Information and Links

Useful Links - all the links below will open in a new window

www.helptheaged.org.uk

This user-friendly site lets you access the charity's range of advice leaflets on subjects including pensions, residential care and welfare support as well as background briefings on the older population and government policy. You can also get information on events and campaigns, make donations on-line and register to receive emailed monthly policy update
bulletins.

www.ageconcern.org.uk

This site comes with a useful guided tour with short cuts to its main sections including news, Age Concern publications, links to other useful websites and a huge range of factsheets on a range of topics for older people which you can read on screen or print.

www.bbb.org.uk

Baby Boomer Bistro is "an internet chat cafe designed for the over-50s" set up by Age Concern's sister organisation, Age Resource. After registering by choosing a chat name and a password, which allows you to join in on-line discussions about day-to-day events and topics by visiting different "rooms": some with specific themes and some designed for private chats. The rooms are regularly monitored to ensure they are not being abused.

www.arp.org.uk

The website for the Association of Retired and Persons over 50, Britain's largest campaigning organisation for people over 50 with 100,000 plus members. Lots of interesting and useful information on a wide range of topics including health, study retirement employment, property, caring, travel and finance, though the association is an introducer for financial products only from CGU Financial Services. Allows you to email your views on various topics.

www.vavo.com

Launched a year ago and now with over 40,000 registered members, this is described as the market leading "portal" or "on-line community" for people aged 45 and over where the site contents are largely dictated by what members want. It offers access to a several channels including news, on-line shopping, health, travel, finance and dating, where you can read features and ask questions of experts. You can also access more than 100 topic areas setup and run by members, complete with chat rooms, on anything from hobbies and leisure pursuits to campaigning issues such as lobbying for better pensions and getting older people back to work. So popular is the site that more than 200 members are meeting face-to-face for a weekend in a hotel later this month to celebrate vavo.com's first birthday.

www.seniority.co.uk

Described as an "informative, fun and interactive online community created by and for people aged 50(ish!): this is a similar, but smaller, idea to vavo.com, though perhaps a bit more tricky to use.

www.idf50.co.uk

" I don't feel 50" is a lively site set up in 1998 as "the first UK site for over 50's" by Graham Andrews, who felt that existing over-50s organisations tended to be a bit, "po-faced and institutional". The aim of the site is to give' " practical, unbiased help to people aged 50-plus" and it gives lots of information on a range of serious subjects from financing your retirement
to prostate cancer as well as lighter topics such as all-time favourite music albums. Also allows exchange of views via email,

www.hellsgeriatrics.com

An intriguing site which introduces itself by saying: "For too long the world wide web has been the domain of callow youth. Now it is time for the over-50s to fight back and claim their rightful status in cyberspace." It offers chat rooms and a small mix of both serious and fun topics including a sermon on alien life and a good humour section. Its irreverent tone is set by the caveat: "HG is a non-profit making organisation but not intentionally so."

www.saga.co.uk

As the website for Saga magazine. the UK's largest monthly magazine for people aged 50 and over, this has the current issue online plus a large amount of archived material from past issues.

www.npcuk.org

National Pensioners Convention - The campaigning voice of Britain's pensioners