During the last two years Tax Help for Older People and Life Academy have arranged more than 30 workshops for advisers in the voluntary sector. Most of those who attended had a modest understanding of the issues; the workshops increased their understanding greatly but taxation is still a complex topic with precise rules and many of you suggested an ongoing support system would be welcome.
To this end, and with the support and funding of HMRC, Life Academy and Tax Help for Older People have developed this site for the use of public and voluntary sector tax advisors to pre-pensioners and pensioners.
About Life Academy and Tax Help for Older People
Life Academy is an educational charity. Our mission is to help adults manage changes in mid and later life, with learning programmes designed to enable people to plan for the future.
We have an excellent understanding of retirement planning, pensions, management of change in the life course and financial education. We have produced a financial education programme entitled 'Learn About Money'. We also offer opportunities for those wishing to further their academic studies or to train for a new career through on-site and distance learning professional and postgraduate programmes in mid-life, pre-retirement and life planning. For more information about our work see About Us.
Tax Help for Older People (TOP) is a charity which provides free professional tax advice to older people on low incomes who need but cannot afford to pay for independent advice. They operate from a national call centre in Dorset which co-ordinates tax surgeries and home visits throughout the UK, staffed by volunteer advisers from the tax profession.
TOP operates in partnership with all statutory and voluntary agencies involved with older people, providing uniquely the impartial tax expertise otherwise only available at disproportionate cost.
Tax Help for Older People has accumulated a wealth of knowledge of the problems which older people face with the tax system and in particular the problems associated with the year of retirement.
For more information about Tax Help for Older People visit www.taxvol.org.uk
