An Update on Discounts for Senior Citizens
Seniors are entitled to discounts on a range of items – from travel to health, from insurance to energy bills. Of course if you don’t know what you can get, or where you need to go to get it, you won’t reap the benefits. So I’ve put together a few listings to help you out.
For core discounts – heating and electricity; travel; insurance; and health – you can visit the good people at Seniors Discounts. Their listings are sensibly arranged and you get plenty of information too.
For more of the fun stuff, try Oscar. The Oscar site pulls together all current offers for trips out; meals out; entertainment; fitness and health; and holidays. You need to register with Oscar in order to view currently available offers, which means you’ll be bombarded with promotional emails.
It’s important to know what you are entitled to as a senior citizen. For instance, you are automatically entitled to a Senior Railcard, which gets you up to a third off both standard and first class rail fares. With the price of rail travel skyrocketing it keeps you active for less.
You’re also eligible for free bus travel on buses local to your area. The age of eligibility is shifting in line with the changes to pensionable age. If you were born prior to April 6 1950, you are eligible for the free bus pass as soon as you reach the age of 60. If you were born on or after April 6 1950, your eligibility age is the same as your new pension age.
When you know what you’re entitled to, you still need to get it of course. The Direct Gov site should be your first port of call for all queries relating to discounts and eligibility.
For those of you out there with itchy feet, it’s good to know that you can get a range of travel discounts as a senior – for far-flung destinations as well as for catching the bus at home! For example, the Philippines deliver a range of routine discounts for citizens over the age of 60, including VAT free purchases on a range of health, travel and entertainment services. All VAT free services and goods are discounted automatically at 20%. And the good news: this discount is shortly to apply to non-Philippines citizens travelling to the islands. So if you fancy a bit of sun and sea, you could be getting hotel rooms, meals out and theatre tickets in an exotic destination, for less.
Talking of travel, National Express is currently offering half price fares to all passengers aged 60 or over. Saga Holidays has put together a range of travel discounts for seniors in 2012; and Cottages4You are offering 10% off the total booking cost of your next cottage holiday.
With summer on its way one’s thoughts can turn to companionship. If not a holiday then perhaps an evening out in a pleasant sunny location. Mature Match is currently offering free registration to all new members.
For more information on senior discounts, you can also check out the latest offers at Ask Granny.
