Later life, Partnerships
Age UK helps 10,000 people thanks to our partnership
In 2018, we launched a £1 million partnership with Age UK, which would allow the Later Life Goals project to roll out in 13 areas across England and Wales, benefitting 10,000 older people who are experiencing loneliness. As we near the end of our partnership, we look back on what has been achieved over the four-year period…
Thanks to our support, Later Life Goals advisers have been able to offer time, compassion, expert information and advice to help older people to feel less lonely, access more money, and get the most out of later life.
10,000 older people have benefitted from holistic support, with two months remaining on the programme; 4,711 have received support in their homes and over £20million unclaimed benefits and grants have been identified, meaning that 4,711 older people can count with an extra income.
Our grant has allowed Age UK to redirect £5,500 underspend towards its National Volunteering Programme. They have utilised these funds for training and resources that will contribute towards their outreach engagement for new volunteers and ensuring continued positive experiences for 31,000+ people currently volunteering across the charity.
Update February 2023
The project was able to uncover £21.2 million in welfare benefits that older people were untitled to but hadn’t been able to claim. It also helped those who were feeling lonely and isolated, which is a huge issue in later life, with latest figures showing that around 1.2 million older people experience loneliness in the UK. Following the support received through the programme, more than half (56%) of older people who had originally reported being often lonely now reported lower levels. The programme is also tackling many of the barriers that can lead feelings of isolation, such as low income limited or no access to transport and a lack of digital access, as well as offering older people a listening ear and the opportunity to connect with others.
I love volunteering for your charity. I get as much out of it as my telephone friend does and genuinely look forward to speaking with them every week. I feel like my life has been enriched immensely since I started my volunteering role.
How Age UK Bristol were able to help Mr and Mrs Smith
Mrs Smith lives with her husband, Raymond, who is 72 and was diagnosed with dementia in 2019. Both Mr and Mrs Smith have a range of health conditions that make day-to-day life difficult. Before contacting Age UK, they were living on the basic standard pension, and very small occupational pension payments, and were struggling financially. They had submitted a claim for Attendance Allowance, but it had been refused, which prompted them to contact Age UK. Initially, they were contacted by one of Age UK Bristol’s volunteer advisors, but it quickly became clear that they needed in-depth support regarding multiple issues, so they were passed to a Later Life Goals advisor, to get the help they needed.
In total, a Later Life Goals advisor contacted Mrs Smith over 50 times to give them the support they needed, including multiple home visits and telephone calls. Thanks to our support, the Later Life Goals advisor helped Mrs Smith through a lengthy and complex appeal process and tribunal hearing for Attendance Allowance, which was ultimately successful, and resulted in the Attendance Allowance being awarded and backdated.
With the award of the Attendance Allowance, the Later Life Goals advisor undertook a benefits check for the couple and found out that there were other benefits that they could claim, including Housing Benefit, Carers Allowance, and Council Tax reduction. In total, Mr and Mrs Smith received over £9,000 in lump sum payments for backdated awards, and their ongoing household income has increased by £23,566 per year, which has changed their lives.
This case is a good example of how one client can require hundreds of hours of engagement over many years to resolve all their presenting issues. The client has repeatedly expressed that they don’t know how they would have gotten through the last few years without advice from Age UK Bristol, and the Later Life Goals adviser in particular.
Mr and Mrs Smith sent a thank you card in early 2022 that included a small gift for the advice team. The card contained the following words:
“We wish to thank you for everything you have done for us over time, and can’t thank you enough for what you have done for us both.”
Supporting older people is one of the Freemasons’ most important charitable goals, and our partnership with Age UK is a vital part of this initiative. There is a huge amount of loneliness and hardship among older people in our communities and we’re very proud to play our part in tackling this issue. We’ll continue to work with Age UK so more older people have someone to turn to for support and advice when they need it most.
