Older People's Strategy - Newcastle City Council

105Where we are nowAlthough some organisations provide pre-retirement coursesfor their employees, there are others that do not.There is a need for a later life curriculum (see Aim 3) whichhelps people to think through this phase of life and tounderstand and overcome barriers to changes in services,particularly in financial products and services.At national level, organisations such as Help the Aged havesupported research into financial exclusion among olderpeople in deprived neighbourhoods (see Annex 7, Note 23).The findings of this research are being taken up withGovernment, banks, building societies and the Post Office toaddress the issues raised by the transition from cash-basedtransactions. Work is needed to understand the impact ofchanges in financial services on older people in Newcastle,particularly those on low incomes, and to find alternativeapproaches which could build on existing expertise withinorganisations such as the Credit Union – Moneywise.There are a number of different approaches to supportingpeople to access benefits from the City Council’s welfare rightsteam (including specialist projects such as the PCT benefittake-up project) and Warm Zone. A review of the provision ofwelfare rights provision in the city is currently being undertaken.Befriending services and generic advice services (e.g. AgeConcern Advice and Information) have some limited capacityto offer advice and support to older people.