The 12 freebies and discounts for over 60s – and the new looming £10k tax bill (Image: DAILY EXPRESS)
Watching my dad turn 60 brought with it a surprising realisation. The single best gift you get seems to be the abundance of age-related freebies and discounts you can suddenly claim. He was delighted, to say the least, to learn that travel and optical expenses were about to become a lot cheaper for him. Many forgo said savings due to a lack of awareness. But it’s really important you don’t, because day-to-day expenses aren’t getting any cheaper. Inflation’s on the up again, and Pensions UK says it now costs a single and two-person household £45,400 and £62,700 per year to achieve a comfortable retirement lifestyle, respectively. Every penny counts, so pounce on every perk you can get.
Over 60s can get free eye tests every two years, and free NHS prescriptions whenever they need them. Just bring a form of identification, and the savings are yours. Specsavers also offers over 60s 20% discount on glasses. If you’re over 50, you can nab free hearing and ear health checks at Boots.
If you live in Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland, you can claim a free bus pass over 60. The rules differ slightly in England, where you can claim a 60+ Oyster card for free travel in London when you reach 60 and live in a London borough. The perk of a nationwide free bus pass in England comes a little later down the line when you reach state pension age.
A senior National Express coachcard costs £30 per year and can save you a third on travel, or avid travellers over 60 keen to take on Europe by train can bag 10% off Interrail passes.
Over 60s in the UK can get free eye tests every two years (Image: Getty)
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If you shop in Iceland, over-60s are offered a 10% discount on Tuesdays (just bring ID), while Asda offers 10% off meals at its cafes on Wednesdays. Morrisons cafe offers the over 60s a small breakfast with any refillable hot drink for just £6.50.
If you’re in the market for an overnight stay, Hilton offers 6% discounts to travellers aged 65 and over, while Marriott Hotels and Resorts offers anything between 5% to 30% discount to people aged 62 and over. Just click the Senior Discount option on the rate dropdown when choosing a location.
Keeping fit also usually comes at a price – but not for the over 60s. Free swimming and gym classes are also available across the UK. Just search “free swimming classes” along with the name of your local council on Google to see if it’s offered in your area. For even more guidance, social enterprise Pocket Power lets over-50s book a free call to help lock in even more savings. You must claim all of this support – don’t leave it sitting on the table. Do you know any other savvy savings that haven’t been mentioned? Email onthemoney@reachplc.co.uk.
DEAL OF THE WEEK
Nationwide has launched a new FlexDirect current account offering up to £120 cashback and 5% interest on balances in the first 12 months. They’ll also give you £175 to make the switch if you’re eligible.
The £10,000 tax bill coming for hundreds of thousands of Brits …
A staggering 109,000 people face tax bills of more than £10,000 on their savings this year. (Image: Getty)
A staggering 109,000 people face tax bills of more than £10,000 on their savings this year. This represents a 289% increase from four years ago, when only 28,000 faced this kind of bill. A larger number – more than half a million – face tax bills exceeding £2,000, while around 144,000 people face a bill exceeding £5,000. The surge is driven by rocketing interest rates and frozen Personal Savings Allowance thresholds (the amount you can earn in interest without paying tax), and affects people who hold large amounts of savings outside of tax-free wrappers like ISAs.
Basic-rate taxpayers can earn up to £1,000 per year in interest without paying tax, while higher-rate taxpayers can earn £500. Additional-rate taxpayers do not have an allowance, so any interest they earn on savings outside a tax-free wrapper is taxed. Make it a task to review all of your savings accounts and projected interest earnings to make sure you’re not one of the thousands set to pay the taxman. If you are, consider an ISA (Individual Savings Account), which lets you save up to £20,000 per year tax-free. And be careful of fixed-rate interest savings accounts. Interest is taxed in the year it becomes accessible, which means savers using multi-year fixed deals may find themselves pushed over the threshold when interest is paid out in one lump sum at maturity.
For example, a higher-rate taxpayer with just £3,500 in a three-year fixed-rate account paying 5% interest could exceed their allowance when the interest is finally paid. The equivalent tipping point for basic-rate taxpayers is around £7,000. To find a competitive ISA, search deals on comparison sites like moneyfactscompare.co.uk.