Leisure activities
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Leisure activities
hatever amount of leisure time you have available in retirement, there is almost certainly something you will be looking forward to doing. Whether you tend towards studying, sports or crafts there are loads of suitable activities for everyone’s tastes on offer locally or nationally.You may need to do a bit of research and one of the easiest ways is using the internet. For example, many areas have online neighbourhood communities – such as nextdoor.co.uk – where you can find kindred spirits to share your interests in walking, reading, music, craft and much more. Other sources include local newsletters and community noticeboards. Coronavirus has changed the way we socialize. Meeting people and sharing interests in person carries on but you need to take care to follow the rules and guidance, for example, about social distancing. Where meeting physically is not possible, you can still have an active social life online, meeting in groups on platforms such as zoom. us, keeping in touch with individuals and groups through messaging services and playing games with friends or strangers through sites like boardgamearena.com. If you are one of the third of over-65s (and half of over-75s) not yet on the internet, now might be a good time to take the plunge! For information about how to get online and use the internet confidently, contact the Age UK Advice Line 0800 678 1602.
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Adult education
Opportunities for education abound, and there are scores of subjects easily available to everyone, regardless of age or previous qualifications. You might be a leisure learner or among the many older people studying with a view to taking on a new career in later life.
RETIREMENT
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Formal learning
Not all educational courses are free, and this can deter a number of people from taking the opportunity to learn. However, there is no age limit for applying for a student loan to cover university tuition fees and, because of the way the rules work, you probably will not have to pay back all or even any of the loan. Loans are not interest-free. They start to be repaid after you leave fulltime study or after four years if you are studying part-time. Repayments stop if you are not working or your income falls below a specified threshold. The rate of repayment and the threshold vary across the UK: • England and Wales: for undergraduate loans, you pay 9 per cent of your before-tax income above £26,575 a year (2020/21). For postgraduate loans, repayments are 6 per cent of income above £21,000. Any unpaid balance is written off after 30 years. • Scotland and Northern Ireland: for both undergraduate and postgraduate loans, repayments are 9 per cent of income above £19,390 a year (2020/21). Generally, any unpaid balance is written off after 30 years (Scotland) or 25 years (Northern Ireland).
To be eligible for a student loan, you must not be studying at the same level as a degree you already have, unless your new qualification is in a STEM (science, technology, engineering
