Age UK

Age UK is a charity dedicated to helping everyone make the most of later life.

The over 60s are the fastest growing group in society, with more people over 60 than under 18, and the number of people over 85 is set to almost triple over the next three decades.
Our history lies in improving later life and with a rapidly ageing population and we now play an important role in helping the UK not only get ready for ageing but to love later life – to celebrate living longer and the enormous contribution older people make to our communities.

In 2010, Help the Aged and Age Concern joined forces to become Age UK and we now work within the Age UK community, including 160+ local Age UKs and our national partners, Age Scotland, Age Cymru and Age NI, to deliver life-enhancing services and vital support in most areas of the country.
Growing older doesn’t come with a manual and as with any transitions in life, prior planning, support and financial security are what see you through the challenges. Age UK provides information and advice services which have reached more than 6 million people, helped older people claim £140 million pounds of benefit entitlements, provided befriending services and visited around 14,000 homes with our handyperson service. Sometimes living longer independently in your own home, and postponing the need for care services, can start with something as simple as help with changing a lightbulb. We also offer products and services tailored to the needs of people in later life, like travel insurance and energy tariffs, personal alarms and stairlifts.
Age UK recognises that in a world going digital by default, there is a need to increase access to digital inclusion and, for those who can’t or don’t want to, offline support is available. We know that telecare and telehealth are increasingly important for the future and we’ve developed simple products to promote digital inclusion, like our Breezy tablet which strips out all the unnecessary applications and allows users to build this up according to need and growing confidence in use. During My Friends Online week last year, we helped 7,000 older people connect with family and friends, as just one part of our wraparound support offer to help prevent loneliness and increase health and wellbeing.
Our Public Policy, Public Affairs and Campaigns teams raise awareness of the difficult situations and discrimination faced by many older people and keep ageing issues in the public eye and in front of decision-makers. The issues we campaign on can vary, from calling for reform of the care system to understanding the value of transport in our local communities. We raise public and political awareness of issues – such as loopholes in the law like the Human Rights Act extension we helped secure in the Care Act 2014. Our campaigns offer lots of opportunities for older people and the wider public to get involved and have our collective voices heard by those who have the power to make our lives better.
At Age UK, we believe that we should all be able to enjoy good health in later life, free from or able to manage the diseases and disabilities associated with growing older and the consequences that they can bring about, such as social isolation, anxiety, frailty and loss of independence. That’s why we are the only UK charity to focus research funds exclusively on later life. The research we fund is providing answers and we’ve already seen significant breakthroughs in dementia, falls prevention, stroke and incontinence, to name a few. Cognitive decline and dementia represent one of the greatest health challenges of the 21st Century which is why we’re funding an exciting programme called The Disconnected Mind, led by academics at the University of Edinburgh, to understand the science behind the brain’s connectivity.
Our vision is ambitious. It won’t be an easy or speedy journey, but we believe this is the right vision for older people and for the UK. We look forward to working with My Ageing Parent and across all our networks, partners and sectors of society to realise this vision and help the UK Love Later Life.