier life.

Retirement villages are home to more than 250,000 older Australians, drawn by polished marketing that promises independent living in a safe community environment.

But ABC Investigations and 7.30 have uncovered another side to a sector that for years has managed to largely escape the interest of state and federal politicians and dodge the blowtorch of an aged care royal commission in 2021.

The industry, which has minimal regulatory oversight, has been described by retired actuary and academic Tim Kyng as peddling "cunningly designed rip-offs" and by crossbench federal MP Rebekha Sharkie as engaging in a form of "corporatised elder abuse".

Some of the elderly residents or their families describe them as a financial prison, a disaster and ethically bankrupt.

Many complaints centre on the fees charged when residents leave, which often include an exit fee and the cost of refurbishing the villa.

Adele Ferguson exposes the great retirement village financial trap.

Subscribe: https://ab.co/3yqPOZ5 Read more here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-3...

Welcome to ABC News In-depth, where you'll find our long-form journalism and other videos to help you understand what's going on in the world around you.

Watch more ABC News content ad-free on ABC iview: https://ab.co/2OB7Mk1

For more from ABC News, click here: https://ab.co/2kxYCZY

Get breaking news and livestreams from our ABC News channel:    / newsonabc  
Like ABC News on Facebook:   / abcnews.au  
Follow ABC News on Instagram:   / abcnews_au  
Follow ABC News on Twitter:   / abcnews  

Note: In most cases, our captions are auto-generated.

#ABCNewsIndepth #ABCNewsAustralia