Bob and Marilyn Burns have made a life in their home on Central Street for more than four decades.

Marilyn, 78, loves Andover's library and visiting with friends. Bob, 81, is comfortable going to Lahey Clinic for medical appointments — he's gone there since the 1970s and they have all his records and charts, he said.

As the couple ages, they will wrestle with the same challenges many other Andover senior citizens face, including at some point deciding whether they would be better off living in retirement community — a choice the Burnses say they hope they never have to make.

Soon, Andover seniors may have a new option to help them remain at home, thanks to a Council on Aging subcommittee that has been meeting for about a year.

The group is pursuing a new, innovative concept in retirement living, called "retirement living without walls."

The idea is to create a private, nonprofit organization, separate from town government, working separately but cooperatively with the Council on Aging. Seniors would pay a yearly membership fee, and have access to many of the same services available to residents of assisted-living facilities — from rides to doctors' appointments to nutrition counseling — while they continue to live in their own home.

A public forum on the concept is planned for Monday, Sept. 22, for residents to learn more and express interest.

"If you've lived in a place for a period of time — we've been here 43 years — you have a certain number of friends, churches, other organizations that you become associated with. If you move away, you lose all that. Everything becomes strange, like where is the cocoa in the supermarket? Everything becomes a consideration," said Bob Burns, a retired engineer.

"I'm well acquainted with Andover and its environment. Going to a retirement community, it's all new — new friends, new church, new everything. My family has moved all over the world, but it becomes harder when you're older. Aging in one place is more desirable, in my opinion."

Also called "virtual assisted living," the concept was pioneered in 2002 by a group in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood and is catching on in towns around the United States. Steve Roop, president of Beacon Hill Village, the Boston organization that created the idea, will speak and answer questions at the forum.

"It's a movement that will change the face of senior living," said Judy Trerotola, a COA member who has been working on the virtual assisted-living subcommittee.

"We want to hold onto our seniors. We don't want them to have to leave town to live in a safer place. This way, they can stay in the home they've always had, stay plugged into the things they've always done, and be a resource to the town."

Besides offering "tremendous piece of mind," retirement living without walls is far less expensive than living in an assisted-living facility, said Trerotola. In the subcommittee's research, they've found that most programs cost between $800 and $1,200 per year, whereas assisted living can charge $4,000 or $5,000 per month.

Trerotola worked at a for-profit senior living facility for 15 years, she said. "It's a great program, but not always affordable or possible for everyone," she said.

To make the non-profit project financially viable in Andover, 200 or 300 people over age 50 would need to become members, said Trerotola and committee member Nancy Mulvey. They will open membership to North Andover residents, they said.

The retirement living without walls organization will have a central office somewhere in Andover, said Trerotola, staffed with volunteers, and full-time and part-time employees. Members would request and set up appointments for services through a phone call to the central office.

Through their yearly membership fees, participants in retirement living without walls receive transportation to the grocery store, exercise classes at the YMCA or senior center, and other monthly social programs, planned by the virtual assisted-living organization and hosted at member's houses.

"One of the biggest things is help with transportation," said Marilyn Burns, a retired physical therapist. "If people can't drive anymore, that is one of the causes that forces people out of their own homes."

Members could also request fee-based services, such as home repair, laundry service, pet grooming or walking, or therapeutic massage. The organization would use a list of "strategic allies," said Trerotola, professionals — from health-care providers to plumbers and electricians — who are trusted and have done a good job with other members. After each service, a representative from the central office would call and ask how the appointment went, she said.

"It's much better than going off of word of mouth, or looking in the yellow pages," said Mulvey. "It gives you a sense of 'Oh, someone else has screened this person.' "

Contractors on the list of strategic allies would offer discounted services to members, because they would be guaranteed a large volume of calls from the organization, said Trerotola.

"If you're still maintaining a home (as a senior), the list is never ending," said Bob Burns.

Peace of mind would come from knowing you could call the organization for anything you needed, and a professional or volunteer would stop by — from something as simple as delivering a meal, to in-home physical therapy, to helping rearrange furniture.

"A single point of entry, a voice at the other end of the phone," said Trerotola, describing the office; "having people to interface for you."

The subcommittee on virtual assisted-living is still designing how the program would fit in Andover, said Trerotola.

The committee sent out a survey to local seniors that explained the concept, asked for input and evaluated interest. About 130 surveys were returned, many of which expressed interest in the concept.

The next step, said Trerotola, is for the organization to form its own board of directors and amicably split from the Council on Aging.

The retirement living without walls concept would be especially useful to folks who have family and children living out of state. Mulvey and Trerotola both know first-hand the challenges of caring for an aging parent who lives far away.

"It's just so difficult to get this panicked phone call, and be 300 miles away," said Mulvey. "This would give a sense that things would be more in control."

Trerotola agreed, saying "with mom not being able to drive, this (a program like retirement living without walls) would give peace of mind, make all the difference in the world."