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country are you a resident? In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, you can get a free bus pass when you’re 60.

But in England, you become eligible for a free bus pass only when you reach state pension age. That age is currently 66, but it will be 67 for everyone from April 2028.

Meanwhile, the rise in pension age in England to 67 is being phased in over a two year period on a month by month basis. This means that if you were born between 6 April 1960 and 5 March 1961 your state pension age will be 66 plus a month or more. For example, if you were born on a date between 6 August 1960 and 5 September 1960 you cannot claim for your state pension – and your free bus pass in England – until you are 66 years and six months.

Here is a little bit more detail about each of the four UK countries and their arrangements for concessionary travel for older persons.

In Wales, residents aged 60 and over can obtain a Concessionary Travel Card (administered by Transport for Wales). It provides free travel on most bus services (discounted on others) and some rail services. If you are also an eligible disabled person, a companion can travel free with you on the buses, using a companion card.

In Scotland, residents aged 60 and over can obtain free bus travel with a National Entitlement Card. A companion card, providing free bus travel, is also available for eligible disabled persons. There is no free travel on trains, but the usual discounts are available such as up to one third discounts with a Senior Railcard (see below).

In Northern Ireland, residents aged 60-64 can obtain a 60+ SmartPass. Those aged 65 and over can have a Senior SmartPass. These passes provide free travel on all Translink bus and train services, and some selected local ferry routes, within Northern Ireland. The Senior SmartPass gives you, additionally, free cross-border travel and free travel in the Republic of Ireland. Translink is Northern Ireland’s public transport operator.

In England, residents have to be of state pension age (see above) to obtain an older person’s bus pass. This provides free off-peak (which is deemed to be 9.30am-11pm) bus travel locally and anywhere in England. Note today’s announcement by Prime Minister Burnham that from 1 April 2027 disabled bus pass holders will be able to travel free on buses at any time.

In addition in England there are a number of different arrangements locally for residents of state pension age. Transport for West Midlands, for example, also provides free transport on certain trains and trams. A yearly add-on of £10 to the Greater Manchester older person’s travel pass will give you, in addition to free bus travel, unlimited Metrolink tram and local off-peak train travel for free.

In London, travel concessions for older persons are different to the rest of England. There are two age-related passes, but only one is completely free. The 60+ London Oyster photocard is available for residents aged 60 up to state pension age. This provides what Transport for London describes as ‘free travel’, although tucked away on the relevant TfL online page is the £36 application fee for the card and the annual ‘address eligibility check’ fee of £18.50 (after the first year). After payment is made, you get ‘free’ off-peak transport within the Greater London area: on buses, tubes, trams, DLR, London overground and most of the Elizabeth line. There are also discounts for river services, Santander Cycles and the London Cable Car (if you buy a ticket at the ticket office, not online). At state pension age you can then change to a Freedom Pass, with the same benefits. And that is truly free.

Senior Railcards for those aged 60 and over are also widely available. They cost £35 for one year or £80 for three years and provide discounts of up to one third for off-peak rail travel. They can be used to buy discount rail travel in England, Wales and Scotland, but not in Northern Ireland (although you can buy a Senior Railcard for use in Great Britain even if you live in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland).

an estimated 14,344. Strikingly, this is almost double the number of centenarians there were 20 years ago.

On these 2025 figures from the Office for National Statistics, over 80% of centenarians are women. 672 people were recorded as being 105 years old and over, with nearly 90% of them women.

Andy Burnham pledged to “help people to live well’. Afterwards he is reported to have said to journalists that Westminster’s record on social care over the last 30 years was “not defensible”. Ina speech today he said that it was “shameful, a major dereliction of duty” by politicians of his generation not to fix social care.

Few would disagree. But what will he actually do?

As a first step - hopefully the first of many - he has pledged to speed up the Casey Commission’s final report. The independent Commission, chaired by Baroness Casey, was due to produce its final report by the end of 2028. Now that will come forward a year. Its remit is the design of a National Care Service, which, Burnham said today, must be “intrinsically linked to the NHS” and with “a principle of home care” not a hospital bed. This was trailed in Labour’s 2024 election manifesto which recognised that this sector “needs deep reform” in order to “manage and support an ageing population”.

This would be a start. And it would be consistent with Burnham’s approach over the years: integration of social care with the NHS; funding through some form of levy or inheritance tax reform; and ending the situation where people have to sell their own homes to pay for care.

Funding social care has been a bugbear for years. The nearest we got to a clear plan for funding was Prime Minister Johnson’s 2021 Health and Social Care Levy. This was a designated tax to pay for both the NHS and adult social care. It would have involved an increase of 1.25% in National Insurance contributions, providing a £36 billion ring-fenced investment. But before this had the chance to move forward, the Johnson Government fell and the new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, scrapped it as part of her ill-fated tax cutting measures. This Levy has not been restored or replaced since.

In his speech today, Prime Minister Burnham, perhaps wisely, said very little about funding. This will not be easy. Burnham is initiating cross-party talks, starting today. He recognises that there will have to be “give and take” in order to find common ground. But already Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative opposition, has set out her party’s stall. She will be happy to work with Burnham, but will not agree to any funding from tax rises or increased borrowing. Will this be a major sticking point?

Meanwhile, Burnham wants an immediate “focus” on the social care workforce, by lifting the recent “fair pay agreement” into a bigger reform, both in terms of pay and in terms of training and support. Burnham said today that that they should be “the best paid people in society, not the worst”. Many poorly paid carers will be following this closely for further details.

There is much to ponder about adult social care. News and opinion will be posted on this website. Watch this space.