Your Later Life
“A new United Nations (UN) Human Rights Convention for Older Persons is now looking possible.”
Alison Marshall, CEO, Age International Page 02
“The wonderful thing about giving from your Will is you have complete flexibility and autonomy.”
Lucinda Frostick, Director, Remember A Charity Page 03 An
Why a UN Convention would be a huge step forward for older people’s rights
Ageing well with dignity and respect is a fundamental human right. Learn more about the challenges faced by older people globally and the push for a new UN Convention to protect those rights.
What does it mean to live a good life in older age? For Jacinta, 68 years old and living in Kenya, it means being able to earn a living, eat a good meal every day and stay healthy. She would like to be treated with respect, see her contributions recognised and live a life without fear. These are basic human rights that everyone deserves. Sadly, this is not a reality for Jacinta and many older people around the world.
Challenges older people face
Simply finding food, clean water and a safe place to stay can be a daily battle. Ageist attitudes and discrimination make it much harder to find work or the right healthcare, and older people are more at risk of violence and abuse. It’s even tougher for older women like Jacinta. They might not qualify for a pension, and they’re often expected to take responsibility for unpaid care work.
Celebrating ageing and protecting rights globally
We’re living longer than ever before. Did you know that by 2030, an incredible 1.4 billion people worldwide will be 60 or older? This is something to be celebrated. We should
all be able to enjoy these extra years, rather than struggle to meet our basic needs. As a global community, we must ensure everyone can access health services, be financially secure and live their lives with dignity and respect.
There is good news: change is on the horizon. A new United Nations (UN) Human Rights Convention for Older Persons is now looking possible. A Convention would mean that the rights of older people would be enshrined in law, protecting them from discrimination, abuse and neglect. It could also change the way people everywhere view ageing, leading to older people being respected and supported.
New Convention to benefit all generations
A new Convention would benefit everyone alive today and future generations. Imagine a world where everyone can participate fully in their communities and continue to do the things they love as they age. This is a goal worth reaching for. I would want people to know that older people are important in society. Join us and stand shoulder to shoulder with older people around the world as we push for a new Convention.
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WRITTEN BY
Alison Marshall CEO, Age International
Five top myths
and misconceptions about charitable gifts in Wills
Giving to charity through a Will has become increasingly popular in the UK, as more people choose to continue supporting the charities that mean so much to them. However, there are still many preconceptions and myths that surround this form of giving.
Myth 1: Leaving money to charity is something only the wealthy do For many, a legacy gift represents an opportunity to donate more than they would at any point in their lifetime. However, there’s no minimum donation when giving from your Will. Donations vary widely, with more than one in five charity supporters over the age of 40 choosing to leave a gift in this way.1
Explore the misconceptions surrounding ‘Willanthropy’ or the act of giving to charity from your Will.
Myth 2: If I give from my Will, my family will miss out
The wonderful thing about giving from your Will is you have complete flexibility and autonomy around who benefits and how much you give. Once you’ve taken care of your loved ones, you could choose to gift a small percentage of your estate to your favourite charity, a fixed sum or even the residual amount. It’s entirely up to you.
Myth 3: My gift won’t really make a difference
Almost £3 in £10 donated to many UK charities comes through gifts in Wills.2 These donations make a huge difference and are deeply valued. Some of the nation’s most well-known
charities simply wouldn’t exist without such gifts, which fund over 50% of the British Heart Foundation’s work and 6 in 10 lifeboat launches for the RNLI and transform futures for many local charities.
Myth 4: It’s only for the big charities Gifts in Wills can be left to any charitable organisation — large or small. In the UK, over 10,000 charities and community-based organisations are named in Wills annually,3 helping them fund vital services. Moreover, many people often choose to benefit several charities from their Will, recognising multiple organisations that have touched their lives.
Myth 5: Writing a Will or including a charity is expensive and complicated There are many ways to write a Will; it doesn’t have to be complicated or costly. This includes working with a solicitor or professional Will-writer, writing your Will via an online platform or through free Will-writing campaigns from charities. What’s important is that you find the option that works best for you and provides the advice you need.
WRITTEN BY Lucinda Frostick Director, Remember A Charity
Building sand dams: how to help create lasting change in poor dryland communities
Sand dams capture and store water in the world’s driest regions, providing a vital source of clean, safe water for vulnerable, drought-affected communities.
Asand dam is a concrete wall built across a sandy riverbed that can capture up to 40 million litres of water, replenishing every rainy season. That water is stored safe from disease and evaporation within sand. One sand dam provides enough year-round water for over 1,000 people and lasts upwards of 60 years with no maintenance costs once built.
Sand dams: saving time by reducing the burden Sand Dams Worldwide supports some of the world’s poorest people to transform their own lives and land with sand dams and climatesmart agriculture. Patricia, 56, from Kenya, used to set off at 6:30am to fetch water from the nearest river, a hazardous trek that took her until noon to return home. What’s more, the water Patricia collected was never enough for her needs. Due to it often being dirty and contaminated with disease, it left her feeling sick and unable to work.
However, by building a sand dam with her community and applying climate-smart farming methods, with support from Sand Dams Worldwide and its local partner, Patricia has created lasting change for her family.
Supporting families and improving health Patricia can now live her later life with more water and food security. She explains: “My children and I no longer find it hard to get water. They have enough time to play. I have enough time and water to farm. I can now grow a variety of trees and crops. My health is good, and I no longer get sick. When I think of a sand dam and what it’s brought to our lives, I feel happy.”
Donations to Sand Dams Worldwide enable more sand dam and climate-smart agriculture projects to take place, helping families and older people like Patricia to restore degraded land, rebuild livelihoods and regreen environments for generations to come.
Try to think beyond the fundamentals of care and cost — what will make it truly feel like a home?
~Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief
Executive,
Care England
Help write a brighter future for children in care
Gifts in wills help make sure support is there when it’s needed.
Every 15 minutes, a child goes into care in the UK. From that moment, the world can see them differently — but we don’t. We have been helping children in care since we were founded over 155 years ago. Today, thanks to amazing supporters like you, we help over 50,000 children and young people in, or with experience of, the care system.
Practical support for children in care
A quarter of our donations come from gifts in wills. It is because of generous donations like these that we are able to provide safe and happy childhoods for young people — like Charlie.
From the age of six, he was placed in and out of foster care before going to live with his dad. However, this was not the stable, safe home life he had hoped for. Action for Children’s Guernsey Youth Housing service supports young care-experienced people. We came into Charlie’s life when he was 15 and struggling to live at home while identifying as a trans man. Things reached a breaking point when Charlie’s dad kicked him out of the house. We provided emergency homelessness accommodation through the Nightstop Service, as well as emotional and practical support, including with his gender transition.
Safe space for children’s journeys
Charlie explains: “Dad wouldn’t let me get help from any kind of service until Action for Children came along. We’d talk about my home life, and it was a safe space to talk about things while my father wouldn’t let me see a doctor about it.”
Charlie was then placed back into foster care, giving him the stability he really needed. Now, he is looking forward to the future. He has just started university and wants to continue his activism work and public speaking. “Alongside my studies, I really want to do a programme for the homeless, and I am really excited to work with the charity in the future.”
Leave a gift in your will for vulnerable children By leaving a gift in your will to Action for Children, you could support our work as a vital lifeline for families.
How to find the right care home that will help you thrive
Your life doesn’t stop when you move into a care home: far from it, in fact. Care homes are often places of community, engagement and fulfilment.
Rachel Harvey, Director of Care, Quality and Regulatory and Governance at Care UK, a nationwide care provider, says: “We believe you take your life with you when move into a care home. Residents can continue to enjoy the things they have always done, try new activities or achieve a lifelong dream. They can socialise within the home and take part in the activities offered.”
What the right care home can offer
Despite the work of care providers to dispel negative connotations of care, the decision to move into a care home is not always an easy one. Josh Hawker, from Able Care Homes, says: “There’s sometimes a perception that care homes can feel like hospitals or institutions, but we find that a lot of our customers are really surprised by what the inside of our homes look and feel like.”
If you are struggling to decide what option is right for yourself or a loved one, taking the time to consider your choices is key. Try to think beyond the fundamentals of care and cost — what will make it truly feel like a home? If you or your loved one enjoy the outdoors, is there a nice garden with lots of seating? A good menu selection might be a priority for a foodie. Will the varied activity schedule cater to an extrovert?
Autonomy and a community that fits
Ruth French, from East Anglia-based Stow Healthcare, suggests looking for a place where your independence is promoted and where you can integrate with the community: “We are just starting a book club in one home, supported by local villagers, for example. Think about what is key in your life now, and look at how you can replicate that as far as possible.”
Get to know the care team
Deborah Hulse-Raper, Head of Customer Care at HC-One, a care provider with services across England, Scotland and Wales, suggests taking a tour of a home’s facilities and getting to know the care team that works there. “Many of our care homes also host events and open days for the community to join, which give people a sense of what daily life looks like in a care home and allow them to hear about the experiences of residents living there.”
WRITTEN
How can a gift to charity in your Will make your estate work harder?
Public appetite for charitable gifts in Wills is increasing; almost one-third (31%) of charity donors aged 40+ with a Will say they have included a gift to charity.1
There are generous inheritance tax (IHT) reliefs associated with gifts in Wills. Savvy planners can utilise these benefits to help their estates work harder both for the loved ones named in their Will and the charities they care about.
How gifts in Wills affect inheritance tax
Unless subject to exemptions or relief, IHT is payable at a rate of 40% on assets over the current nil-rate band of £325,000. Gifts can work to reduce the amount of tax payable in two ways.
Any gifts left to charity are exempt from IHT. The gift is deducted from your overall estate value, which can reduce the amount taxed. A reduced rate of IHT is also applied when 10% or more of the taxable estate is left to charity, meaning the rest of your estate over the £325,000 threshold will be taxed at a reduced rate of 36%.
How to use these incentives to maximise your estate
is reduced. His IHT bill will be £38,400 — 40% of £96,000 (£100,000–£4,000); his charitable gift results in an IHT saving of £1,600. Zoe and the charity combined receive a total of £386,600 — Zoe getting £382,600 and the charity £4,000.
Any gifts left to charity are exempt from IHT.
A lasting legacy
Finally, if Adam increases his £4,000 charitable legacy to £10,000, this would equate to over 10% of his taxable estate.
Adam’s IHT bill would be £32,400 — 36% of £90,000 (£100,000–£10,000).
Zoe and the charity receive a combined total of £392,600, with Zoe receiving £382,600. The increase from £4,000 to £10,000 has cost Zoe nothing, but the impact on the charity could be phenomenal.
Let’s use the example of Adam, who is single. He leaves his £425,000 estate to his friend, Zoe. Adam’s taxable estate (amount above the nil rate band of £325,000) is £100,000; on which IHT is payable at 40%. This gives a tax bill of £40,000, with £385,000 passing to Zoe.
However, if Adam includes a £4,000 gift to charity, with the remainder going to Zoe, the taxable value of his estate
For many charities, gifting in Wills is one of their largest sources of donations and funds 6 out of 10 RNLI rescue launches, over a third of Marie Curie’s hospice care and supports hundreds of community-based charities across the UK. By including a charitable gift, your estate takes care of everything important to you.
Reference
1) Remember A Charity, OKO, Legacy Giving Consumer Benchmark Study
Help us find a cure for dementia with a gift in your Will
Dementia affects one in two people in the UK. Gifts in Wills support us in finding a cure to help keep people connected to their families, their world and themselves for longer.
Athird of our vital research is paid for by gifts left in Wills, from people like you. Dementia robs us of everything that matters: our memories, our connections, our story. With one in two of us being affected by the condition, this needs to change.
Together, we can cure dementia Advances in medical research have already given a brighter future to millions of people with diseases such as polio and HIV. As dementia is caused by physical diseases, we know it can be cured. That is why Alzheimer’s Research UK exists. We work with the best scientific minds and organisations, funding
cutting-edge research, which will revolutionise the way we treat, diagnose and prevent all forms of dementia.
Gifts in Wills make our research possible Gifts in Wills are vital to our scientists’ work towards new life-changing treatments. These gifts are a special way to support dementia research. They cost you nothing in your lifetime yet are the best way to safeguard the future of dementia research. Big or small, all gifts are crucial in ending this devastating condition. We should all be regularly reviewing our wishes for later life and making sure our Wills are up to date, so the family, friends and causes we love most are taken care of. For those living
with dementia, it’s important to do this sooner rather than later to allow individuals a say over their future and make sure their wishes are honoured.
Get your free gifts in Wills guide today Our guide includes useful information such as:
• How a gift in your Will can make a difference, and how you can support Alzheimer’s Research UK in this kind and generous way.
• Frequently asked questions about making and updating your Will.
• What to do if you or a loved one has dementia.
How to leave a better world for children
Help children like Abdulrahman receive vital support, education and hope for a brighter future. Create a lasting impact by including UNICEF UK in your Will.
UNICEF responds for children in emergencies and works every day to support better health care, education and protection for every child around the world. Every child has the right to learn, to attend school and to make friends. Yet, for many children, like Abdulrahman, these rights are threatened by devastating conflicts and crises.
The impact of conflict on children For children like 12-year-old
Abdulrahman, who lives in rural Damascus, Syria, conflict has left deep scars. “Bullying hurts me. I feel extremely sad when someone points out my missing hand,” he says recalling how he felt like quitting
school when other children teased him.
Abdulrahman’s father, Fayez, shared the family’s story of hardship brought on by years of conflict in Syria. The violence led to the loss of loved ones and the amputation of Abdulrahman’s hand, forcing them to relocate multiple times in search of safety.
Health, education and protection for every child
Children in crisis zones often lack access to the mental health and psychosocial support they need to survive and thrive. Without this support, the long-term effects can be devastating. UNICEF supported Abdulrahman to enrol in a psychosocial centre, and he also
received intensive education to catch up on missed lessons.
Abdulrahman goes to group and individual counselling sessions at the centre, helping him to move forward through his teenage years. Abdulrahman never misses a session. “I have witnessed a positive change in his attitude in general and specifically towards school,” says his dad Fayez. Abdulrahman has also received a prosthetic hand. “I wear my new hand every day to school. It makes me feel stronger,” he says, before talking about his ambition to be a mechanical engineer. Abdulrahman’s journey illustrates how UNICEF supports children to rebuild and recover from crises, helping them reclaim their lives and futures.
Create a lasting legacy for children In 2023 alone, UNICEF reached over half a million children in Syria with mental health and psychosocial activities. This work is only possible with support from people like you. A gift in your Will to UNICEF UK is an investment in a better world for every child. UNICEF works with partners and local communities to vaccinate, educate and support more children in need than any other organisation. By leaving a legacy to UNICEF in your will, you can help children across the world, like Abdulrahman, overcome the challenges they face and build brighter futures.
WRITTEN BY
Caroline Donald
Senior Supporter Engagement Manager, UNICEF UK