Information and advice
Age UK Somerset offers a free and confidential Information and Advice service for older people, their families and carers.
Age UK Somerset provides information and advice on a wide range of issues. We’ll provide you with the facts and you can make choices and decisions knowing you have reliable information.
Please note that we are experiencing a high volume of calls and enquiries at this time.
Our Information & Advice service is available for people over 60 who live or work in Somerset and North Somerset. We also offer advice to family members who are supporting older relatives who are over 60 and live in Somerset and North Somerset.
The service is provided by a small staff team.
We can offer advice and information on a wide range of issues, including:
- Benefits and allowances, including Pension Credit & Attendance Allowance
- Help completing forms
- Housing
- Council Tax
- Priority debts, such as rent & utility arrears
- Social care services
- Care homes
- Lasting Power of Attorney
- Wills
If we cannot advise on an issue, we will try to find an organisation that can help. Unfortunately, we cannot offer legal advice or financial advice (i.e. advice about stocks, shares, investments, etc.) or on credit debts (i.e. commercial loans, overdrafts, HP, etc.). We also cannot offer advice on immigration or employment issues.
View the Information and Advice Statement of Service here
This service is supported via Somerset Council's Crisis and Resilience Fund
 |
Our Information and Advice service has achieved the Quality of Advice Standard. We're committed to delivering trusted, high-quality support to older people across Somerset. Learn more |
Specialist Dementia Advice
We can offer dementia specialist information and advice to older people, their families, and carers on a range of topics. This includes:
- Benefits, pensions, and allowances
- Lasting Power of Attorney
- Social Care
Please get in touch if you would like some support.
Help With Benefits
|
Age UK Somerset’s Information and Advice team provide an independent, confidential and free welfare benefits service for older people. We offer advice on benefits for people over 60. In the first instance we would talk with you about you eligibility for welfare benefits. If you qualify for any government welfare benefits we can work with you to make your claim.Age UK Somerset has a large team of Information and Advice Support Volunteers who donate their time to deliver this service. |
 |
Our volunteers work within their own communities to provide face-to-face help to complete some Benefit claim forms, eg, Attendance Allowance. Our Volunteers would usually visit you at a mutually convenient time in your own home.
The Information and Advice Office Advisory Team can also arrange a Benefit Entitlement Check over the telephone to check your eligibility to means-tested benefits eg, Council Tax reduction, Housing Benefit, Pension Credit.
If you are receiving a State Pension we can help you with:
- Attendance Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance/Personal Independence Payments
- Carers Allowance
- Pension Credit
- Housing and Council Tax benefit
How to get in touch with Age UK Somerset's Information and Advice Helpline
You can call our Helpline to speak to one of our experienced Information and Advice Officers.
Our phone lines are open Monday-Friday, 9am to 1pm.
By Telephone
01823 345613
Online Enquiries
If you would like to make an enquiry online or receive a callback we have different routes depending on whether you are in Somerset or North Somerset.
Please click the button below depending on which area you live in - a page will open in a new window.
| If you are in Somerset use Frontline to Request a Callback or Reply | If you are in North Somerset use this Form to Request a Callback or Reply |
Free booklets and online information
-
Read our info guides
Age UK produces free information guides and factsheets on a wide range of topics, including home adaptations, dementia, and advice for carers. You can find a complete list of guides and factsheets on the Age UK national website.
-
Find information online
If you prefer to read information online, the Age UK national website has information and advice on many topics, including how to find a care home, how to avoid scams, and Power of Attorney.
Information & Advice Feedback Form
Our Information and Advice Team would love to hear feedback from the people we interact with. If you have any comments, suggestions or indeed compliments about our service please let us know.
Emergency Telephone Contacts
Useful telephone contact numbers for emergencies
Attendance Allowance Professional Referrals
This form is only for Professionals who want to refer a client for help claiming Attendance Allowance.
We are now asking professionals and other agencies to submit a request for our Attendance Allowance service via Frontline for Somerset (if you don't already have an account you will need to register as a Professional and then click the Professional tab in the top right of the page), or by completing a referral form (North Somerset only), rather than contacting us by email or telephone. This is to ensure we can provide the service required, and that we have all relevant information when the referral is made.
Please click the button below depending on which area your client lives in.
| Somerset - use Frontline to make a referral | North Somerset - use this Form to make a referral |