Newsletter Autumn / Winter 2015

Transcription

1 Newsletter Autumn / Winter 2015 Welcome to Age Cymru Gwent s newsletter. Spread the Warmth In this edition: Spread the Warmth is Age Cymru's campaign to prevent thousands of older people in Wales suffering needlessly this winter. Winter wrapped up is a handy booklet that offers practical advice on how to Spread the Warmth, such as: Preparing for winter Staying safe and healthy Keeping warm, indoors and out Keeping your home warm Extra money you may be eligible for Heating your home efficiently If you d like a free copy, call us at the Information Service or Age Cymru on Jeff Hayward Information & Advice Service Manager. Age Cymru Gwent s Annual General Meeting 2015 Some useful tips if you re thinking of changing your car Changes to State Pensions from April 2016 Housebound library services Are you Planning for Later Life? Or have you had a life-changing event? Would your older persons group like a talk on what Age Cymru Gwent does in your area? Responding to 999 calls news from the Welsh Ambulance Trust Quingo the five wheeled scooters We ve got winter wrapped up Page that do more

2 Age Cymru Gwent s staff conference and Annual General Meeting Age Cymru Gwent held it s annual staff conference and Annual General Meeting on November 4th Guest speakers at the conference were Steve Bartley from the Older People s Commission for Wales, Louise Hughes, Age Cymru s Safeguarding Programme Manager and Gail Gordon, who is the Group Service Manager of Age Cymru Gwent s Advocacy services. Chair of the Board of Trustees Phil Brabon and Eileen Powell, Executive Director of Corporate Services, both spoke of the work done by the charity during the year to March Age Cymru Gwent assisted more than 20,000 people in the year and helped older people to claim more than 7,000,000! The Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust is changing the way it responds to 999 calls News from the Ambulance Trust: Since 1974 your ambulance service has been measured by the time it takes to reach emergency calls. A lot has changed since then, but the way we are measured has not. Today, your ambulance service provides much more sophisticated clinical care, yet the focus has still been on how many ambulances arrive at calls within eight minutes regardless of the clinical outcome. So, from 1 October 2015 for a one-year trial period, we moved away from timebased targets to more quality focused patient outcomes that are based on what we do for you once we arrive. People with an immediate life-threatening condition such as a cardiac arrest, will continue to receive an immediate response but for less serious conditions, we re going to be measured on how well we treat you and how often we manage to avoid a trip to hospital by referring you to the most appropriate clinical setting. You can read more about the new model by visiting the Welsh Ambulance Service website On Pictured above: some of the staff gathered at our staff conference. They had all achieved vocational qualifications or had earned special or long-service recognition. Or you can call their South East Regional office on Page 2

3 Changes to State Pension for new claims from April 2016 You ll probably know that the Pension Act 2014 is bringing about major changes to how State Pension is calculated. These take effect for anyone who becomes entitled to State Pension (i.e., they reach State Pension age) from April 6th Anyone already receiving their State Pension and everyone who has already reached State Pension Age, but chose to defer taking it, will not be included and their State Pensions will still be calculated under the present system. Those reaching State Pension age on or after 6th April 2016 will be paid under the new Single Tier State Pension. This has been (wrongly) described as being one rate, payable to all, no matter how much or little, contributions they have paid. Only about 37% of people will actually get the Single Tier amount, which will be pitched at just a bit more than Guaranteed Pension Credit level. Others will continue to receive either more, or less than this, according to their contribution record. The full Single Tier State Pension will be payable to those with at least 35 years of National Insurance contributions or credits. To get any State Pension at all, people will need to have at least 10 years of contributions or credits. Those with between 10 and 34 years will receive a proportion of the pension. Anyone due to reach State Pension age after April 2016 can ask for an estimate of their weekly rate by calling the Future Pension Centre on There are other significant changes being introduced from April: Pension Credit (Guarantee) will continue to be available but anyone reaching State Pension age on or after April 6th 2016 will not be able to claim Savings Credit. The New State Pension is based on a person s own contributions and in general people will not be able to claim using their spouse or civil partner s contributions at retirement or if widowed or divorced. This differs to the present system. Bereavement Support Payment. From April 2016 (but may be delayed to 2017), a new Bereavement Support Payment will replace the existing Bereavement Payment. It will be paid by a one-off lump sum followed by 12, monthly payments unlike the present weekly payment and lump sum of 2,000. Many people are predicted to receive much less than under the present system. Also, new flexibilities will allow some people aged 55 or more to cash in their occupational or private pensions. Anyone seeking advice on their options should take qualified advice. Whilst we can advise people on how a change to their savings / income might affect their benefits, (a what if example, perhaps), nobody in Age Cymru Gwent is authorised or insured to offer any financial advice of this nature. Anyone seeking an explanation of financial terms or wanting financial guidance can contact the Pensions Advisory Service on or go online to Page 3

4 Planning for Later Life We are grateful to Age UK and The Prudential for funding which helps us towards delivering the information and advice service. Amongst other things, it enables us to advise older people who are 'Planning for Later Life' - which could involve considering life changing events such as: Moving to more suitable housing Deciding to give up employment and consequently experiencing a reduction in income Thinking of getting married or going to live with someone These are just a few examples. There may be many other ways in which you might be considering 'making a change' - please get in touch with us if you want to discuss your options or ask for advice. We could also advise you if you have recently experienced a life changing event. These could include: Bereavement Becoming ill or disabled Separation or divorce While we can't give 'legal' advice on these sort of things, we can advise you of how your benefits would be affected and how to go about achieving the outcomes you want. Call us on or info@agecymrugwent.org Age Cymru Gwent's Information and Advice Service Manager is able to give talks to older peoples' groups about the service and also of the other ways that the charity helps older people. These other services can include home-visits after leaving hospital, help for carers and a range of financial and insurance products. If your group would like to request a talk, please contact Mr. Jeff Hayward on or him on: info@agecymrugwent.org Or write to him at: Age Cymru Gwent 12 Baneswell Road Newport NP20 4BP Page 4

5 WALES & CANNY CAR DRIVERS Age Cymru Gwent has looked into the priorities of older drivers* across Wales when it comes to their cars. The research revealed that drivers entering retirement are very aware of their future driving needs with over three quarters (79%) of retired drivers purchasing or leasing a different car when they retire. Over four fifths (83%) of these purchased or leased a car that was either smaller or of the same size and over half (54%) opt for economical city hatchbacks, such as a Citroën C3 or Vauxhall Corsa. When it comes to deciding which car to get, the majority are opting for cars which are more fuel efficient (63%), less expensive to run (50%) or easier to drive (27%). The cost of car insurance is another key consideration, with nearly half (41%) stating they checked the impact their decision would have on the price of their car insurance. Age Cymru Gwent offers the following tips for those thinking about changing their car at retirement: Consider how your needs may change. Over a quarter (27%) of later life drivers see vehicle accessibility as a top priority when purchasing or leasing a different vehicle in retirement. So consider if a vehicle set slightly higher or lower would be more suitable. Think about how you will be using your car. Retirement means you won t be doing the same commute anymore, so you may see you mileage drop unless this is balanced out by driving more for leisure. This will be important when estimating how much your insurance will cost. A top priority when shopping around for a different vehicle is the cost of insurance, finding this out before you purchase or lease a car will prevent any nasty surprises. An important part of this is to consider the number of named drivers on your insurance policy, especially if you are planning on downsizing the number of vehicles in your household. In some instances, adding a named driver to your policy will reduce the cost as the risk is reduced. It is also important to check the small print in your existing insurance policy for any hidden fees. Kevin Williams, Age Cymru Gwent, said: This research shows how important it is for those in retirement, many of whom are on fixed incomes, to think ahead about managing their finances. While many are being canny and thinking through the practicalities of driving in retirement, and making the decision to purchase or lease a new car to help with this, it s also important to consider how this might affect car insurance costs. To help minimise the potential for increased cost, it s worthwhile dealing with a car insurer who offers fairly priced premiums and does not impose age limits or hidden admin fees for such things as changing an insured vehicle. For more information on Age UK Car Insurance^ from Age Cymru Gwent please call at our Newport office or on at our Caerphilly office, or pop into Age Cymru Gwent Enterprises Limited, 12 Baneswell Road, Newport, Gwent, NP20 4BP or at Cardiff Road, Caerphilly CF83 1FP. *Research conducted by OnePoll. Survey source was online with 99 retirees aged 65 years plus in Wales and a national base of 2,000 from across the UK. Conducted from to 08/09/2015. ^Age UK Car Insurance is provided by Ageas Insurance Limited which is authorised by the Prudential Regulatory Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulatory Authority. Page 5

6 News from the Housebound Library Service in Newport... The Housebound Library Service exists to provide a tailor-made service to all members of the community who are unable (whether on a temporary or permanent basis) to visit their local library. How the service works The service is available to residents of Newport who are unable to get to the library due to age, illness or disability and have no-one who can visit a branch library on their behalf. We will visit you in your own home once a month and provide you with the material you require. Housebound members can borrow up to 20 items and the service is entirely free of charge. We are able to provide any title from our stock, including Spoken Word titles if you prefer to listen to a book, or large print titles if you have difficulty reading standard print. Each month the books you receive are chosen by a member of our trained library staff using an individual reader profile. This allows us to provide each member with a selection of stock that meets their individual requirements and preferences. To register for the Housebound Service telephone the Contact Centre on or the library service at Ringland.library@newport.gov.uk and a member of the library team will contact you. If you live in another county of Gwent, your local council also offers a service if you can t get to your library. Here are the contact details you need: Blaenau Gwent Caerphilly Monmouthshire Torfaen Age Cymru Gwent s Board of Trustees, 2015/2016 Mr Philip Brabon, Chair Dr Caroline Wallace, Vice Chair Mr John Grimes, Treasurer Mrs Susan Gregory Mr Lyn James Mr William Clark Mr Cliff Edwards Ms Betsi Knight Mr John Rogers Page 6 Honorary Life Presidents: Mr Michael Harbinson Mr Colin Adlam Mr Joe Frost Mrs Penny Stock Mr Aidan Reynolds

7 Useful telephone numbers for Older People Chiropody Service Dental Helpline FirstStop Advice Pension Service (Care Home Fees etc.) (Swansea) NHS Direct Gas Safe Register NEST (Heating and Insulation grants) (FREE) SE Wales Energy Agency Mail Preference Service Telephone Preference Gwent Police Home Fire Safety Check (Fire Service) Tax Help for Consumer Direct Older People (TOP) Care & Repair Agencies: Blaenau Gwent Caerphilly Monmouthshire Newport Torfaen Social Services: Blaenau Gwent Caerphilly Monmouthshire Newport Torfaen Emergency/ Out of hours (all areas in Gwent) All Citizens Advice Bureaux in Gwent: Age Cymru Gwent Services: Information & Advice Insurance & Products Hospital Discharge Services, for people living in: Blaenau Gwent Caerphilly Monmouthshire Newport Community Support Services, for people living in: Monmouthshire Newport Choices: Provides domestic help, shopping, low level maintenance, and nailcutting in: Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly and Newport. Contact Choices on or Page 7 All profits from Choices are donated to Age Cymru Gwent.

8 This newsletter is produced every May and November. You can receive a regular copy in your by visiting our website where you should click on the tab information and advice or alternatively you can your request to us at: info@agecymrugwent.org You can also contact us by writing to: Age Cymru Gwent, 12 Baneswell Road, Newport, South Wales. NP20 4BP or telephone Page 8 Registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation RCN