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Please note that the Health Sections have been moved to Page 29a (mainly links to sites which give help) and Page 29b, which displays news items on health.
February 2010 There are new rules afoot as to how many qualyfying years you have to have to get a full state pension. Get an estimate HERE
January. A new official site aimed at Grandparents has been launched at https://begrand.net/ And you can give feed back on http://begrand.net/contact
January A good site that deals with GRANTS of various kinds is at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/protect/grant-grabbing
January 2010 . This is really hot off the presses ! A new site at http://www.begrand.net/ which is being developed on behalf of the government. I have been asked to make comments on this 'Beta' page. Interesting that, if you vote on " Should Grandparents be paid ?" , so far 70% have said "YES"! What do you think ?
November 09 Simplified PC for the elderly. Video at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8352606.stm
Home Care The government is proposing that from the autumn, around 280,000 older people and disabled adults who need help to carry out basic functions such as dressing, getting out of bed and using the lavatory will receive free care. Another 130,000 frail patients, including stroke sufferers, are to receive support on leaving hospital, with home improvements such as grab rails and panic buttons, allowing them to be discharged earlier. Doubts are being expressed that the £670 million suggested will be insufficient.
http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/winterfuel/
A Winter Fuel Payment is an annual payment to help people aged 60 and over
with the costs of keeping warm this winter. If you are aged 60 to 79 and
you are entitled to receive a Winter Fuel Payment, this year you will get
either £125 or £250, depending on your circumstances in the qualifying
week (21 to 27 September 2009). If you are aged 80 or over and you are entitled
to a Winter Fuel Payment, this year you will get either £200, £275
or £400, depending on your circumstances in the qualifying week. You
do not pay tax on Winter Fuel Payments. They will make automatic payments
over a number of weeks from early November 2009 until Christmas 2009. If
you have not received your automatic payment by Christmas 2009 you should
call the office that pays your benefit or call the
Winter
Fuel Payment Helpline 08459 15 15 15 (0845 601 5613 for textphone users)
or complete the form on line.
N.b. Men who reach 60 by the qualifying week should apply for the payment
as they are not registered as pensioners and could miss out
Age Discrimination The High Court has upheld the law that allows UK employers to force workers to retire at the age of 65. In the UK, a worker can see their employment end at the age of 65 without any redundancy payment - even if they do not want to retire. Age Concern and Help the Aged, which challenged the rules, will not appeal because they expect the law to change. This a pity as many people will lose out before the law is changed. So how does this match the Discrimination at Work Act which says: "All aspects of your employment (or prospective employment) are protected from age discrimination, including your recruitment, employment terms and conditions, promotions, transfers, dismissals and training". "If you feel you're at a disadvantage because of age-related criteria for recruitment or promotion policies, or if you think you're suffering age discrimination, you'll be able to bring a claim to an Employment Tribunal"
It would seem that, although an employee can be sacked when 65 and employer would have to be very careful not to discriminate against him if he applied for the same post the day after ! The law is an ass.
28th July 2009 A couple of useful links about Carers and Care. Click on them to read and see videos.
15th April 09. Taxi Vouchers for disabled people. Although these schemes have ben in operation for some time, I was not aware of them. Most Local Authorities are prepared to give vouchers of varying amounts per annum to disabled people who have difficulty using public transport. Most schemes offer around £80. Do a search on Google something like Taxi Vouchers Suffolk.
28th March 09 The free bus ticket scheme was changed from 1st April. See the BBC article HERE because frankly it is too confusing for me to explain. But basically it is down to cost and who is having to subsidise the bus services. Free seats on coaches (such as National Express) have, in any case been patchy and discretionary - up to each local authority. But they are now talking about not allowing it on Park and Ride and Tourist buses. At such short notice I can imagine that everyone is confused, including the coach companies and the Local Authorities
Winter Fuel Payments. If you were over 60 by 21st September 2008 you are due for a winter fuel payment (minimum £250 or £125 each). If you do not receive this you can get a form HERE, which should be sent in by the end of March 09. If you missed previous winter fuel payments there is another form on the same page.
January 2009 The government has paid out over £12m to people after the coldest start to winter for 30 years. Cold weather payments (£25) are made to people over 60 who get pension credit and to younger people on means-tested benefits if they are disabled or have a child under five. Payment is made if the temperature in your area is freezing or below for seven consecutive days. That has triggered payments to over half a million people on pension credit, income support, and income related job-seekers allowance and employment and support allowance.
The BBC has an excellent memory test 'game' at http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/memory/. Your test results will be interesting and will anonymously help in a scientific study
Sept 08 Tesco is studying a new, pensioner-friendly (and successful) supermarket in Berlin. If it goes ahead the first will be built in Newcastle, next door to the University's Institute for Aging and Health. It will have brighter lighting, clearer labelling, wide, non slip aisles, shelving which is neither too high or too low
Sept 08 : Age concern has revamped their community site at http://www.ageconcern.org.uk/community/ Join for chat etc
A government Pensions Advisor is telling insurance companies to revise their ideas on longevity. He indicated that a man of 65 is likely to live to 86. And the pension funds are in a bad enough state on their current calculations - mainly, I suspect, because their financial wizards are pretty bad at second guessing the trends in the stock market.
Did you know that under section 187 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992: it an offence for banks to take bank charges out of the accounts of people who are on social security benefits. So, if your bank has taken charges out of your Benefits eg: if you are in receipt (and totally dependent on) of any of the following benefits.
From February 2009 a person has been able to inherit more of their spouse or partner's estate if they die without leaving a will. Up until then the statutory legacy remained at not more than £125,000 for a spouse or partner and children and £200,000 if the deceased leaves a spouse or civil partner and parents or siblings but no children. These amounts have been raised to £250,00 and £400,000 respectively. Remaining amounts are distributed according to the Statutory Legacy Rules
A new government direct site has been created called Generationxperience, and there is a blog page at www.generationxperience.wordpress.com Air your views
http://www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk/ Is a government site which enables you to find tradesmen in your area
A new page has been created Here, which deals with the Digital TV changes, which are already beginning to happen in Cumbria and Devon
FREE BUSES The Grey Escape ? Everyone aged 60 or over and eligible disabled people is now entitled to free off-peak bus travel anywhere in England. However, this does not apply to National Express, so that somewhat defeats the object. However you can check whether there are any BUS (as opposed to COACH) services available from your area at http://www.traveline.org.uk/index.htm I found this scheme especially useful on a visit to London.
National Express Routesixty fares, though, are 50% off see http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach/offers/routesixty.cfm Also http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach/offers/funfares.cfm for £1 tickets on-line. Amazingly you can even get £10 back when you book National Express via http://cashback.shopperdiscountsandrewards.co.uk/
The other thing to watch is those expensive rail fares. Take a
look at
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-train-tickets
to see how you can save substantially. Get Cheaper train fares
by booking early see www.trainline.com
or click
HERE
to see savings.
http://www.cheaptraintickets.info/cheap-train-tickets-guide/
Is an excelent guide to how to save money on train tickets.
NOT TO BE MISSED
An Independent Financial Adviser specialising in pension advice can be found at http://www.pensionlite.co.uk/
State Pensions The many benefits available are very complicated to describe. The best document for this is at http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/pdf/pensionersguide/pg1june06.pdf. You will need to download a PDF file reader to read this. The document deals with most benefits such as Pension Credits, Council Tax Benefit, Carers allowances and even Child Benefit and Tax Credits. See also Financial Page.
The Mail on Sunday reports that many disabled and elderly people are not claiming State Benefits which are theirs of right. Virtually all those in care homes will qualify for Attendance Allowance worth £44.85 per week. Those needing help overnight, too, get the higher rate of £67.00 a week (and this is NOT means tested. In England, people with recognised medical need also qualify for a weekly payment from the NHS towards care costs. It is in three bands (£40, £87 amd £139 per week). The level of payment is very different in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. So much for a United Kingdom ! Please check to see if these rates have changed.
Be aware that people who did not manage to pay sufficient National Insurance contributions to get a full state pension may be able to top up their contributions for the period 1996 to 2002. Unfortunately this does not apply to women who elected to pay the married women's reduced rate for the whole of any tax year in question. But for someone who would increase their contributions to over the 25% necessary for a state pension, they are likely to benefit quite substantially. The rule mainly applies to women born after 5th April 1938 who reached state pension age after 5th April 1998. Amounts payable would be backdated. See HERE for official details
Other Pensions With many people having multiple employment pensions (and moving addresses) it is easy to lose track of them. The Pensions Service (0845 6002 537) www.thepensionservice.gov.uk offers a free pension tracing service. They have a database of over 200,000 pension schemes.
Another very useful set of links on pensions is provided by http://www.thinkmoney.com/tag/pension/ See HERE for a complimentary report on this company by Times On Line. In addition Thinkmoney deals with Debt problems, Insurance, Car purchase, Banking, Mortgages and Loans. See http://www.thinkmoney.com/
http://www.ceacard.co.uk/ This site enables you to apply for the Cinema Exhibitors Association card which gives a free cinema ticket for one additional person if you are either in receipt of a disability allowance or are registered as a blind person (but not as a deaf one !)
New address from the government : http://www.direct.gov.uk/Over50s/fs/en
If you have poor vision did you know that you can turn on a 'High Contrast screen' There is a shortcut to turn this on or off. Press LEFT ALT+LEFT SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN. Various alternative high contrast screens can be chosen by clicking 'Settings'. Alternatively you will find that it is possible to change the size and style of web page type. In a web page see Tools, Internet Options, Fonts and also View, Text size.
If you use Internet Explorer use View, Text size and choose a larger one
In addition Windows XP provides a magnifier which is turned on by going to Start, Run and typing Magnify and clicking OK, but I find it confusing !
It has various shortcuts : To increase magnification: Press the Windows key+UP ARROW. Decrease magnification: +DOWN ARROW. To invert the colors of the magnification window press the Windows key+PAGE U ; To follow the mouse cursor through the magnified area: Windows key +PAGE DOWN. To copy the screen to the Clipboard, including the mouse cursor press the Windows key. +PRINT SCREEN.
If you have difficulty using two hands you can use 'Sticky keys', so
you can press say, the Windows key and E separately. This is set on
by pressing SHIFT five times
In fact, for people who hate using the mouse there is a great deal that can
be achieved with the keyboard For instance
Ctrl + A to select all
Shift + arrows selects text
Ctrl + C Copies a selection you have made by dragging the mouse across it.
Ctrl + X Cuts selection ; Ctrl + V Pastes clipboard contents to cursor position.
Home/End Moves cursor to beginning/end of line ;
Ctrl + Home/End Moves cursor to beginning/end of document ;
Ctrl + Up/Down arrow Moves cursor up/down one paragraph ;
Ctrl + Left/Right arrow moves cursor one word to left/right ;
Ctrl + Z Undo the last action.;
Tab takes you to the next field (in email or form filling)
Alt + any underlined menu letter e.g. Alt + F for File
Did you know that you can move down the list of links by pressing the Tab key ? Then press Enter to go to a selected site. You can also move down the page by pressing the space bar.... holding shift to move up again.
The RNIB has software that they can install on mobile phones to tell blind people about text messages, battery level etc. They charge £150 to install it. Another rip off for the disabled. Or, ' in certain situations' they can supply a phone free, or you can install the software from a PC. How can anyone charge a blind person £150 just to install some software! When, one day, software is available so I can see what people say on my phone I imagine the RNID will charge deaf people the same, or even more, as the software is more complex.
Do you know about Audio Description on TV ? Audio Description (AD) describes what is happening on-screen using the gaps between dialogue. This helps viewers with visual impairments to follow what is going on. It is available on digital satellite television and Freeview (currently only via the Netgem receiver). Audio descriptions of changes of location, actions, facial expressions, gestures etc give the context and set the scene, and are fitted between dialogue or commentary to avoid interrupting the flow of the programme. The BBC, ITV, Channel Four and Five are committed to audio describing at least 6 per cent of their annual output. Programmes include popular soaps, dramas and comedies. Children's programmes also feature on the service.
DLA Disabled Living Allowances. There are some good films about these with sound, subtitles and BSL Click HERE
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Useful Numbers and links. 0800 numbers
are free. 0845 numbers are 'low call'
Citizens Advice Breau Covers
a wide range of topics
Benefit enquiries 0800 88 22 00
EAC (Elderly Advice Counsel )
http://www.eac.org.uk/ 020 780
1343 provides a free, independent, telephone advice service to older people,
their families and people who work with them. See also Housing below.
Energy Efficiency Advice 0800 512 012 (the Energy Saving Trust)
Energywatch 08459 060708
Pension Credits 0800 99 1234
For a pension assessment contact 0845 3000 168 or
www.thepensionservice.gov.uk
Smoking Helpline 0800 169 0 169
Solid Fuel Association 0845 601 4406
Warm Front Scheme (insulation grants) 0800 072 0151
Winter Fuel Payments 08459 15 15 15. (Textphone - for the deaf 0845
601 5613) www.the
pensionservice.gov.uk/winterfuel/
Winter Warmth Advice + booklet (8 - 8pm) (various languages) 0800 085
7000; (Deaf) Textphone 0800 085 7857
Will Writing from £34:
http://www.halifaxlegalexpress.co.uk/halifax/
The page also offers legal advice at fixed costs
Other legal services can be found at
The Coop and
QualitySolicitors.com (a group
of 150 High Street Solicitors)
State Pensions + other financial matters are mainly on the Financial Page
Warm Front Scheme. Free central heating installation and home
insulation is available to pensioners in England receiving means tested Pension
Credit. Pensioners who do not receive Pension Credit may still get contributions
towards these things. See
http://www.eaga.co.uk Freephone
0800 316 6011.
According to the Saga Magazine 2.5 million over 60's are missing out by not
claiming their Pension Credit. See
www.thepensionservice.gov.uk
The government ensures that single 60 year olds have a total income of not
less than £109.45 per week; £167.05 for couples. At 65 this
rises to £151 and £221 respectively (£7852 & £11,492
per annum). However, the calculation is complex and savings over
£6,000 are taken into account, as well as expenses such as mortgages.
The best thing to do is look at the charts on the Pensions Service
website. Click
here.
You can apply for Pension Credit by calling the Pension Credit application
line 0800 99 1234, textphone 0800 169 0133 (8am to 8pm Monday to Friday,
9am to 1pm Saturday) or can print a form by going to the site on line.
From April 2005 anyone who deferred drawing their state pension got increases equivalent to 10.4% for every year that they wait, OR you can get a lump sum instead. At current estimates this could be as much as £30,000 for five years' delay (or whatever you didn't draw + 2:% over base rate interest. I really would recommend any healthy 60 year old woman, who is continuing to work, to take advantage of this, which is a better percentage than you could get elsewhere - and, alternatively, could lead to a higher pension for the next 35 years !!
Examples of pension deferral : (1) If you deferred a state pension for 5 years, which would have been, say, £5666 per annum, you would be entitled to a lump sum of £28,330 + whatever cumulative interest accrued - at the current Bank Rate (Feb 07) that would be 7.25% - at least an extra £400. Lump sums are taxable, by the way.
(2) A woman decides to put off claiming her State Pension for 5 years. If, when she comes to claim her pension, the weekly rate she would have been entitled to, if she had not put off claiming, would have been £105 weekly (£5517 p.a.) As she put off claiming for five years and chose extra State Pension, the amount of State Pension she would get every week would be £159.60 (£8268 p.a.). And, in this case, the government actuaries must be going spare as women can reasonably expect to defer for longer and draw a much higher pension for a great deal longer as well. There are not often cases where I actually recommend something... but for a healthy 60 year old woman, who is still enjoying work, it would seem very advantageous to defer drawing the State Pension for at least five years (whether she then takes the lump sum or a higher pension for the next 35 years !)
But be careful. Two out of every five people don't make it to 70 ! And, in some areas of the country this is as much as three out of every five. For longevity live in Cornwall and screw the pension fund for as much as you can !
But, seriously, one can see why pension funds are in trouble with average
life expectancy (males) being around 77 and females being around 81. If the
above quoted lady just deferred her pension to 65, the total average cost
for the rest of her (average) life would be over £132,000 (and rising)
- and that was from a very low starting point. Even if our sample man deferred
to 70, the average male would draw over £200,000 'til he kicked the
bucket. At least he would have the consolation of
not being inundated as a result of global warming !
For a pension assessment contact 0845 3000 168 or the Pensions Service link
above. The Pension Scheme Registry can check if you are due for anything
http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/
Something like 1.7 million people are not claiming council tax benefit.
Although these benefits are 'means tested' to an extent they can amount to
a considerable sum. The rules for Council Tax Benefit are complex. Take
a look at
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/council_tax_benefit.asp
Overcharged by your Bank or Lender? See
Financial Page.
If you have been charged for insurance on a loan or purchase in case you
were unemployed see notes on The Loan Insurance Business (PPIs)
on that page. One site which is dealing exclusively with this problem and
helping people reclaim charges that have been wrongly made is
www.ppireclaimservice.co.uk
There is a lot of information there.
Getting miserable interest on your savings ? No need these days. See Financial Page
Wrongly Rated ? To check what rating band you and you neighbours are on click HERE and enter your post code and Billing Authority. If you are rated much higher than similar properties you should appeal. I got my rates reduced on appeal. But my Water Rate stayed the same until I opted for a meter.
Bereavement Allowance. This is a single tax free lump sum of £2000 payable immediately to help towards costs arising from bereavement. A widow/widower may be entitled to this if his/her late spouse has paid enough National Insurance contributions and he/she is under 60 when the spouse died or their husband/wife was not getting any state pension when he/she died
Avoiding Inheritance tax. As from October 2007 a substantial change was made in the rules governing Inheritance Tax. Hitherto the value of the estate left by the last survivor of a legal partnership was taxed at the punitive IHT rate of 40% if it was more than £300,000. The 2009 allowance is £325,000 or £650,000 for a couple, as legal partners 'inherit' the partner's tax exemption. This is retrospective, so it applies to partners who died a while ago. But the exemption would only amount to the level that was relevant at the time of their death and would be less any amount that they willed to (say) their children. The site below gives examples and can be consulted as to the level of exception in any particular year.
Reducing your heirs' liability to Inheritance Tax (IHT) See http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/iht.htm for leaflets on IHT.
Before this change people where attempting to avoid inheritanc tax on the value of their house by means of the Nil Rate Discretionary Trust. If the value of the house is higher than the new exemption this may still be relevant.
Nil Rate Discretionary Trusts. Though I am sure you should check and arrange this with a solicitor my understanding is this : Situation: You are married and you wish to keep the tax man's hands off your money when you both die. Your house (and any savings) has increased in value to the point when you think that your children will be faced with a large Inheritance Tax bill. What to do ? You set up a Nil Rate Discretionary Trust in which you, as a couple live as 'tenants in common'. Your spouse and a child can be trustees. On the first death the survivor stays in the house. On their death, both of your IHT allowances are set against the value of the house, and this double tax free element is passed to your children. Currently this would amount to over £650,000.http://www.tenminutewill.co.uk/main.cgi and http://www.tenminutewill.co.uk/pdfdocs/discretionary_trusts.pdf
For much more information on financial matters click Here For older people a good site is http://www.helptheaged.org.uk/Money/_default.htm
CARE HOMES and Retirement Property Nov. 09 Home Care The government is proposing that from the autumn, around 280,000 older people and disabled adults who need help to carry out basic functions such as dressing, getting out of bed and using the lavatory will receive free care. Another 130,000 frail patients, including stroke sufferers, are to receive support on leaving hospital, with home improvements such as grab rails and panic buttons, allowing them to be discharged earlier. Doubts are being expressed that the £670 million suggested will be insufficient.
Dec 10th '07 The government has announced what it hails as a revolution in social care. Money will now be placed directly into the bank accounts of those entitled to help, meaning they can pick and choose both the kind of care they want and who they want to provide it. So for instance, instead of meals on wheels, an elderly person could - in principle at least - use the money to pay for someone to come in and help with the cooking. Instead of respite care for a disabled person, the money could be spent on a holiday.
The rules on Care Home Fees Last Updated: 21 Feb 2009 (Daily Telegraph) People have to pay for residential care if assets, including their home, fall above “means-testing” limits – set at £22,500 in England and Northern Ireland, £22,000 in Wales and £21,500 in Scotland. Those with assets between £13,000 and the upper limit pay some contribution towards their care. The rules are different if a spouse remains in the home, when the value of the property should be disregarded. Often families hope that by passing property to younger generations they can avoid its inclusion in means tests. However, financial advisers caution against such a move. If councils believe properties have been passed on purely to avoid care fees, they will include them in means tests, and the onus is on the family to prove their motive was otherwise. Some local authorities have won cases when houses were given away more than a decade before parents went into care. See HERE for more detail
In Scotland, elderly people are given £149 a week towards any “personal care” they are assessed as requiring, such as help with washing and dressing. Those in care homes are still means-tested for their accommodation costs. Anyone requiring constant medical care should receive it free, if an application to their local Primary Care Trust or Health Board for “continuing NHS health care” succeeds.
More people are entitled to free basic nursing care. This reduces weekly costs by £100 in Northern Ireland, £117.67 in Wales, £103.80 in England and £67 in Scotland.
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EAC (Elderly Advice Counsel )
http://www.eac.org.uk/ 020 780
1343 provides a free, independent, telephone advice service to older people,
their families and people who work with them.
See also :
http://www.nursinghomestoday.co.uk/
http://www.carehomestoday.co.uk
A free advisory service which lists care homes in each area
http://www.guide2care.com/ A
comprehensive guide to care homes throughout
England
http://www.schealthcare.co.uk
SC Care Homes
http://hoop.eac.org.uk/ Housing Options
for Older People.
http://www.housingcare.org/
http://www.carehomesguide.com/
provides an in-depth search facility for all types of retirement, residential
and nursing homes.
http://www.nursing-home-directory.co.uk/
Select a care home by area
www.bettercaring.co.uk
Choose/compare retirement homes.
http://www.retirementdreams.co.uk/
Search for a suitable property either on a purchase or life interest basis
www.ucarewecare.com Nursing
and Care Homes all over the UK
HEALTH SITES Links to health sites and health information can now be found if you click Here
As well as the 'flu jab it is recommended that the over 65s get an
anti pneumonia jab at the doctor's. Just ask.
A pneumococcal infection can cause septicaemia and meningitis as well as
breathing difficulties.
If you sometimes wonder about opticians read a Which Report
HERE
If you want to check out the cost of surgery or dental treatment abroad take
a look at
http://www.treatmentabroad.net/
DISABILITY HELP
Glasses : Everyone hates to be ripped off and nowhere rips you off more than when you are getting those essentials called glasses (spectacles) There is no need to pay £300 - £500. After all you can get your prescription free from any optician - don't be embarassed to just ask for it - and look at what is available on the net. See www.glassesdirect.co.uk and www.specs-by-post.com I was interested that the latter will send you your chosen frame with clear lenses. If you like them, you then return them with a photo, so they can pick the correct measurements. You choose the combination of features you like (bi focal, multifocal, anti -reflective, light reactive, stronger, lighter, anti scratch etc) and send them your free prescription. Voila. Who needs an optician ? If you don't save £200 I will eat my fedora.
From July 2008 disabled people have improved rights to fly to and from Europe from your travel agent onwards. See HERE
http://www.stairlifttrader.com/
Second hand stairlifts. Free advertising if you have a spare
one
www.ucandoit.org.uk.
Computer training for disabled people. A course is available to residents
in Greater London. Tutors also available in Milton Keynes, West Wales,
Merseyside, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Devon, Hampshire, Kent and Sussex. Please
contact the office to confirm that our tutors can cover your area. We charge
£5 per lesson if your household weekly income is £100 or less.
If you receive more than £100 a week our charges will increase.
www.welcomemobility.co.uk
A great site for equipment to help the 'differently abled'
http://www.youreableshop.co.uk
'Your able shop' has a wide range of products to make your life more
comfortable
www.vitalise.org.uk Vitalise
is a national charity providing short breaks (respite care) and other services
for disabled people, visually impaired people, and carers.
www.calibre.org.uk
Provide 7000 audio books on free load on tape or in MP3 format on disk.
Very useful for folks with poor vision.
Alert call is a useful facility to ensure that people are 'Up and About'
http://www.alertacall.com/
New site called Bathing Made Easy at
http://gus.dlf-data.org.uk/ One
of the Disabled Living Foundation pages
http://www.cosyfeet.com/
Provide extra wide shoes and slippers.. Mostly around £60
http://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/bbc/partnership.shtml
is a BBC site in cooperation with Ability.net and shows how to get the best
out of the net, even for the disabled
http://www.helptheaged.org.uk/ShoppingServices/SeniorLink/_default.htm
A way to contact people in an emergency.
http://www.createwrt.net/. A voluntary
group which aims to help housebound people with creative writing.
Other help for people with disabilities who wish to use a computer can be
found at
http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/myway/
www.abilitynet.org.uk is a
charity which as a useful newsletter and also arranges computer courses for
people with disabilities (of any age). Many of the courses are free.
www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/
http://www.benefitsnow.co.uk/
Explains Disability Living Allowance (DLA)and Disability Attendance
Allowances (AA) with a way to assess yourself. Deafness is one of the
disabilities counted providing you are working age but you may have to
appeal.
http://www.btplc.com/age_disability/ Help
from BT
www.essentialaids.com Equipment
for the disabled
www.helpinghand.co.uk Find
suitable equipment
www.im-ok.com. This site would notify
a relative if you DON'T register each morning. It is £40 a year or you
can have a short term arrangement if you think you might need it.
ITcanhelp.org.uk free hardware
and software help and training (contact me also, as I am a registered
trainer).
www.remap.org.uk (free technical
equipment for disabled people).
www.ability.org.uk, Hardware and software kits to help disabled centres
with computing. e.g. Successful Computing for Disabled People CD
Want a map of the UK specifically designed for Blue Badge holders ? £12
from www.the pieguide.com or
call 0870 444 5435. Not just parking but shopping, toilets, beaches, petrol
stations, accommodation.
See also
www.access-ability.co.uk
It is suggested the Blind people should get a page reader. You can
download one from
http://www.browsealoud.com/ or
a new one called Thunder from
www.screenreader.net (XP, NT
and Windows 2000) You may find that downloading the WebbIE browser helps
these programs. Free from
http://www.webbie.org.uk/
All graphics on this site have alternative text
http://www.natstar.ac.uk/ A useful
site for people with impaired vision or muscles.
http://www.rnib.org.uk/softwareaccesscentre.
Software for blind and partially sighted
If you would like a Word Processor that tries to predict what you are writing, try the free Open Office, downloaded from www.computeractive.co.uk/downloads/ and enter Open Office
Do you realise that certain equipment can be bought free of VAT if you are disabled? The following goods may qualify for relief
Certain conditions must be adhered to in order for these supplies to qualify for zero-rating. These conditions include; the design or adaptation of the item, the supply being made to a disabled person for their domestic or personal use and the receipt of an eligibility declaration form. For more information see http://www.hmce.gov.uk/business/vat/disabilityfaqs.htm
EDUCATION and TRAINING
www.niace.org.uk The National
Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) aims to encourage all adults
to engage in learning of all kinds.
www.calibre.org.uk
Provide 7000 audio books on free load on tape or in MP3 format on disk.
Very useful for folks with poor vision.
http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses
www.open2.net or phone 0800 77 1234
to book your Free Internet starter session with the government sponsored
UKonline
www.itcanhelp.org.uk
ITCH. Free help for disabled people with hardware and software problems.
A volunteer can visit you at home (I am one!) If you have IT skills
you can volunteer. Travelling expenses paid to volunteers..
www.free-ed.net Free courses in
almost everything.
www.learndirect.co.uk
www.dfee.gov.uk
www.bbc.co.uk/learning/
www.dfee.gov.uk/adultlearners
www.open.ac.uk Open University
http://u3a.org.uk (University of the Third
Age)
HOUSEHOLD (Energy, telephones, Insurance) See
www.thisismoney.co.uk/householdbills
and Moneysavingsexpert
A very useful site for comparing power prices is
www.uswitch.com Very simple to use.
Powergen have a Staywarm scheme for pensioners (or people or low incomes)
which sets a monthly amount you pay regardless of the gas and electricity
you use. see....
http://www.ukpower.co.uk/staywarm.asp
To set up an account telephone them on 0800 183 1144. However, this scheme
has been a little too successful for Powergen and they suddenly told
10% of registered users they could no longer have Staywarm. This has
got them into such hot water from organisations for the elderly that they
backed down. But high user Staywarm folk are likely to have an increased
tariff eventually. As with many companies you can fix the price of gas and
electricity if you pay a little more each month. I got an assessment from
Powergen and it was £9 a moth extra to keep the price the same until
2010. But much depends on your usage and, anyway, prices could drop. They
also award Tesco Clubcard points for every pound you spend. For an idea of
how much you can save by getting combined Electricity and Gas and doing
everything on line (meter reading, bills etc) see
Here
Npower has started a new Sign Online 8 tariff, which may be worth looking into. They have also launched a National Trust Green Energy tariff for every new customer and promise to pay cash into a fund which will be used to createrenewable energy projects at National Trust properties.
I recently took up a local authority offer to check my house for energy efficiency. We had wall insulation done 30 years ago and wondered whether it was still there. He checked and reassured us that is was. There was no charge. He didn't offer to pay for double galzing !
USwitch can reveal that electricity suppliers are charging customers in their “home” or incumbent regions – where they used to be the local supplier, up to £54 more than customers in other areas. Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at www.uswitch.com says: “Tactical regional pricing is a tax on loyalty. Electricity suppliers are treating local longstanding customers like cash cows, using them to subsidise the more competitive prices they are offering to new customers in other regions.” Customers are urged to compare deals in their region and switch to a cheaper deal. With savings of around 16% available, switching can make regional pricing work to your advantage.
For updates on the cheapest fuel prices see
http://www.energyhelpline.com/
The Energy Saving Trust can tell
you about insulation grants from power companies and councils in your area.
Tap in your postcode. The site also leads to one with information about
grants to enable you to install other energy saving devices such as solar
panels and electricity generating equipment. The grants, which ran out quickly
each month have been doubled since the April 07 budget.
See
http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/how/householders/ for more
information.
The problem with solar heated water systems in the UK is that they may
only save you £50 a year and cost £3000 - £4500. Years ago
I developed one for a great deal less than that and it served me well for
10 years before rusting out ! Details on request.
OFTEL (telephones) also recommends
www.uswitch.com, who are allowed
to help you change. It only takes a few minutes and can save you tens of
pounds a month, particularly if you phone abroad a lot. Check for the cheapest
gas and electricity supplier
www.kura.co.uk
The Energy Saving Trust can tell
you about grants (up to £2,000) from power companies and councils
in your area. Tap in your postcode.
www.nationalexpress.com/over60
If you are over 60 you qualify for 50% off bus fares. No coach card
needed.
TV Licenses. Free to over 75s. At 74 you should get a reduced
rate. Registered blind people pay 50%
GENERAL INSURANCE (For Travel insurance see my Travel Page HERE)
Castle Cover Specialise in
over 50s insurance. Car,
Home, Pet etc
Castle is a broker. So, what's a broker ? He is someone
who will find the best deal for you from wherever it can be found. He gets
a commission from the insurance company (not from you)
Castle have kindly sent me the following article :
Insurance for Senior Citizens
Insurance is essential in anyone's life no matter what your age. To find a motor insurance and house insurance policy for your needs for the best value requires a sufficient amount of research. There are many offers and policies available in the market. Obtaining quotes from a variety of insurance companies to get the policy capable in your budget. Senior citizens are usually on a fixed income or depending on their retirement funds so getting a cost effective cheap insurance policy is important.
Begin your search for a satisfactory insurance company by inquiring with friends and family. Senior friends and family may also have recommendations about which companies they trust for their car insurance and home insurance policies. Once you ask an insurance company for a quote don't be tempted into signing or agreeing to something unless you're comfortable.
With regards motor insurance, seniors will find a good deal or get a discount if they have an older well maintained car. Car insurance companies provide lower premiums for older vehicles because they will cost much less to replace in the event of an accident. If you make the effort of installing additional safety features within your vehicle such as dual airbags, an alarm system and anti-lock brakes then most insurance companies can work out a discount for you. The safer and secure your car is, the least likely it will get stolen or cause an accident. On the whole many insurance companies believe older drivers are more careful so they have a chance at cheaper premiums for their motor insurance policy. With a clean driving record a discount on their car insurance policy may be able to be obtained. Enrolling in a refresher driving course can also enable further discounts.
Home insurance is similar to car insurance in many ways. Adapting safety and security aspects such as fire alarms, smoke activated sprinkler systems, burglary alarms and other enhanced technology into your home will give you the desired discount on your home insurance. If you are a non smoker you get an even better offer because you reduce the risk of a fire accident from destroying your house. Special offers are given to customers already holding an insurance policy with a company for many years. So make sure your loyalty is rewarded if you have other insurance policies with the company you're looking at.
The largest over 50s insurance providers in the UK currently are Saga and RIAS, there are also many other senior citizen related sites that offer insurance as an affiliated product. It is also worth checking other well known insurers who are renowned as the most competitive according to recent industry research, such as Swift Cover and Kwik-Fit Insurance. Insurers who market themselves as over 50s insurance providers are not always the best value and not always suited to your exact needs, therefore general insurers should not be overlooked. Other useful tools to use are insurance comparison sites such as Go-compare and other specialist comparison sites such as Confident Cover who provide comparisons from over 50s providers. All these factors should be considered before selecting the correct insurance policy for you.
Recommended by a 60+ site visitor :
www.cornhilldirect.co.uk
HOME INSURANCE. There are so many companies one needs to shop
around. Here are some comparison sites :
http://www.homeinsurance.co.uk/
http://www.homeinsurancesaver.co.uk/
http://www.uk-home-insurance.org.uk/
also
https://www.saga.co.uk/finance/household/
End of article
MISCELLANEOUS
Gardening
http://www.landscapejuice.com/
www.myguide.gov.uk. The government
site for easy searching and easy email
http://www.cosyfeet.com/
Provide extra wide shoes and slippers.. Mostly around £60
http://www.friendshipdirect.com/
- find friendship and romance at 50+
http://www.thepensionersparty.org/index.html
A political party to represent the interests of pensioners
www.teachingart.co.uk
http://www.retirement-matters.co.uk/index2.htm
Writing a will
http://museum.woolworths.co.uk/
An interesting site if you remember Threpenny and Sixpenny Stores !
www.saa.co.uk Sites dedicated to helping
people with their art hobby.
www.timecapsule.co.uk Age Concern
site where people can share memories of bygone days. You can email them material
at timecapsule@ace.org.uk
.
News, Weather and Football + Google
searches
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml
The Telegraph for Ex-Pats
www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr Site for government
information for Ex-Pats
http://www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk/
Is a government site which enables you to find tradesmen in your
area
QUIZES
www.coolquiz.com
www.pubquizhelp.34sp.com
www.quizzing.co.uk
www.playbabble.com (Word
game)
CROSSWORDS
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/myday/crossword/
http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?q=crossword
SHOPPING and Comparative Shopping (comparing
prices)
How about www.howtocomplain.com
www.helptheaged.org.uk/homeshopping
www.tesco.com (delivery
£5) www.Iceland.co.uk (Do
delivery) www.waitrose.co.uk :
www.gooshing.co.uk (ethical),
www.pricegrabber.co.uk,
www.dealtime.co.uk,
www.bizrate.co.uk,
www.computeractive.co.uk (click
shopping), http://www.amazon.co.uk,
www.shopsafe.co.uk,
Froogle,
www.kelkoo.com
www.pricewatch.co.uk
uk.shopping.com
www.tooboo.com
Letsbuyit.com
www.theukmall.com
www.buy.com (John Lewis)
www.bigsave.co.uk
www.toysrus.co.uk
Computing Stuff : www.ebuyer.co.uk
www.sears.ca will deliver
things to Canadian addresses on your Visa card.
OTHER SILVER SURFERS SITES - see also work related at
end.
http://www.ageconcern.org.uk/AgeConcern/ageism.asp A page about your rights re Ageism
http://www.findcarejobs.co.uk/
A site for people looking for Care Jobs
www.monster.co.uk
Employment site
http://diversity.monster.co.uk/section180.asp
(Age Page)
www.wrinklies.org
Employment site based in Brighton.
Specifically for older people.
www.reach-online.org.uk
Volunteer your managerial or professional skills
www.maturityworks.co.uk
An employment service for older people
www.jobability.com :
Advice on employment if you have a disability
taen@helptheaged.org.uk
(E-mail.) Third Age Employment Network
www.csv-rsvp.org.uk:
Branch of CSV (Community Service Volunteers) for
retired volunteers
www.recruitmagazine.co.uk
40plus@ji5.co.uk
(E-mail) 40 Plus
Recruitment
http://www.workingwithouthearing.com/s/stories.htm
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