Age UK Advice Line
Age UK Advice is a free, confidential, national phone service for older people, their families, friends, carers and professionals. We have a team of expert advisers who will give you information that is reliable and up-to-date.
Age UK Advice Line: 0800 055 6112
Lines are open 8am-7pm, 365 days a year.
- Do you know what benefits to claim and how to claim them?
- Worried that you can’t afford to retire?
- Anxious about a planned hospital stay and how to cope when you leave?
- Need advice on choosing the right care home?
Free, independent advice 365 days a year
Every day of the year we’re open 8am-7pm, including all bank holidays because it’s important that we’re here when people need us the most.
How the Advice Line helps
Listen to David giving an insight into his role.
How our advisors help older people
Our team are trained to identify the information that will best answer your questions. This might be by sending you our advice guides or helping you to find local services run by Age UK in your area.
If we can’t help, we will direct you to the best place to go for further support and advice.
Karen English, Age UK Contact Centre Advisor, talks about some of the ways her team support people in later life.
Home heating help
In winter, a lot of our calls are about broken boilers, people being cold, and people concerned about others being cold.
For example, a delivery driver called us the other day because the lady he was delivering to opened the door wearing a hat and coat. He said to her ‘Sorry, I didn’t realise you were going out.’ But she said, ‘No, I’m just cold, that’s all’. He was very worried so he called the Age UK Advice Line, and we put him in touch with Age UK in the lady's local area, where she could get practical help.
We also get requests from Housing Associations, GPs, and individuals – a whole range of organisations. The most frequent call is 'my boiler’s broken and I don’t have money to fix it'. A lady this morning called to say that an energy company had quoted her £800 to fix a blockage in her radiators.
The company recommended she spoke to us and we referred her to her local Age UK, and sent out a factsheet on help with heating costs .
If you’re feeling lonely
We do get calls from people who are lonely or tearful too. If you’re feeling lonely or you need some practical help and support, we want you to know that you can call us. Although you might feel alone, you’re not alone, and there are people out there who can help.
We're here to help
We offer support through our free advice line on 0800 055 6112. Lines are open 8am-7pm, 365 days a year. We also have specialist advisers at over 140 local Age UKs.
Please help us be there for older people in need
We help millions of older people every year with expert advice, a wide range of services and much-needed companionship.
But we need your help to continue being there when we’re needed most.
By donating today, you could help us answer more calls to our Advice Line, campaign harder for older people’s rights and fair treatment and provide regular friendship calls to people who are desperately lonely. Your support can make all the difference to an older person in need.