website for the over 60s    February 2010
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   Great News For Older
 People Who Still  Want
      To Contribute


Still Much To Offer
 
a specialist recruitment and personal development company for those with still much to offer…

With the government set to scrap the retirement age, there is great news in store for older individuals who do not feel ready to be put out to pasture just yet. 2010 heralds the launch of a new company which champions the abilities of mature people. Stillmuchtooffer Ltd., which has launched this January, offers one stop shop services for those who want a new direction in life whether this be a different job, training courses, a personality analysis or a lifestyle change.  

Mature jobseekers (and mature has no upper age limit!) can take advantage of free services by registering on the  website  at:                            www.stillmuchtooffer.co.uk                               storing CV details, searching and applying for jobs and accessing help sheets.               

However Stillmuchtooffer, which is based in Ruthin, Denbighshire, is far more than just a job search web site. “Technology is efficient and convenient but when you have difficult decisions to make then you want to talk to a real person who has both expertise and a real understanding of the needs of this often overlooked market,’ declared Carolyn May, director of the company.

“All our clients can phone a free helpline where they will be allocated a skilled consultant who can address their individual concerns.” Carolyn understands the challenges faced by those she terms ‘mature.

She hopes that, having been through the redundancy process herself, she can motivate others to think further about lifestyle choices on offer. “Both men and women sometimes limit themselves to what is familiar when in fact, skills built up over the years, mean that there are many options available, some of which people will not have even considered.”

She believes that older people underestimate what they can still achieve and feels that new beginnings are feasible whatever a person’s age and experience.

Carolyn is well aware that financial pressures, particularly after redundancy, mean that people often rush to find other jobs, but in her view this is a mistake.

“It is so important to take stock, reflect and really think about what you want to do as well as what you need to do. Yes, we all have bills to pay and families to support but there are so many personal benefits to an enjoyable and satisfying job. Work/life balance is a major priority for those in the prime of life so consider whether you want to work full-time, part-time, take on temporary contracts or even work from home or job share.”

Whether people are job-seeking or simply exploring new possibilities, Carolyn is a firm believer in people investing time and money in personal development. At Stillmuchtooffer clients can access online personality profiling tools which will help them to understand themselves, their motivations, their passions, their relationships and even their ways of coping with stress.

Each client is supported by an expert, qualified consultant, who acts as a personal mentor, analysing and explaining the results of the profiling as well as helping clients to reach the decisions that are best for them.

Carolyn’s view is that; “A life choice mentor is the equivalent of a personal trainer. A mentor works with you to ensure you stay on track, lose unwanted habits, get fit for work and play, improve your sense of well-being and increase your self-esteem. Too many people looking for a job dive straight into re-writing CVs and practising interview technique.

"At Stillmuchtooffer we have a different approach. We advise following the personal development route first, moving on to improving skills through training, then making well judged decisions with the help of a skilled mentor and finally addressing the practicalities as the final stage in a well executed process.” 
                                        Ultimately Stillmuchtooffer affirms that mature and older people really do ‘still have much to offer.’ After a lifetime of experience they should value themselves highly and deserve in turn to be valued by employers as well as society as a whole
.

 

                               Retirement

           Reader Survey     
 
      We'd Like Your Views     
   on Sixtyplusurfers

We have teamed up with Olympus to offer one lucky reader the chance to win an Olympus digital camera!

     Olympus digital camera
 

Olympus FE-5020 Digital Camera - £169

Available in pure white, dark grey, mocha brown and ocean blue the super slim Olympus FE-5020 digital camera leads the way in the FE series.

With a super wide zoom, AF tracking, Dual Image Stabilisation and Advanced Face Detection your photos will always look sharp, even when you are taking pictures of large groups in a moving crowd. Four Magic Filters let you explore your creative side.

The Pop Art filter enhances the colour in the picture, making colours stronger and more vivid for a high-impact, happy picture. Other filters include, Pin Hole, Fish Eye and Sketch. You can also record movies with sound
.
 

 

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Now you have completed the Questionnaire, click on the Submit Form  to send us your answers.
 
We will not supply your contact details to third parties without your permission.  


     
  
Number One Resolution:
          
       “Enjoy Life More”

 
With 2010 now well underway, the latest findings from a nationwide study by CitySocialising, which polled over 4000 of its members from cities across the UK about their new year resolutions, have revealed that 77% of women, compared to just 67% of men, made at least one resolution this January, 17% of them for the first time ever. 
 
When asked what their resolutions for 2010 were, top of the list for both women and men was “to enjoy life more”, followed by “lose weight/go on a diet”, second on the list for women, but only sixth on the list for men, and “to get fit and start exercising”, which appeared as the third most popular 2010 resolution for women.
 
But, although women are more likely to actually make resolutions, when asked about how long they usually stick to them, it appeared that men have more resolve as 20% claimed they kept theirs for a year or more compared to just 15% of women, the majority of whom (29%) admitting sticking to their resolutions for an average of just 3 months.
   
Interestingly, “to find true love” came joint fifth on the list for women together with “saving money”, “getting fit” came third and “learning something new” fourth. But finding true love appeared at almost the top of the list, in second place, amongst men that were surveyed. 

And towards the end of the list of most popular resolutions for women in 2010, “saving money” and “paying off debts” beat “quitting smoking” and “drinking less”.
 

   

 

    Retirement Villages


Retirement Villages, the pioneers of age exclusive communities in the UK, has secured six of the top 10 slots in the Best Retirement Community in the UK chart. The company’s villages took all top five placings as well as number seven in the list compiled by bestretirementdestinations.com – an independent authority on ‘where you should retire’ – and published this month.




Cedars Village, on the fringes of Chorleywood, scored an unbeatable 100 per cent across the categories to secure its top spot, narrowly beating Roseland Parc in Tregony, Cornwall into second place.

Retirement Villages Ltd, based in Epsom, has 11 age exclusive communities across the south of the country with more planned. The villages generally offer a range of apartments, cottages and bungalows grouped around a central clubhouse offering extensive communal facilities for the exclusive use of residents, staff and guests. Some locations also offer nursing care.


                  Cedars Village Video

For more information

Visit: 
www.retirementvillages.co.uk

  Getting the Additional
        State Pension

The additional State Pension, or State Second Pension, is paid in addition to the basic State Pension. You can start getting any additional State Pension when you claim your basic State Pension.

How to claim the additional State Pension

Your entitlement to additional State Pension is calculated when you claim the basic State Pension. Your entitlement may come from SERPS (the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme) or from the State Second Pension.
 

The Pension Service will normally send you the relevant forms and invite you to make a claim about four months before you reach State Pension age. For men this is 65 and 60 for women born on or before 5 April 1950. The State Pension age for women born on or after 6 April 1950 will increase from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2020. It will increase for both men and women from age 65 to 68 between 2024 and 2046.

SERPS - protecting your entitlement

Until April 2002, the additional State Pension for employees was called the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS). The amount of SERPS pension you received was based on a combination of the amount of your National Insurance contributions, and how much you earned. In April 2002, SERPS was reformed and the additional State Pension is now known as the State Second Pension. Any SERPS entitlement you have is protected - so if you built up an entitlement to additional State Pension before April 2002 you will keep it, whether or not you've already reached State Pension age.

 65 Year Old Is Ultraman

  Ellis Andrews finishing Ultraman
 

Ellis Andrews from Canada has become the oldest athlete in the world at age 65 to finish a Ultraman in the 25 years year history of the event'

The event consists of a  6.2 mile (10K) open ocean swim, a 261.4 mile (421K) cycle ride and a run of a double marathon 52.2 miles (84.4K). The total elevation gain of was 16,275 ft over the 320mile [515Km] distance. He is now the Ultraman World Champion for the 60-69 age division. Ellis is also the oldest person to ever finish Ultraman Canada. There have only been 361 finishers in the 25 year history of Ultraman in Hawaii and only 79 in finishers in Ultraman Canada. Ellis is only one of 30 athletes in the world that have finished both UMH &UMC.