A reminder of savings available for over 60s

Did you know that once you turn 60, there are plenty of benefits and discounts available to you? We thought it would be worth a quick summary of some of the main ones.

For a start, people over 60 get free prescriptions and free eye tests.

Very well known to nearly everyone is the benefit of a free bus pass to the over-60s. It’s available to anyone over 60 living in England and allows free off-peak travel (after 0930 Monday to Friday and all weekend) to anywhere in England.

There are also coach discounts for people over 60 in England and Wales, where ‘routesixty fares’ enable travel on most National Express routes for half price. Senior Specials are available from Scottish Citylink.

On the train a Senior Railcard – costing £26 – will give you a saving of one-third on all first class and standard rail tickets, and those living in London can get a Freedom Pass, enabling them to travel anywhere in London on trains, tubes, buses and trams for free.

It is not so well known that anyone born before 2 September 1929 is entitled to a free passport.

For over-75s, free TV licences are available.

Further afield, groups such as English Heritage and The National Trust give discounts to the over-60s for various types of membership, and senior citizens wishing to take adult education classes can benefit from grants and discounts too.

If you like the cinema or the theatre then you should also be able to get discounts, and there is likely to be cut-price entry for swimming and gym sessions at our local leisure centre.

It is also possible that local tradespeople like plumbers, decorators and electricians may also be amenable to giving senior citizens discounts.

The bottom line is that when you turn 60, look out for all discounts you can get, and don’t be afraid to ask.

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