Help from the state

Winter fuel payment.  Your 60th birthday must fall before the third Monday in September to qualify for the upcoming winter.  The payment is £250 for over-60s in 2008-09, spilt 50-50 if there are two people in the household who are eligible.

Winter fuel payment is normally paid with your state pension, so if you are not in receipt of one - for example men between 60 and 65 - you may have to make a claim (call 08459 151 515 for more information).

Free eye test on the NHS.  If you are under 60 but your partner is over 60 and receiving the guarantee element of Pension Credit, you can also have a free eye test. Exactly the same criteria apply to NHS prescriptions.

Dental checks are free in Wales for over 60s, but in England only if you or your partner gets guarantee Pension Credit.

At 65 you qualify for age-related personal tax allowances.  For the 2008-09 tax year, for those aged 65 to 74 the personal tax allowance is £9,030, which means you can have an income of £173 a week before being liable to income tax.  Married couples where one was born before 6th April 1935, but is still under 75 years of age, will receive £6,535 married couples allowance, too.

Travel

Free off-peak bus travel. Anyone over 60 is entitled to this from April 2008 (usually after 9.30 am, or 9 am in London) Monday to Friday and all day at weekends anywhere in England.  The bus pass issued by your local authority should be valid nationwide.  Passengers from outside London should note that this applies only to London buses.  Only residents of London boroughs can use their Freedom passes to travel free on London Underground and overground trains).

Over 60s in Wales and Scotland can travel free on buses at any time of the day, including rush hours. 

National Express coaches have 'routesixty’ fares for over-60, which give discounts of up to 50 per cent.  You don’t need a card, just mention at the time of booking that you are over 60 (http://www.nationalexpress.com/ or call 08705 808080).

In Scotland you’ll need a special card to obtain discounts to travel on Citylink coaches (call 08705 505 050).

Senior Citizens Railcard. This  costs £24 and gives you a 30% discount on standard and first class fares (apply at your local station or at http://www.senior-railcard.co.uk/)

Miscellaneous benefits

At 60, or sometimes 65, you may qualify for all manner of discounts, from sporting events to cinema and theatre tickets; from membership of organisations such as English Heritage to a haircut at your local barber or hairdressers; and from health and fitness club membership to entry into exhibitions and tourist attractions, both in the UK and abroad.

Some random examples: a ticket for a top Premier League fixture at Liverpool’s Anfield home costs £25.50 if you are over 65 but leaps to £34 for younger fans; annual membership of English Heritage, which gives you free entry to their properties nationwide, would set you back £42 if you were under 60, but is only £30 for over-60s; Odeon cinemas typically offer a discount of £2.50 per ticket to senior citizens.

There are websites that have information on discounts for older people, for example http://www.seniorconcessions.co.uk/  and http://www.seniorsdiscounts.co.uk/ but they are very far from being comprehensive, simply because there are far too many on offer to list all of them.

The best advice is to always carry proof of your age with you wherever you go and, if a senior citizens’ discount isn’t advertised, always ask if one is available.  The worst that can happen is that you are told ‘no’ but you’ve lost nothing by trying.

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