Entitlements

The Department of Social and Family Affairs (DSFA) administers a range of allowances and pensions. You may qualify for Pre-retirement allowance at 55, a Retirement pension at 65, and Old-Age pension at 66. Other allowances that the DSFA administers include benefits for those entitled to carers and disability allowances.

The DSFA also administers a group of allowances that many people over 66 years are entitled to, known collectively as the Household Benefits Package or the free schemes. You may be entitled to things like free electricity, free telephone rental, free television licence, free travel and so on.

To keep track of what you are entitled to, talk to your local Citizens Information Centre. Find the address of your local CIC on their website or in the Golden Pages. Their website, Citizens Information is also full of information on all areas of entitlements for all ages. Some CICs will also help you by getting in touch with services on your behalf. Ask them about whether they do this.

In 2007, the Citizen Information Board created a set of factsheets called Information Age and a book called Entitlements for Over Sixties which answers lots of questions about areas of concern for older people, such as pensions, carer benefits, free schemes and bereavement. Some of the information is out-of-date, like the entitlement to medical cards, but they are still useful to alert you to what you may be entitled to.

Your local library is also a good source of information. Library staff all over the country gather information about what is going on in their local area. And some counties are making their libraries easier to use by older people who might have mobility problems. Talk to library staff about what information they gather that might be useful to you.