A2B: Access to benefits for older
people
A2B is a new organisation working to help older people in Northern Ireland
maximise their take-up of benefit entitlements. They have developed technology
and training resources designed to ease the journey taken by older people to
full benefit entitlement - from unawareness to getting the money in their bank
accounts. Their new 'Benefit Screening
Tool' will calculate benefit entitlement for an older person and
will also signpost them to other benefits which do not depend on their
income.
Through outreach work they have identifed older people and the organisations
that will work with them to raise awareness of the calculator and help to reach
more isolated people, including those in rural areas. Training support to
overcome any barriers to benefit take-up that many older people face and to help
with the technological aspects of the tool will be provided.
The benefit screening tool will work alongside existing telephone and
face-to-face service delivery by government and voluntary organisations. By
inputting details of their income and living circumstances, an older person can
find out about a range of benefits that they may be entitled to. The process is
confidential and, if any entitlement is identified, the user can then follow up
with an advice organisation.
They are developing a broad range of contacts and partner organisations who
can help bring the screening tool to older people in local areas and who are
involved in outreach and training work. A2B will be developing ways of
automatically linking the information its screening tool gathers to the Case
Recording systems already in use by advice organisations.
Members of the Confederation and The Volunteer Bureau's staff have recently
been trained on this new software and we will be shortly releasing details of
our planned drop in sessions which will be held in our offices at College
Street.
More
information can be obtained from:
A2B: Access to Benefits for Older
People
Unit 40, North City Business Centre
2 Duncairn Gardens, Belfast
BT15 2GG or by telephone: 028 9075 4070 or visiting their website at http://www.a2b.org.uk/
