2020-12-31-accounts

Independent Age Annual Report and Accounts 2020

At Independent Age, it’s our mission to make sure that as we grow older, we all have the opportunity to live well with dignity, choice and purpose.

2020 was as unexpected a year as it was challenging. We responded rapidly to older people’s needs amid the pandemic, while also working hard on a major transformation programme to deepen our impact and better enable people to live a happy, connected and purposeful later life.

The year became a certain reminder that the experiences and views of older people must inform everything we do – and that there’s never been a greater need for our work.

Introduction 2 Welcome from Deborah Alsina and Julia Neuberger 4 Highlights from 2020 6 Rising to the challenge Strategic report 10Achievements and performance in 2020 16Strategy and future plans for 2021–23 24Governance structure and managementment 32Managing risk 34Financial review 41Statement of trustees’ responsibilities 42Independent auditor’s report	Financial statements
	48Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities
	49Group and Charity Balance Sheets
	50Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
	51Notes to the Financial Statements
	Legal and administrative details
	78Legal and administrative details
	80Our year in numbers
	84Get involved!

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Welcome from Deborah Alsina and Julia Neuberger

It would be an understatement to say that 2020 was a challenging year – a year that brought out the best and worst of us as a society. Few would have predicted a global pandemic that would, at the time of writing, have taken more than 128,000 lives in the UK alone, and caused terrible financial, physical and emotional hardship for so many.

As part of our COVID-19 response, we also released £2.5 million of our reserves to set up a COVID-19 Grants Fund to support charities with an income of less than £1 million that work with older people at greatest risk from COVID-19. These include those living with physical and mental health conditions that increase their risk, people from black and other minority ethnic communities, and those at risk of being out of sight, such as people living in situations of domestic violence, older carers and older refugees and asylum seekers. By the end of 2020 we had made 203 grants worth a total of £2.3 million – being involved in this has been one of the most humbling and inspiring aspects of our work in 2020.

Yet we have seen some light come through the darkness: communities coming together to support each other, an increased appreciation of the natural world around us, and new ways of working remotely that have probably changed our behaviours and organisational cultures for the better and for the long term.

At Independent Age, before the pandemic hit us, we had started a major transformation programme, clarifying our direction, increasing our impact and, above all, renewing our mission. At the start of the year we put in place a talented and experienced Senior Leadership Team to deliver this ambition, and we have since focused on three key elements: strategy, culture and foundations.

We were incredibly grateful for the generous funding we received for the Grants Fund from some of our corporate and trust supporters – including The Scheinberg Relief Fund (£500,000), Pension Insurance Corporation (£250,000), 3i (£16,500), Boundless (£10,000) and Ashurst (£5,000) – enabling us to make more grants in early 2021 to support organisations to begin to reopen their face-to-face services. By the end of our five grant rounds, we will have made grants of more than £3 million and will also have a firm structure in place to continue grant-giving in the future.

But we also had to respond to the pandemic as rapidly as we could. We had to close our offices and move all our face-to-face services to phone and digital platforms. We launched new services, such as our phone coffee mornings, to bring people together who were feeling even more isolated during the pandemic. We also continued our policy and influencing work, including launching new policy research on bereavement, poverty and older people’s mental health and their lack of access to services. You can find more details later in this report.

Early in the pandemic we also carried out phonebased welfare assessments of all the people who regularly use our connection services and all our annuitants – around 3,500 people. This enabled us to address any welfare or safeguarding issues that emerged, and we were able to link those who needed help with our Information and Advice team.

Our vision is that we can all live a happy, connected and purposeful later life.

Alongside this backdrop of major change and turbulence, we also completed work on our new strategic plan for 2021–23, plus our directorate implementation plans to ensure that the charity is tightly focused on increasing the impact of our work with and for older people. We also renewed our vision and mission: our vision is that we can all live a happy, connected and purposeful later life; and our mission is to ensure that as we grow older, we all have the opportunity to live well with dignity, choice and purpose.

We also clarified the charity’s focus and thematic priorities. We agreed that we will challenge ageism and discrimination and tackle the inequalities that exist in older age. We will focus our resources on the critical areas of health and care, loneliness and poverty, and concentrate our efforts where we will have the greatest impact and reach.

We also spent considerable time working on our culture, values and behaviours. We started by introducing a new set of values for the charity: purpose-driven, compassionate, expert, collaborative, accountable and inclusive. We also began work on developing a behavioural framework. We tried to bring our values to life by discussing and role modelling those behaviours in our day-to-day interactions and in how we make and communicate decisions. More work on this will be a priority for us in 2021.

We also reviewed and focused on building firm foundations for the charity and made good progress in reviewing our policies and procedures, developing our safeguarding, assurance and compliance frameworks, and improving the quality, safety and use of our data.

While 2020 was more challenging than we had either hoped or expected, we have been so grateful for how our staff, volunteers and supporters have risen to the challenge and worked tirelessly to ensure we could continue to deliver high-quality services for the people who need them and to effect positive policy change. We offer sincere thanks to everyone who has been part of our work in 2020, and look forward to continuing to work with you as we begin to deliver our new strategy in 2021.

Deborah Alsina, MBE Baroness Neuberger, DBE Chief Executive Chair

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Highlights from 2020

The voices of older people sounded loudly in 2020, helping us quickly adapt our services and ways of working to the uncertainty we all faced. Information and connections were crucial to people’s immediate wellbeing – just as campaigning on mental health, bereavement and access to food was to our wider pandemic response.

Grants Fund

• released new hard-hitting economic research on the cost to the state of eligible people not receiving Pension Credit

As part of our pandemic response, we released £2.5 million of our reserves to set up a COVID-19 Grants Fund. We received 888 applications for funding, and awarded funds totalling £2.3 million to 203 small- and medium-sized charities working with older people at greatest risk from COVID-19.

• welcomed 50 new parliamentary champions to support our work

• chaired the Tackling

Loneliness Network, bringing organisations together to think of creative solutions to help people who feel lonely.

Policy and influencing campaigns

Campaign to End Loneliness

Throughout 2020 we listened to people in later life to ensure their experiences shaped the public policies and services needed to support them.

In 2016 the Campaign to End Loneliness was awarded four years’ funding by the National Lottery Community Fund to expand its work across the UK. It reached millions of people. Independent Age provided infrastructure, governance and funding support for 10 years.

This meant we:

• helped significantly expand eligibility for priority supermarket delivery slots

In January 2021 the Campaign joined the What Works Centre for Wellbeing. The Campaign will now broaden its scope to loneliness across all ages, build an evidence base, and work with organisations that drive action on loneliness at every level of society.

• produced our first report on the mental health challenges facing people in later life

• secured action by the Department for Work and Pensions to fund a public awareness campaign on Pension Credit uptake

Our engagement

2020 saw us gain 3,451 followers across all our communication channels, resulting in an audience of 62,219, up 5.7% from the previous year.

Our content throughout the year was displayed to 22,157,490 users, had 780,343 engagements and provided 371,178 clicks through to our website.

Our media coverage for Independent Age and the Campaign to End Loneliness resulted in articles across national, regional, trade, broadcast and online

publications with a total of

3,100 mentions, reaching 4.9 million people with a total publicity value of £11.9 million. Independent Age mentions made up around 77% of this, with the rest attributed to the Campaign to End Loneliness.

Reconnections

We launched two

Reconnections pilots in 2020, helping over-65s reconnect with people, places or activities that interest them.

While the pandemic brought significant challenges, it also allowed us to engage collaboratively with community partners, inspiring new ways of working and reaching those who needed us most.

Information and advice

In 2020 we published three new mental health guides, and our range of guides and factsheets were accredited by Patient Information Forum’s Quality Mark for health and care information.

Top left Renee taking part in the Barclays– Amazon Echo We created an online COVID-19 initiative information hub, and the Above Our Tyne & Helpline made more than 4,000 Wear and Teeside team delivering welfare-check calls to older Christmas packs people we support.

Left Volunteer visitor Montserrat switching Fundraising to phone calls during the pandemic We raised £4.3 million in 2020 to help deliver the support we provide.

We adapted our planned activities and moved investment from direct dialogue and events

Far left Our Grants Left Jackie receiving Fund at work her Christmas with the African hamper through French Speaking the Reconnections Community Support partnership with charity Blackrock

fundraising to new channels. This saw the recruitment of 1,705 new regular givers and more than 500 new lottery players. The number of active donors at the end of 2020 was 8,191.

Our legacy activity included developing a new legacy giving proposition, which was shortlisted for Legacy Campaign of the Year at the National Fundraising Awards. Mail and online acquisition campaigns resulted in 35 enquiries and 11 pledges. We were also grateful to receive 23 notifications worth £1.01 million.

We were also grateful for the generous support of 22 businesses, including our 10 corporate partners, which raised £432,235 for our work.

We were also delighted to receive £802,454 in continued support from 100 charitable trusts and foundations, including £500,000 from The Scheinberg Relief Fund.

Community services

Our frontline teams responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with compassion, urgency and an unwavering sense of commitment.

We supported older people by providing up-to-date information, arranging food and medication deliveries, talking to people in gardens, through windows and over the phone – and making decisions about our services with them at the centre.

Our volunteers made 209,402 friendship contacts with 1,560 older people in 2020, through community services, Reconnections, visits and phone calls.

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Rising to the challenge

Working from home can be challenge enough, but when you’re new in the job it might feel daunting. Here, the newest members of the Independent Age team tell how the friendship and understanding of their colleagues have helped them feel at ease and ready to provide a valuable lifeline to older people.

Emma Lewis, Philanthropy Officer

I was nervous to join a new role during the pandemic, all while working from home – but I now know there was no reason at all to be nervous. My team went above and beyond to make me feel prepared, involved and part of the team from the first day. Joining Independent Age while working from home, during lockdown two, was definitely an experience! Even though I’m six months into the role and haven’t met any of my team yet, I still feel part of Independent Age and am looking forward to everything that is to come.

Amaani Khan, Campaigns and Public Affairs Assistant

Joining the organisation working from home has definitely been unconventional, not having met any of my colleagues who I work with on a daily basis. However, everyone at Independent Age has made this as easy as possible. Through frequent video calls and informal catch ups, I often forget that I haven’t yet met anyone face to face! I hope to excel in my role and support my colleagues the way they’ve supported me.

Cara Read, Service Manager

One day I was working from home engaging with colleagues in small boxes on a screen on a Teams call, and the next I was in the same place at home, but the laptop was different and there were new, unfamiliar people in those little boxes on a Teams call… That was my reality when I joined Independent Age back in September.

Not having the benefit of meeting my new colleagues in person was a challenge, but this was quickly overcome with virtual one-to-one meetings with key colleagues in the first few weeks. It was a great way to get know people and to start building relationships.

Everyone at Independent Age recognised this challenge and have been fantastically supportive and quickly made me feel included and very much part of the organisation.

Theo Barwood, Marketing Communications Assistant

Joining Independent Age working solely from home was not new to me, having started my previous role virtually as well, but it was clear even from before I started that Independent Age was putting a lot of effort into making sure I felt connected and warmly welcomed, despite the lack of in-person communication.

It’s obvious to me that Independent Age’s consideration for the communication, wellbeing and accessibility needs of staff has come to the fore in responding to the need to work from home. Schemes such as coffee roulette, and the openness of other staff in offering introductions, as well as meeting so many other new starters, has definitely made me feel more a part of what’s going on at Independent Age.

Louise Fox, Volunteering

Development Business Partner

Normally when starting at a new organisation the first couple of weeks are spent attending meetings and meeting new colleagues to get a sense of the organisation, who everyone is and where you fit in. Obviously this wasn’t possible and so I am still to actually meet any of my colleagues in person! However, this really hasn’t felt an issue as everyone was so welcoming and friendly and generous with their time. The staff briefings were definitely a massive help in allowing me to feel part of the team straightaway and using Teams for quick chats/questions also made it a lot easier to connect with colleagues across the charity. I am really looking forward to working with all teams across Independent Age to look at ways of involving volunteers across the organisation and having a coffee (real or virtual) with lots of my colleagues!

Kehinde Oshinyemi, Content Coordination Officer

I thought it would be a very strange experience starting a new job from home and was worried about connecting with people. But I’ve found everyone has been very friendly and willing to make the effort to connect through quick 15-minute virtual coffees. I also started running a coffee morning group a couple of months after joining, where I facilitate conversations between groups of older people, so it’s been great that I’ve been able to connect not only with staff, but also the people who actually use our services. I get to see first-hand how we’re making an impact in their lives.

Fran McSweeney, Head of National Services

I’m so impressed with how passionate and committed everyone is, their willingness to help and work across teams to get things done. I’m responsible for our National Services, so the Helpline, information, advice, telephone friendship (1–1 and coffee morning groups) and digital services. Due to our amazing IT department, and staff and volunteers who want to help and go the extra mile, we’ve been able to continue providing a high-quality service throughout the pandemic, when people have really needed us to find out vital information and to hear a friendly voice. I’m looking forward to getting back to some sort of normality (finding out how tall people are for a start) but also keeping the best parts of what we’ve done differently over the past year.

Tom Wall, Marketing Officer

I was working remotely before I joined Independent Age, so it’s not a completely new experience for me. As a marketer, I can do most of my job online nowadays and it’s great to know we can still reach the people who need our support the most – even during a pandemic. While there are certainly fewer watercooler moments than you get in the office, initiatives like the coffee roulette have made it easy to reach out to people via Teams and have helped me get to know colleagues I might otherwise never have bumped into.

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Strategic report

When my wife died I sat at home, looking at four walls. That’s when I appreciated what lonely means. James

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Achievements and performance in 2020

At Independent Age, we want to make sure that as we grow older, we all have the chance to live well, with dignity, choice and purpose. We began 2020 working hard on our strategic priorities to bring that change about – but it was far from the year we were expecting.

What we achieved shows how very quickly we were able to pull together and change our approach and plans to support older people at a vulnerable time.

Deliver

We will develop, deliver and support services that improve the quality of life for older people.

In 2020 we aimed to challenge and support organisations to improve practices that discriminate against older people, to make sure that older people have the information and advice they need, and to improve their quality of life through partnerships and community activities.

What we achieved

We had to very quickly change our plans for 2020 when the pandemic was declared in March, adapting our services, supporting people over the phone and online, and ensuring everyone had access to the most up-to-date and relevant information available.

Within days we had all our Helpline team members working effectively from home and able to take calls on coronavirus-related issues. In March and April we spoke to more than 3,500 people to provide an initial welfare check, which informed our support plans for the year. We developed our online COVID-19 information hub, which translated government guidance into easyto-read and understandable bite-sized chunks. We also introduced phone coffee mornings, making sure that older people could remotely interact with others and discuss a range of topics together.

We worked hard to ensure all our staff and nearly 2,000 committed volunteers were provided with the necessary skills and information to safely support people in their communities. Wherever possible, staff and volunteers continued to provide a valuable lifeline to older people who needed help to access food or medication, and either phoned regularly or visited (when permitted and following guidelines). This meant we could maintain that vital human connection that so many missed during 2020.

Our Reconnections teams in Barking, Dagenham and Havering played a crucial role supporting older people in their communities. In 2020 we also connected and established partnerships with many charities and organisations like the British Red Cross, Methodist Homes Association and U3A. The pandemic has really encouraged people to pull together for the common good, and that collaboration will continue to be an important strand of our work in the future.

Every Thursday we met up and talked about different things. We had such a laugh.

June

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Achievements and performance in 2020

Influence

We will champion the voice of older people, campaigning with older people to effect policy change.

In 2020 we aimed to work alongside people in later life to challenge negative stereotypes and failing systems, to develop new policy evidence and solutions, and to campaign to improve people’s quality of life.

What we achieved

Poverty

Our Credit where it’s due campaign led the Department for Work and Pensions to invest in a 12-week public awareness campaign promoting Pension Credit. We continue to work to ensure all eligible people receive the Pension Credit they are entitled to and, alongside academics from Loughborough University, we made a strong economic case proving that giving Pension Credit to those eligible for it not only improves their lives but saves the state money.

We led a coalition of charities that successfully secured a policy change that made older people, disabled adults, those living with long-term conditions, and their carers eligible for priority supermarket delivery slots. We’ve since called for supermarkets to waive delivery charges and minimum spend requirements on priority slots, with Iceland agreeing to refund delivery charges.

Health and care

At the start of the pandemic we heard from many that they found the guidance confusing and vague. We used this insight to work with the Department of Health and Social Care to make the social-distancing guidance clearer for the clinically vulnerable group, which included all over-70s. We released our first report looking at the mental health and wellbeing of people

in later life – Minds that matter – and our report about people’s experiences during COVID-19 – Home truths – showcased the real impact and lived experience of the virus on people in later life and those who care about them.

Alongside this we continued to convene partnerships with think tanks, the Policy Exchange and the Institute for Public Policy Research, to call for reform to the social care system.

Loneliness

We co-chaired one of the subgroups of the Tackling Loneliness Network, convened by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. We collated insight shared by group members, surveyed people in later life and volunteers who work with them, organised a listening session for people with lived experience to speak to the government minister responsible for loneliness, and produced a briefing based on this insight with clear recommendations for improvement.

Campaign to End Loneliness

The Campaign to End Loneliness launched two new reports in 2020. The first, Promising Approaches Revisited: Effective action on loneliness in later life, reported on the progress made to address loneliness across the UK. The second, The Psychology of Loneliness, looked at how psychology can change how lonely people think and feel.

Throughout 2020 the Campaign also continued to promote its Be More Us awareness campaign, encouraging people to share their experiences of and solutions for loneliness.

Sustainability

We are here for all older people who need us now, and for the older people of the future.

In 2020 we aimed to diversify our income to ensure we’re here for older people in the longer term, to use our resources – including our reserves – to maximise the difference we make for older people, and to take an ethical approach and reduce the environmental impact of our work.

What we achieved

Although we had to adapt our planned fundraising activity in 2020, we saw income from donations and legacies of £4.1 million and total net voluntary income of £2.2 million, significantly exceeding our budgets for the year. This was achieved through a balanced fundraising programme, intended to provide sustainable future income.

We continued to test new fundraising propositions to diversify our income, and to invest our reserves, both of which are key to making a difference for today’s older people and to building our income so we can continue to make a difference in the future. We also worked on a long-term financial model so we can be clear about the balance of spending funds and retaining reserves, allowing us to be financially sustainable over the long term.

We introduced tools to help our people use their budgets well and deliver great value for money, and we committed to reviewing our investment principles and policies in 2021 to make sure they align with our values and strategic priorities.

The support of our corporate partners – from the financial services sector to retail and health and care – was also crucial to us in 2020. Our partners strategically supported and promoted our work, made substantial donations, sponsored our information materials and undertook employee fundraising activities. We also benefited from the generous support of both institutional and family trusts and foundations across the UK.

We look forward to building on these partnerships to ensure the long-term sustainability of our work.

Our legacy may not be large compared with others, but what we are leaving is out of gratitude for help given to us.

Agnes

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Achievements and performance in 2020

Profile and engagement

We will enable the public to emotionally engage with us, building strong connections so more people are inspired to give support and motivated to ask for help.

In 2020 we aimed to make sure people know who we are and what we do, and so increase the number of people and partners who are inspired to give support, collaborate with us and ask for help. We also aimed to maintain our national voice while increasing our local presence, and to build strong connections with individuals to establish communities through which we can achieve our goals and aims.

What we achieved

As the pandemic developed in 2020 we gained significant media coverage, including a panel discussion on the Victoria Derbyshire show about the impact of COVID-19 on older people, with our Chief Executive, Deborah Alsina. Focusing on the effects of the lockdown on older people, our Director of Services, Simon Hewett-Avison, was interviewed on Radio 5 Live and 16 regional radio stations.

If I hadn’t had the support of Independent Age, I wouldn’t have

coped.

Additionally, we commissioned several surveys to gain insight into how older people were affected by COVID-19 restrictions. We used insights from this research to achieve significant coverage for Independent Age, including in The Telegraph , on BBC News and in 120 regional publications.

Working alongside other charities in our sector, we highlighted the effect of COVID-19 on care homes and called for more personal protective equipment for care home staff and improved reported death statistics. This also gained high-quality and high-volume coverage.

Deborah Alsina was also interviewed for The Guardian Society section, while a column written by Morgan Vine, Head of Policy and Influencing, on the need for free personal care was published on page two of the Daily Express .

Even though the pandemic is having a considerable impact on older people, their voices have been mainly absent from the media. To amplify those voices, we created the #HomeTruths blog series, where we gave older people from across our network the opportunity to tell their COVID-19 stories.

Throughout 2020 we also continued to increase engagement with older people, carers, families and opinion formers on our social media platforms.

Excellence

We will shape our ways of working to deliver in the most efficient and effective way possible.

In 2020 we aimed to use insight and evidence from older people, partners and supporters to drive our work and determine the outcomes we will achieve. We also aimed to engage, inspire and empower our people to make a real difference to the lives of older people, and to deliver our goals and aims in the most effective and efficient way with the right tools, governance and environment to enable people to succeed.

What we achieved

In 2020 we talked – and really listened – to more of the people we support than ever before. We used what older people, their friends, families and professionals told us to adapt and improve the information and support we provide. We used insight directly from people accessing our services to inform our policy work and help create systems-level change.

From March 2020 it was also crucial to support our staff and volunteers to operate from home. What we’ve learnt from this will inform more efficient and effective working practices in the future. We undertook a restructuring exercise to make sure we are organised in a cost-effective way and have the right roles in place to deliver our 2021–23 strategy – and now our learning and development activity is focused on helping all our staff and volunteers excel in delivering that. Our values are central to everything we do, so we’re working hard to make sure equity, diversity and inclusion are genuinely embedded in the way we work, as we increasingly attract more diverse users of our services, campaigners and supporters.

We also reviewed the systems and processes that govern the foundations of our charity and started a large programme of work to improve them – this will continue in 2021 and beyond. We launched digital tools to support flexible working, improved our data management systems, strengthened our approaches to safeguarding and information governance, and implemented a new procurement system to support our focus on achieving value for money with every pound we spend.

When the government implemented the first national lockdown, Independent Age immediately responded ensuring safety of staff was a priority.

Opeyemi Oladejo, Social Care Adviser

Gillian

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Strategy and future plans for 2021–23

After much work in 2020 assessing how we can maximise our impact for older people, 2021 sees Independent Age begin a new strategy period.

The next three years will see us focus our resources on the critical areas of health and care, loneliness and poverty, and we will concentrate our efforts where we can have the greatest impact and reach.

We’ve set ourselves six strategic goals to make this happen, grounded in what we do – as information providers, organisational partners and policy influencers – and who we are – by building our reputation and financial stability, and being a great place to work.

----- Start of picture text -----
Goal 1 Health and care Goal 4
Goal 2 Loneliness Goal 5
Goal 3 Poverty Goal 6
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Goal 1

In 2021 we aim to provide information and advice focusing on the issues that matter most as we grow older, and to deepen our impact within communities, connecting people, places and services to reduce isolation and loneliness.

• We will produce accessible information for people across the UK, refining our printed resources and maximising our digital reach.

• We will deliver a specialist advice service focusing on social care and poverty in England and ensure people in Scotland and Wales can access high-quality advice services.

• We will build partnerships and distribution channels and create referral routes with local and national organisations, ensuring we reach the people who need us most.

• We will work with communities across the UK, building on what already exists to reduce isolation and loneliness.

Liz’s story

I became a telephone volunteer because I wanted to talk to someone who might be lonely and have the flexibility to do that anywhere. The process with Independent Age was thorough but not too difficult and well set up and supportive. One thing I didn’t expect was the profound effect on me when I was told that our weekly chat gives my older friend something to live for. I know when I call there is genuine joy for both of us.

• We will connect people through phone and digital services, creating friendships and reducing isolation.

• We will focus our community-based connection services on the individual, building a plan together that could include connecting people to form friendships or provide support, reconnecting people with their local community or activities they enjoy, or connecting people with services they need.

We were matched based on interests and, each week, I find a quiet spot with a cuppa and biscuits and we share our memories and stories about motorsports and motorbikes. A lot of the time I just listen and sometimes I have heard about growing up in the 30s, the war, places travelled or even what the last question was in The Chase .

• We will focus this work on communities brought together by a specific interest or issue. This could include working in partnership to provide services to specific groups such as Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, faith groups, the LGBT+ community, older people with mental health issues, people with a specific health condition or people ageing without children.

There is a serious side that training prepared me for and I have a wellbeing officer who is supportive and helps when needed. Mostly though, I just look forward to a weekly chat with a friend that has a big positive effect on both of our lives.

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Strategy and future plans for 2021–23

Goal 2

In 2021 we aim to develop a programme of support for organisations to strengthen the sector and develop an ecosystem of organisations working more cohesively together, to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to age well.

• We will build on the links we developed with a range of organisations in 2020, geographically and thematically, to share experiences and key learning from the pandemic and how organisations working with older people are ‘building back better.’

• We will compile and publish reports and case studies to highlight and amplify the work of organisations supported through our grant-making.

• We will build our understanding of where organisations want and need to develop priorities for future investment in capacity building – and develop links with potential providers.

Martin’s story

Aged just 58, Martin was living alone with no family, friends or support around him. Grieving since his wife died, he’d stopped eating and become anorexic. This, as well as his lung condition, left Martin dependent on a wheelchair. He was depressed and having suicidal thoughts.

• We will collaborate with other funders to build our understanding and to maximise opportunities for learning and future joinedup action for the benefit of older people.

• We will explore opportunities for strategic partnerships with other organisations to make the most of existing infrastructure and/or networks, nationally, regionally and locally.

Martin’s health meant he couldn’t maintain his house. His stairlift was broken, so he slept on a sofa downstairs in a draughty back room, where he could only wash in the basin.

He’d previously refused support from his local council but, at the start of lockdown, when the need to isolate made his despair worse, Martin referred himself to a local community navigator service.

The online clubs have given me something to put in the diary and, on the worst days, something to wake up for.

Since then, the navigators have provided Martin with friendly, weekly calls to keep in touch, while making urgent referrals on his behalf around safeguarding for self-neglect and urgent occupational therapy. They’ve also arranged practical help, like fixing the stairlift and getting food shopping in.

The navigators slowly built rapport and trust with Martin, who now says, “I’m ready to accept that I need more support.”

Anonymous

Goal 3

In 2021 we aim to be a catalyst for positive policy change, producing credible research and policy analysis, and use that insight to challenge the underlying causes of discrimination and inequality through effective policy and influencing activity.

• We will produce sector-leading policy analysis and recommendations, which will be uniquely informed by our service provision, the experience of older people, new and innovative research, and our expert knowledge of the policy landscape.

• We will develop a campaigns strategy to engage, grow and activate supporters to enable Independent Age to increase its campaigning effectiveness.

• We will ensure our campaigning is integrated with other supporter-engagement activities, like volunteering, fundraising and profile raising.

• We will work with partners to commission cutting-edge academic research, which will grow our reputation and influence policy formation at the highest levels, including establishing a deep and broad network of experts: academics, clinicians, practitioners and legal experts.

• We will base our campaigning on involvement and collaboration, and the voices and choices of older people will drive every aspect of our campaigning.

• We will develop a consistent approach to our policy and influencing activities by ensuring that we set, and regularly review, policy, practice and behaviour objectives for each of our three critical areas: health and care, loneliness and poverty.

• We will deliver expert influencing strategies and public affairs activity.

• We will have high-value relationships with stakeholders from across our sector, establishing us as a sector-leading organisation.

• We will, through our public affairs work, combine influential national and local government relations with strategic and intelligence-led activity to ensure the effective dissemination of our policy positions, which will ultimately influence policy and practice.

Most people know the importance of keeping physically healthy when you’re ageing, but not a lot of people know the importance of keeping mentally healthy. That’s just as important.

Christine

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Strategy and future plans for 2021–23

Goal 4

In 2021 we aim to develop a strong reputation and significantly raise our profile to enable us to drive change and build our community of support.

• We will build our reputation and raise our profile to develop our community, ensure engagement with our services, drive policy and behavioural change, and support our income-generation activities.

• We will use our brand’s authority to challenge ageism and discrimination and tackle the inequalities in older age.

• We will develop a coherent and inspiring brand that will significantly raise our profile to support our objectives and challenge ageism and discrimination.

Brian’s story

• We will identify opportunities to raise our profile and position Independent Age as an expert source, using our media, public relations and marketing activities to build relationships with content creators, channels and influencers.

The longer COVID-19 goes on, the more it affects my mood. I’m an outdoors person, so the virus has made the past year feel like house arrest. With older people more vulnerable, the pandemic really does cause anxiety.

• We will build our knowledge and understanding of our key audiences from individuals who use our corporate partners’ services.

We have grandchildren who live hundreds of miles away, so haven’t seen them for months. We used to see them every week and help look after them. We’re missing them, and they’re missing us. Each grandchild is aged under 10, so we’re also missing out as they learn to walk, talk, hold pens and write letters. And they’re growing up – soon they’ll be teenagers and won’t want to see us.

• We will build positive relationships that deepen engagement and maximise value to both our audiences and Independent Age.

• We will develop compelling and authentic content that can be used across multiple channels that differentiates Independent Age, ensuring content is personalised, impactful and sector leading.

My medical appointments are all over the phone now and I’m very aware that, because of lockdown, there’s a greater reliance on online communication. I can just about manage the basics, but a lot of older people don’t have the technology they need, or don’t know how to use it. Social and community groups have moved online too. That might work for some people but will just add to the isolation others are feeling. Frankly, it’s a poor substitute for face-to-face contact.

• We will maximise digital opportunities by developing our use of digital technology and digital channels, creating and delivering integrated, personalised content that our audiences want, in a way that best suits them – always ensuring we are addressing, not compounding, issues of digital exclusion.

Goal 5

In 2021 we aim to build a financially sustainable organisation that can deliver on our vision and mission for older people, both now and in the future.

• We will create a compelling and balanced fundraising programme that clearly demonstrates our need for voluntary income and the impact that it has, and that motivates people to proactively support the charity.

• We will begin to explore opportunities for both commissioned and earned income to diversify our funding base.

• We will set ambitious but achievable annual plans and budgets that will focus on delivering impact and achieving value for money with every pound we spend.

Babita’s story

• We will build a team of the right shape and size to allow our core expenditure to be funded by our regular income year on year in the medium term.

I ran the London Landmarks Half Marathon last year – and swore I never would again! But then I started volunteering for Independent Age. Seeing what joy a simple visit can bring to an older person made me decide to run it again to raise money.

• We will use the charity’s Future Impact Fund in a time-bound, strategic way to enable us to build our income, strengthen our operations and increase our impact for people in later life.

I started training and fundraising for the event this year but then it was postponed because of the pandemic. I was so disappointed. I decided to go ahead and run locally where I live instead – but it was terrible weather! So, I was delighted to finish and raise more than £400 for Independent Age.

I’ve been a volunteer visitor for around a year and I love it. It takes a while to build rapport with the person you’re visiting but you get to know each other. The lady I visit is lovely and we have a lot in common because she also enjoyed keeping fit when she was younger.

It’s like this very energetic person comes into the house and brightens up the day.

Volunteering is very different to my working life. I reached a stage where I wanted to give something back. I don’t think we do enough for older people. I don’t like to think of anyone on their own and isolated. No one should be lonely.

Andy

22 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 23

Strategy and future plans for 2021–23

Goal 6

In 2021 we aim to be efficient, well run and a great place to work.

• We will embed a new vision for volunteering within Independent Age that offers greater opportunities and support for both existing and new volunteers.

• We will ensure that all our recruitment, onboarding, people management, learning and development is firmly rooted in our values and helps make Independent Age an employer of choice.

• We will design and build a cost-effective workplace environment that supports collaboration, creativity and agile working.

• We will deliver a number of new digital tools and systems to enable all our people to work efficiently and effectively, and to deliver the best impact possible for older people.

• We will affirm our strong commitment to the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion and begin a programme of work to embed those principles in everything we do.

I think I look forward to our chats as much he does.

Katie

Katie’s story

I’ve been talking to Derrick for about two years, as a telephone volunteer. I started after my gran died. She and I always had a weekly phone call, so I wanted to help other older people who didn’t have anyone to talk to.

I trained with Independent Age. When I first called Derek, I was a bit nervous. He was a total stranger, and I was worried about how the conversation would go. I called him with a list of topics to discuss but didn’t know if he’d be ready to talk to me.

But it went really well. He’s so easy to talk to. I knew Derrick had found life terribly difficult after his wife died and many of our phone calls were traumatic at the beginning. I hoped I was helping him a bit, just by listening. Looking back, it’s amazing to think what he was like then and how much he’s changed.

Now we have a good laugh, and our talks are generally upbeat and positive. We know each other so well and one conversation often starts where the last one left off. I think I look forward to our chats as much he does.

Judith’s story

I’ve lived on my own since my husband died from a heart attack in 2006. We’d been married for 44 years. I have a lovely family – I’m a great grandmother – but they live all over the place.

I still miss my husband. I find it very difficult to cope at Christmas. My husband used to wrap the presents and write the cards because I can’t see well enough to do it. Times like that bring people back and make you miss them more.

I used to live where I had more friends, especially one good friend around the corner. I had neighbours who were good to me. There was a network of buses that took you anywhere. I went out most days. But I kept falling because I couldn’t see the last step when I was walking down the stairs, so I moved into a flat and left my friends behind.

But I was so much lonelier here. I was confused about the buses. Things were much harder. One thing that helped was starting to get visits from Independent Age. I saw Michaela for a while, and now I see Sophie. Sophie helps me just by seeing her face and having a chat. Sometimes that’s all it takes to brighten someone’s day.

Of course, then lockdown started. Everything shut. I thought Sophie’s visits were finished.

But then she rang! I still have someone to have a chat with. We talk about how we are and what we’ve done. She’s a laugh and it really helps me. Independent Age has helped me tremendously.

You talk to people who are lonely, or haven’t got friends or neighbours, and that’s a wonderful thing.

24 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 25

Governance structure and management

Governance structure

Legal structure

and management

Independent Age is the operating name of the Royal United Kingdom Beneficent Association (RUKBA) – registered as a charity by the Charity Commission for England and Wales (210729).

Under the guidance of our Chair, Baroness Julia Neuberger, DBE, our Chief Executive, Deborah Alsina, MBE and our trustees, we continue to review and improve our governance in line with the Charity Governance Code, updated in 2020.

The charity was established in 1863 and is incorporated by Royal Charter, which sets out our objects, powers and byelaws.

Our charitable purpose

The latest Supplementary Royal Charter came into force in August 2014. In February 2017 the charity was registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (SC047184).

Our charitable purpose is set out in the Royal Charter 1911 (otherwise known as our charitable objects). It is to assist and provide relief to older people in need by reason of ill health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage. The charity may also assist and provide relief to others in need by reason of ill health, disability, or social or financial hardship. During 2020 the charity’s work included the Campaign to End Loneliness and responsibility for its governance and oversight. The Campaign to End Loneliness transitioned to a new host organisation, the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, on 1 January 2021.

All financial regulations and procedures adopted by the charity must comply with the relevant stipulations of the Royal Charter. These cover matters such as:

• limitation on private benefits for trustees, such as paid employment with the charity

• terms of office

• arrangements for the appointment of external auditors.

I was feeling a bit lonely when I decided to use the Independent Age befriending services. I was matched with two volunteers. Mert and Juliet are now my friends. They have made me feel happier and have given me more of a social life.

Ismael

The Campaign to End Loneliness operated as a directorate within Independent Age during 2020, with a widely drawn Management Committee reflecting the strength of the coalition of likeminded organisations that support its work. The Campaign had no legal identity separate from that of Independent Age and the trustees of Independent Age were legally responsible for the activity of the Campaign during the year. The Campaign to End Loneliness was transitioned to a new host organisation, the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, on 1 January 2021, so is no longer part of Independent Age at the date of signature of this report.

Independent Age is the sole legal member of Counsel and Care for the Elderly, a charitable company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (charity number 203429, company number 00645708). The charity is also responsible for a number of other linked charities, namely the F E Cobbold Trust Fund, Backsettown Endowed Charity and the Wharton & Wittrick Fund.

The charity has a wholly owned trading subsidiary – Independent Age Enterprises Limited (company number 04735201).

The company is used to transact non-charitable activities and has been registered for VAT. The company was dormant in 2020.

The results of Independent Age Enterprises Limited are not consolidated because actual expenditure or financial impact of this subsidiary are immaterial in the context of the charity.

Details of Counsel and Care for the Elderly can be found on the Charity Commission website; a summary of results is shown in Note 20 to the Financial Statements. Summary trading results for Independent Age Enterprises Limited are shown in Note 12 to the Financial Statements.

Our staff

Simon Hewett-Avison, Director of Services

Helping to frame the future direction of our services at Independent Age has rekindled my love and passion for community-based development.

After 157 years delivering traditional services, Independent Age is ready for a little change. So, we’re shifting our thinking and transforming our services to make more of a difference for those people who need us most.

I’m lucky enough to be part of this change, and to see that working with people’s gifts, skills and experience to turn what’s wrong into what’s strong is going to be core to our thinking moving forward.

We want to see our community services driven by individual and community needs, built around local strengths. We want our national services to be holistic and designed to self-empower.

We have a lot to do – but we have an amazing team of staff and volunteers who are motivated and excited to make this change happen.

We have an amazing team of staff and volunteers who are motivated and excited to make this change happen.

26 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 27

Governance structure and management

Governance and Nominations Committee

Our trustees

This committee reviews the structure, size and composition of the Board and its committees, and is responsible for succession planning of trustees. It also makes recommendations to the Board for the appointment of all new trustees and the chief executive.

Our Independent Age Board of Trustees meets regularly and is responsible for overseeing our performance and providing strategic direction.

Richard Anderson (from March 2020)

Lucy Blythe (from March 2020)

Marketing and Supporter Engagement Committee

Karen Byrne

Michael Craston

This newly established committee started to operate in 2021. It is responsible for overseeing the development of Independent Age marketing, communications, profile-raising and supporterengagement activities.

Karl Demian

Vivienne Dews

Prof Martin Green, OBE John Hannaford (Treasurer)

Investment Subcommittee

Simon Inchley Lorraine Lander (from February 2020) Baroness Julia Neuberger, DBE (Chair) Amit Patel Dame Helena Shovelton (until October 2020)

The Investment Subcommittee (ISC) monitors the performance of the charity’s investments and managers and makes recommendations in respect of the investment strategy. The ISC meets at least quarterly.

The Board reviews the terms of reference of all committees and subcommittees annually.

Committees

Trustees are recruited by the Board through an open recruitment and selection process.

At 31 December 2020, the Board had 12 trustees.

Charter Members elect all trustees, except the chair and treasurer, who are elected by the Board of Trustees from their number.

All trustees receive an induction pack and training so they are aware of all key policies and procedures, and they meet with key staff (including directors) soon after they are co-opted to the Board. Trustees are required to abide by our code of conduct, including the declaration of other interests, and fit and proper person assurance.

The Board periodically appoints new Charter Members. The Board met five times in 2020.

As at the date of this report there are four committees and one subcommittee that have delegated authority and report to the Board:

Management

Services and Policy Committee

The Board delegates day-to-day management of the charity to the chief executive and the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). The SLT develops strategies and plans for the Board to scrutinise and approve. The Board subsequently monitors and reports on performance against targets.

The Services and Policy Committee (SPC) provides oversight of Independent Age’s services and policy and influencing activity. The SPC met four times during 2020.

Finance and Resources Committee

The Finance and Resources Committee (FRC) reviews budget and planning proposals and ensures that we have effective arrangements in place to safeguard and manage the charity’s resources. It also oversees our statutory reporting, pensions, internal and external audit, people, organisational development, IT and risk management arrangements. The FRC meets at least quarterly. It has one subcommittee, the Investment Subcommittee.

Remuneration of key management personnel

The trustees consider that the Board of Trustees and the SLT comprise the key management personnel of the charity, in charge of directing and controlling, running and operating the charity on a day-to-day basis.

All trustees give their time freely and no trustee received remuneration in the year. Details of trustees’ expenses and related-party transactions are disclosed in Note 20 to the Financial Statements.

SLT members are remunerated in line with the charity’s pay framework, in the same way as their colleagues.

Remuneration statement

and new pay scales

In August 2020 a new pay framework was introduced to ensure that salary levels are proportionate for a charity of our size.

The framework ensures that all pay decisions are transparent, fair, affordable, align with market rates for the sector, and enable Independent Age to attract and retain talent so that we can effectively deliver our mission.

Every role at Independent Age has been assigned

to one of five levels within our pay framework. We distinguish between roles that are London based and those roles based outside London, with separate pay bands for each. The pay band for each level has been determined using benchmarking data obtained from a salary survey of other charitable and voluntary-sector organisations. We also benchmark against the Living Wage Foundation rates to ensure the salaries for more junior roles are either aligned with or above the London and UK real living wage rates.

Salaries are openly stated in advertisements.

Our Trustees

Lucy Blythe, Trustee

Our new strategy, designed to deliver real results and outcomes for older people, has meant a lot of change and huge dedication, energy and resilience from the staff, especially with the added challenges of the past year. Our team deserves massive respect and thanks. This year, I was particularly impressed by:

• The Board’s decision to launch the Grants Fund rather than compete for funds when smaller charities faced existential threats

• our strategic commitment to improve equity, diversity and inclusion at all levels, and

• new initiatives, such as the Reconnections pilots, that promise significant and sustainable impacts for older people’s lives.

Our new strategy… has meant a lot of change and huge dedication, energy and resilience from the staff, especially with the added challenges of the last year.

28 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 29

Governance structure and management

We do not operate any performance-related pay and we do not have a bonus scheme. We do not apply any automatic increments to staff salaries. Annual pay awards are not guaranteed, and the Board of Trustees considers affordability in determining whether any annual award should be paid.

Volunteers

We have a network of nearly 2,000 committed volunteers across the UK, in roles from befriending to campaigning.

In 2020 our volunteers stepped up to make thousands of phone calls to people, offering support and friendship through a challenging year.

The introduction of the framework coincided with our reorganisation of the charity in the second half of 2020, which resulted in a flatter structure with fewer levels of management. When introducing the new framework, changes were not made to the salaries of existing staff (apart from a small number of staff whose rates of pay fell below the new salary level for their role), but all new appointments since August 2020 have been made in accordance with the pay framework. The table below details the number of employees with a basic salary of more than £60,000 as at 1 January 2021 compared with 1 January 2020.

We also introduced phone coffee mornings, making sure that older people could remotely interact with others and discuss a range of topics together. We’re now delivering 30 phone coffee mornings each week, giving 141 participants the opportunity to interact with each other.

We also trained and recruited 53 volunteers from our corporate partners who, over at least 12 weeks, made regular calls to people with whom they were matched, offering companionship during a difficult time.

Our volunteers made all the difference this year, responding to an ever-changing situation to make sure the people who use our services felt supported and heard. We simply couldn’t have the impact we do as an organisation without them.

1 January 2020.
	1 January 2021	1 January 2020	1 January 2020	1 January 2020
£60,001–£70,000	4			12
£70,001–£80,000	1			3
£80,001–£90,000	6			5
£90,001–£100,000	-			1
£100,001–£110,000 Total	1 12			1 22

Fundraising

In 2020 we generated £4.3 million in voluntary income and invested £2.1 million in our fundraising activity. This provided an overall return on investment ratio of 1.79:1.

The new organisational structure and pay framework are part of our commitment to using our resources wisely so we can increase the impact of our work with and for older people, and to building a strong and sustainable financial future.

This result exceeded our budget and was delivered in spite of a revised plan in response to the pandemic, which meant that budgeted fundraising expenditure was reduced while we took stock and planned new activities.

As part of our focus on equity, diversity and inclusion, we are committed to undertaking pay-gap reporting in the future.

Our fundraising programme is relatively immature, with several new income streams recently launched or planned for 2021. Return on investment is therefore expected to improve as the programme matures, our efficiency increases and our supporter base and profile grow.

We will continue to monitor results and review our fundraising strategy and other sources of income to ensure that we can continue to support older people through the pandemic and for years to come.

Thank you

We are immensely grateful to everyone who has supported us over the past year.

• Thousands supported us through a regular monthly gift, a cash gift or a gift in their will, including legacy donations of £865,000.

• We received exceptional support from the Pension Insurance Corporation as their Charity of the Year, including a £250,000 contribution to the Independent Age Grants Fund, as well as continued generous support from existing partners, including 3i, Fittleworth, Boundless and Barclays, and new partners Blackrock and Ikano Insight. We enjoyed the support of 10 corporate partners in 2020 and received donation from 22 different businesses in total.

• We continued to benefit from the support of several trusts and foundations, including The Scheinberg Relief Fund, which generously contributed £500,000 to the Independent Age Grants Fund, and John Laing Charitable Trust, which has donated £150,000 over three years towards our Reconnections programme, and The Mercers’ Company who donated £50,000 to support the Campaign To End Loneliness.

Our staff

Morgan Vine, Head of Policy and Influencing

Thanks to working at Independent Age, I have the privilege of listening to people from all walks of life about the challenges they experience day to day. They share the impact of broken systems and what they think could help improve their situation.

I’m proud that I get to use this insight and evidence throughout my work in policy and influencing to grab the attention of decision makers and secure improvement to the systems that so many of us rely on as we age.

I have the privilege of listening to people from all walks of life about the challenges they experience day to day.

30 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 31

Governance structure and management

Our approach to fundraising

How we monitor fundraising activity

Independent Age and its agencies’ monitoring guidelines include:

Independent Age is committed to following best practice and complies with all fundraising regulations. We subscribe to all relevant fundraising regulatory bodies, including the Fundraising Regulator, the Lotteries Council, the Institute of Fundraising and the Information Commissioner’s Office. All our partner agencies adhere to their relevant regulations.

• regular meetings

• monitoring of performance, risk and complaints

• training

• observing and shadowing

• keeping senior management and trustees informed of performance

We work with a number of specialist partner agencies and suppliers to enable us to deliver our fundraising offer. These specialist partnerships are essential to raising income to fund our vital work with older people. These agencies include:

• regular consultation with other charities and regulatory bodies

• due diligence and data protection clauses in contracts.

Campfire Marketing

We work with Campfire on the strategic delivery of our individual giving and legacy giving campaigns.

Complaints

We received 16 complaints in 2020 (0.0005% of the total number of members of the public approached over the year), compared to 61 complaints in 2019. All complaints were resolved. We ensure that we learn from all complaints and use them to improve our practice.

Smile Fundraising, REAL Fundraising, Gilcore These face-to-face agencies work with us on our direct dialogue fundraising campaigns. In 2020 they helped us recruit 1,290 new regular donors before activity was cancelled due to the pandemic.

All our partner agencies that communicate with new or existing supporters are required to adhere to our procedures for communicating with vulnerable supporters and/or have their own procedures in place. Before working with any partner, we review their policy and attend all fundraiser training that includes communicating with vulnerable people.

Woods Valldata

This agency supports the delivery of our individual giving campaigns and is our licensed external lottery manager.

We always respect the privacy of supporters and potential supporters. We adhere to the EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and, from January 2021, the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 and our privacy policy is available at independentage.org/our-privacyand-cookies-policy.

Receiving the newsletters and packs from you were lifelines to the outside world during COVID-19 while nursing my husband.

Christina’s story

We’re living in strange and unexpected times. But I love the way people have pulled together, helping each other, celebrating the wonderful work carried out by people in our society who are often overlooked.

For me, the pandemic feels like an opportunity to share everything we have in common, even if that’s from a distance. And one of the best ways we can do this is by listening.

I’m a telephone volunteer for Independent Age, so I know what an important and vital thing it is to listen well. Checking up on people, giving them the opportunity to talk and to feel truly heard can make such a difference.

During the pandemic I’ve been able to expand my role as a volunteer. Usually, I call my gentleman once a week, at the same time on the same day. Now I’m calling him far more. We talk together about how we feel about the daily news updates and the statistics. Neither of us forgets that each number represents a human life and a family.

We talk about not being able to see our families – the loneliness this can bring and the feelings of relief that our loved ones are taking care of themselves. We cheer each

other up about positive stories we’ve heard. There’s never been a more important time to share something funny and have a smile on your face.

It’s so important for people to know that even if we can’t see each other face to face, we can still be in contact. We can learn and listen and nurture each other.

This is the time to remember how important listening is. Listening well brings trust and understanding. It shows someone you care. And one way to do that is to pick up the phone.

I know what an important and vital thing it is to listen well.

Anonymous

32 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 33

Managing risk

We have a risk management process that allows the Board to monitor and manage risks to the charity, which, in outline, is as follows:

• preventable risks, managed through the operating risk register

• strategic risks, considered as part of the planning and budgeting process, the key themes of which are set out below

• external risks, primarily considered through the strategic planning and budgeting processes by considering potential scenarios.

The following commentary outlines the strategic risks that, in brief, are those risks that could prevent us from achieving the impact we want: for example, if our delivery is ineffective or the organisation becomes unsustainable through poor use of resources or reputational damage.

Strategy and leadership

To be impactful, the charity needs to have a clear strategic focus and objectives. This is achieved through setting a strategic framework, multi-year business planning and the annual planning and budget cycle.

People and culture

Everything we do is dependent on our staff and volunteers and is for the benefit of older people. We invest in training our people, use staff engagement surveys, and monitor turnover and sickness to help ensure we retain and develop our people. We ensure our delivery is safe through the implementation of safeguarding and whistleblowing policies, procedures and compulsory training, plus effective management of our staff and volunteers.

Financial sustainability

Our financial resources need to be invested and managed in a way that allows us to maximise impact while remaining financially sustainable for the future. This risk is managed through our reserves and investment policies, and financial planning and reporting processes. Trustees exercise close oversight in these areas through the work of the Finance and Resources Committee and the Investment Sub-Committee, with regular reporting to the Board.

Compliance and infrastructure

We must meet our regulatory obligations in a broad and fast-changing landscape to steward our assets responsibly and protect everyone who interacts with us. We do this by investing in our business systems, policies and procedures, and reviewing them regularly to ensure they remain fit for purpose.

External environment

Our external environment is volatile, complex and uncertain – and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. The COVID-19 pandemic had a material and unexpected effect on all our work in 2020; factors such as Brexit and the US elections were also influential.

To remain impactful against this backdrop, we need a keen focus on what’s happening in the areas we work and agile decision-making processes that let us plan and react quickly to change. We achieve this through clear delegation of authority to the SLT, regular meetings of the Board and its committees, incident response teams that focus on specific issues, frequent financial re-forecasts and evaluations of the difference our work is making, and regular ‘horizon scanning’ work.

Our partners

Tracy Blackwell, Chief Executive Officer, Pension Insurance Corporation

As an organisation, our purpose is to pay the pensions of our current and future policyholders, many of whom are retired.

That is why, with the COVID-19 pandemic proving so devastating for older people, we were proud to donate £250,000 towards Independent Age’s Grants Fund, enabling small- and medium-sized charities to help the most isolated older people in society. It was also heartening that our employees, who volunteer as befrienders, have continued supporting lonely older people in the UK throughout the pandemic.

We continued our employee fundraising, with our Pledge Month in July proving to be incredibly successful, with employees taking on a range of pledges, from yoga classes to going vegan.

We are proud of our partnership with Independent Age and look forward to building on the success we have already had, so that more older people can get the help and support they need.

Elaine visited a couple of times and then moved to telephone calls because of coronavirus. We have been talking now for about a year. We understand each other and it has been wonderful.

Carol

We are proud of our partnership with Independent Age.

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 35

34 Independent Age

Financial review

Results for 2020

The Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities on page 48 sets out the financial results as required by the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (Financial Reporting Standard 102). Overall, the year saw an £8.3 million reduction in reserves, primarily as a result of planned spending on our services and policy work and the launch of our new Grants Fund.

Net voluntary income

Our net voluntary income position reflects the continuing investment in our long-term fundraising strategy. While in 2020 we have benefited from the investment in new fundraising programmes made in the past few years, the impact of COVID-19 led to the cessation of community events and the suspension of our face-to-face fundraising activities from March. However, we have continued to raise funds from the general public through different routes, and have received many generous contributions towards our Grants Fund to support charities working with older people at greatest risk from COVID-19, all contributing to a strong performance for net voluntary income in the year.

We continue to invest heavily in our long-term fundraising strategy, laying the foundations for a post-pandemic sustainable positive return on investment.

In 2020 our legacy income decreased slightly by 5% while voluntary income from other sources grew by 28% (please see table below for further analysis).

	analysis).
		2020 £000 2019 £000
	Donations	1,566 1,551
	Grants	1,682 918
	Legacies	865 909
	Events and lotteries	179 199
	Cost of raising voluntary income Other income Net voluntary income	4,292 3,577 2,060 3,397 69 33 2,301 213

Expenditure on charitable activities

2020 saw a small decrease in expenditure on charitable activities of 5% from £14.9 million in 2019 to £14.2 million, as we adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic and developed our new strategy. Our 2021–23 strategy focuses on achieving long-term financial sustainability by building an organisation of the right shape and size to have the impact we want, and ensuring we achieve value for money with every pound we spend. We began work on this in 2020, introducing a new pay framework and undertaking a major restructuring, while also committing £2.5 million to set up a Grants Fund to support smaller charities working with older people at greatest risk from COVID-19. Our charitable expenditure accounted for 86p of every £1 of spending in 2020, compared with 80p in 2019, and our continued focus on funding our front line services and policy work to make a difference for older people.

Reserves (£ millions)

----- Start of picture text -----
200
150
100
50
2020 2019
0
Endowed (non- General fund
expendable) Expendable
and related restricted funds
designated funds Future Impact Fund
Other non-
expendable funds
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Total funds decreased by £8.3 million in the year, reflecting our continued funding of charitable activities from the Future Impact Fund while also investing in growing our long-term sustainable income. The general reserve, which is maintained at a level equivalent to one year’s unfunded budgeted expenditure, has decreased by £2.2 million to reflect planned budgets for 2021, and that has offset some of the reduction in the Future Impact Fund in the year. We will continue to invest these funds in growing impact in the coming years as we implement our 2021–23 strategy.

Investment income and capital gains and losses

2020 was a highly turbulent year for investment markets as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and other geopolitical factors, such as Brexit and the US election. During 2019 the charity continued to target an average total return (including both income and capital) on the whole non-cash portfolio of 3.9% per annum above inflation (measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI)) over rolling periods of five years. We reviewed this target during 2020 and agreed to reduce it to an average of 3.5% per annum above inflation to reflect the Board’s view of achievable risk-adjusted returns, given organisational risk appetite. Based on opening non-cash investments of £153.3 million, we would therefore have expected on average to generate a total return of around £7.5 million in 2020. Our investment portfolio instead delivered a total return of £4.1 million (£3.8 million including costs). The trustees regard this as acceptable inyear performance under the circumstances, and remain focused on our five-year rolling average benchmark, which at the end of December 2020 stood at 6.3% per annum.

Reserves policy

Independent Age sets its reserves policy using a free reserves approach. Free reserves are the total reserves available less those either endowed or restricted, and also those designated by trustees for a specific purpose. Independent Age reviews its free reserves policy annually, taking into consideration the major risks faced by the charity, their likely impact on income and planned expenditure, and an assessment of possible actions to mitigate those risks.

I am so thankful for your calls. For people who are isolated and lonely, the isolation feels like torture sometimes, and talking to someone helps. Even 15 minutes of talking to other people makes a difference.

Anonymous

36 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 37

Financial review

Endowment funds

These are permanent endowments and trustees have elected to maintain their capital value in real terms; the CPI has been adopted as the benchmark. With the exception of funds that are associated with specific properties, the capital on these funds is invested to provide income for charitable activities. The trustees have adopted a Total Return Investment policy in accordance with the Charity Commission regulations, so that both capital gains and income from investments can be applied to income. Any investment gains and income above CPI are transferred to the Unapplied Total Return Fund and then used to fund expenditure in the current year or immediate future. The investment policy aims to provide a return of 3.5% per annum above CPI on a rolling five-year basis over the long term. Should any year experience a negative return, a negative balance will be held in the Unapplied Total Return Fund until such time as future returns on the investments eliminate the negative balance.

Restricted reserves

These are funds the charity will spend on activities specified by the restrictions of the fund. Restricted funds are invested until such time as they are utilised and any capital gains or income are allocated to the fund.

Unrestricted reserves

These are funds where trustees have discretion over how they are used to further the charity’s objects. In accordance with the Charity Commission guidance, some of these funds have been designated to mitigate the charity’s financial risks and also to indicate which reserves are held in property and fixed assets and are therefore not available as ‘free’ reserves. The designations the trustees have made are as follows:

The Endowment Funded Activity

Protection Fund

There is a risk that the endowed investments will generate short-term negative returns while still remaining on target to meet the rolling fiveyear benchmark set by the trustees. This could result in charitable activity being underfunded, potentially for a number of years, as a result of market volatility. Having taken professional advice, which included modelling the impact of previous falls in markets and the Value at Risk of the investment portfolio, the trustees have designated a fund equivalent to 35% of endowments to mitigate this risk. This fund may be used to cover the gap in funding charitable activities until any deficit arising on the Unapplied Total Return Fund is eliminated.

General Fund

Having reviewed the risks to the charity, the trustees have designated a general fund equivalent to one year’s unrestricted charitable expenditure (other than the amount funded by the endowments and protected by the reserve above) to protect the activity of the charity. The trustees consider that this is sufficient to fund short-term falls in income or increases in expenditure due to unforeseen circumstances, while protecting the work funded in future years by the Future Impact Fund.

Tangible and Intangible Fixed Assets Fund and Investment Property Fund

The purpose of these designated funds is to indicate reserves that are not available for expenditure because they are related to property or other capital assets. It is the intention of the charity to realise the value of the investment properties where possible, once the obligations to current tenants have been met in full.

Future Impact Fund

Having set aside amounts to manage the financial risks of the charity, the balance of unrestricted reserves has been designated as the Future Impact Fund to be utilised in the near to medium term to increase our impact.

More detail on the funds is contained in Notes 18 and 19 to the Financial Statements.

Investment policy

Our investment policy provides the framework for the trustees to manage the investment assets of the charity. This policy reflects both the current level of investments as well as the charity’s aspiration to utilise unrestricted funds held in the Future Impact Fund to increase our impact.

The charity utilised £5.8 million of investment capital to fund activities during the year. This, combined with the volatile performance in investment markets, took the total value of our investments from £172.5 million at 31 December 2019 to £165.1 million at 31 December 2020. The composition of the investment portfolio at 31 December 2020 is set out in Note 12 to the Financial Statements.

During the year the Investment Subcommittee focused on close monitoring of fund managers’ performance and investment style in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and other geopolitical events. Also, £4 million was transferred from the Multi-Asset Credit Fund to the BlackRock Fund to maintain a balance of between 12 and 18 months of operational cash flow requirements in quoted liquid funds, in line with our investment strategy. This approach is designed to minimise the risk of liquidating assets at an undervalue when markets fall and has proven its worth during 2020.

The trustees believe that it is their duty to ensure that the charity’s investment policy and decisions are designed to achieve the best return that is consistent with an acceptable level of risk. The charity requires its investment managers to manage our investments in a responsible manner and to maintain an active voting policy on behalf of the charity whenever possible. We are conducting a review of our approach to responsible investment during 2021 to ensure we are stewarding our investments with the best interests of older people in mind, and anticipate that some changes to our investment policy may be agreed as a result.

Our staff

Rahma Ali, Virtual Events Coordinator

Independent Age is a great place to work because they encourage and foster creativity in the workplace.

I am most proud of the work I did that involved setting up our virtual groups. We initially set up the groups in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to combat loneliness and isolation, by connecting older people to their peers over the phone.

Now, a year on, new and blossoming friendships have been forged for life. I have realised that the groups are a vital space to create community, learning and laughter and so, over the next few months, I look forward to embarking on an exciting adventure, reviewing our groups and deciding the next steps to reach more older people who might benefit from this kind of connection.

I am most proud of the work I did that involved setting up our virtual groups.

38 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 39

Financial review

Grant-making policy

We established the Independent Age Grants Fund during 2020 to support small- and mediumsized charities working with older people. We awarded grants of between £5,000 and £15,000 in unrestricted funding to charities with income of less than £1 million who were working with older people and responding to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications were encouraged from a wide range of organisations and reviewed by specialist assessors before being recommended for funding. Final funding decisions were made by a panel made up of Independent Age staff, our chief executive and one of our trustees. We awarded a total of £2.3 million across 203 organisations in 2020, and have contributed towards a range of activities from food and prescription deliveries to befriending and arts-based group activities. Based on information collected through the application forms, we estimate that the organisations funded to date are in touch with more than 180,000 older people.

We are looking to build the relationships with as many of these organisations as possible for the longer term, using our in-house expertise and experience to benefit a wider group of older people.

We also continue to make regular grant payments directly to older people, although we no longer accept new applications for direct support. We paid out £1.1 million (2019: £1 million) to more than 1,000 older people in 2020 as part of this programme.

Disclosure of information to auditors

The trustees in office at the date of approval of this Trustees’ Annual Report confirm that, so far as they are each aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the charity’s auditors are unaware and each trustee has taken all the steps they ought to have taken as a trustee to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity’s auditors are aware of the information.

Public benefit

The public benefit of the charity is set out in our mission to enable older people to stay independent and live well with dignity, choice and purpose. Our work benefits thousands of older people – and their families and carers – across the UK. Our helpline and information resources also benefit those who work with older people. All our services are free and without restriction, although our community services are specifically provided for older people who are lonely or isolated. In setting our objectives and planning activities for the year, the Board of Trustees confirms that it has considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and considers that Independent Age clearly satisfies the public benefit test.

True and fair view

The financial statements have been prepared to give a ‘true and fair view’ and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a ‘true and fair view’. This departure has involved following the Statement of Recommended Practice (Charities SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102 amended in October 2019, rather than the Charities SORP effective from 1 April 2005, which has since been withdrawn.

Our Grants Fund at work

We are deeply grateful to Independent Age for recognising how important and impactful our work is for older neighbours at such a disruptive and uniquely disconnecting time.

The grant has supported the older people’s group to improve their social capital, increase mutual aid, reduce their isolation and give them hope of receiving support available in the community.

African French Speaking Community North London Cares Support, Birmingham

It is so important for charities to be in receipt of this type of funding, as this privilege allows us to us to be flexible in our approach to allocating the funding where it is most needed.

Eric Liddell Centre, Edinburgh

We are very grateful to you at Independent Age for having faith in us to deliver this project. Rubicon Dance, Cardiff

40 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 41

Statement of trustees’ responsibilities

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). The law, applicable to charities in England and Wales and Scotland, requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and the group, and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently

• observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP (FRS 102)

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the transactions of the charity and the group, and disclose with reasonable accuracy, at any time, the financial position of the charity and the group and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and the provisions of the Royal Charter. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and the group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Approved by the Board of Trustees on 22 July 2021 and signed on its behalf by:

• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent

Irene’s story

Irene Fleming, from south London, has been writing poems since she was a teenager – and has just had her first book published, at the age of 80.

She says, “I’ve been writing for so many years and was trying for so long to get something published. I expected it would never happen.”

Irene’s book, The Rainbow, is now available on Amazon. She says this is in part thanks to Lulu, her volunteer from Independent Age.

“Lulu was the person who helped me put the book together. She is an inspiration. She’s so positive and lively – I’ve never met anybody like her. She’s brought something different to my life,” says Irene.

Irene contacted Independent Age because she was forced to move house and needed extra company.

“I didn’t want to move to where I live now, but I had to because the last place was shut down. I have fewer friends here and I felt more isolated. Lulu has helped me feel positive again.”

She adds, “I’ve always found that writing comes from me instinctively. I’m amazed that people like my book. It’s wonderful to be able to share the poems with other people.”

Dr Lulu Le Vay, who visits Irene, says, “Writing is something that is really natural to me as I’m an author, teacher and journalist, so it made total sense for Irene and me to work together on a project.”

Lulu recommends volunteering for Independent Age.

“It’s not easy finding the time to volunteer but, when I do, and I can see the impact my visit has made, I know it’s totally worth it. The least I can do is give a small piece of my time to someone who doesn’t have access to the things I have.”

I’ve always found that writing comes from me instinctively.

• state whether applicable United Kingdom accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements

Baroness Neuberger, DBE Chair of the Board of Trustees

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

Independent Age gave the me chance to meet wonderful people with an amazing culture, who send me with nostalgia back to their past life. Otilia

42 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 43

Independent auditor’s report

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Independent Age (the ‘parent charity’) for the year ended 31 December 2020 which comprise the comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, the Group and Charity Balance Sheets, the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows and Notes to the Financial Statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and parent charity’s affairs as at 31 December 2020, and of the group’s incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;

• have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulations 6 and 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s Responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report.

We are independent of the group and parent charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. Our evaluation of the Trustees’ assessment of the entity’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting included critical reviews of budgets and forecasts provided.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The Trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 or the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the Trustees’ report, or

• sufficient or proper accounting records have not been kept, or

• the parent charity’s financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records, or

• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ responsibilities statement included in the Trustees’ Annual Report, the Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the group’s and parent charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 154 of the Charities Act 2011 and under section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and report in accordance with regulations made under those Acts.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The specific procedures for this engagement and the extent to which these are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

• Obtaining an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that the entity operates in, focusing on those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on the financial statements;

• Enquiry of management to identify any instances of known or suspected instances of fraud;

• Enquiry of management and those charged with governance around actual and potential litigation and claims;

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 45

44 Independent Age

Independent auditor’s report

• Enquiry of management about any instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations;

• Reviewing the control systems in place and testing the effectiveness of the controls;

• Performing audit work over the risk of management override of controls, including testing of journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness, evaluating the business rationale of significant transactions outside the normal course of business and reviewing accounting estimates for bias.

• Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;

• Reviewing financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/Our-Work/Audit/ Audit-and-assurance/Standards-and-guidance/ Standards-and-guidance-for-auditors/Auditorsresponsibilities-for-audit/Description-of-auditorsresponsibilities-for-audit.aspx. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of this report

This report is made solely to the charity’s Trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and Regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity’s Trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s Trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report or for the opinions we have formed.

MHA MacIntyre Hudson

Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors 6th Floor 2 London Wall Place London EC2Y 5AU

Date: 2 August 2021

MHA MacIntyre Hudson is eligible to act as an auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

Aileen’s story

Becoming a telephone befriender came about when I was telling a friend how I wanted to volunteer to visit elderly people in their homes but, because we like to go on long holidays, it just wouldn’t be possible to maintain regular contact with anyone.

That’s when she told me that Independent Age does telephone befriending, as well as face-toface visits. What a great idea – you can phone someone from practically anywhere in the world these days!

I got in touch with Independent Age, who were happy to consider me as a telephone volunteer. I filled in the forms and completed the online training course, which ensures the people they help are properly treated and protected – and same for the volunteers.

I was paired with a delightful lady who, at 94, pretty much looked after herself. She cooked her own meals every night. Her son shopped for her and dropped in to see her – but, for people living on their own, the chance to talk to someone other than family offers them wider conversation and something different to look forward to.

Then I added a lady in Yorkshire, who is only a little older than me but whose health isn’t good. It made me realise how lucky I am to

have good health. I ring her every week. And then I was asked to take on another befriending call – a gentleman this time. Even with my lack of interest in cricket and football, he and I pass the time of day together very well.

Telephone befriending has brought me a huge sense of satisfaction. I’ve always enjoyed the company of older people because they have such knowledge and experience of life. I’m not sure who benefits most from the phone calls – they certainly cheer me up!

Telephone befriending has brought me a huge sense of satisfaction.

46 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 47

Financial statements

A lot of people don’t think an old person is somebody. Valda

48 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 49

Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities

for the year ended 31 December 2020

		Unrestricted	Restricted	Endowed	Year to 31 December 2020 Year to 31 December 2019 Endowed Total Total
	Notes	funds	funds	funds	funds funds
		£000	£000	£000	£000 £000
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies	2	2,381	1,732	-	- 4,113 3,378
Other trading activities		124	55	-	- 179 199
Investment income	3	1,939	328	2,057	2,057 4,324 5,486
Other income		69	-	-	- 69 33
Total income and endowments		4,513	2,115	2,057	2,057 8,685 9,096
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Raising voluntary income	4	2,060	-	-	- 2,060 3,397
Investment and property management		188	18	68	68 274 222
Total cost of raising funds		2,248	18	68	68 2,334 3,619
Charitable activities
National services	4	1,631	2,132	-	- 3,763 5,394
Community services	4	1,995	1,897	-	- 3,892 4,810
Policy and influencing	4	2,375	921	-	- 3,296 4,666
Grant-making	4, 5, 16	2,883	394	-	- 3,277 17
Total cost of charitable activities		8,884	5,344	-	- 14,228 14,887
Total expenditure		11,132	5,362	68	68 16,562 18,506
Operating (deficit)/surplus		(6,619)	(3,247)	1,989	1,989 (7,877) (9,410)
(Losses)/gains on investment assets	12	972	(66)	(1,116)	(210) 14,205
Net (expenditure)/income		(5,647)	(3,313)	873	873 (8,087) 4,795
Transfers between funds	18	(380)	273	107	107 - -
Other recognised (losses)/gains
Actuarial loss on defined benefit
Pension scheme	17	(177)	-	-	- (177) (465)
Net movement in funds		(6,204)	(3,040)	980	980 (8,264) 4,330
Fund balances brought forward at 1 January		99,794	15,471	59,168	59,168 174,433 170,103
Fund balances carried forward at	18	93,590	12,431	60,148	60,148 166,169 174,433
31 December

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There are no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Notes 1 to 24 form part of the financial statements.

Group and Charity Balance Sheets

as at 31 December 2020

	Group Group Charity	Charity Charity
	2020 2019 2020	2019
	Total Total Total	Total Total
	Notes funds funds funds	funds funds
	£000 £000 £000	£000
Fixed assets
Tangible assets	9 1,920 2,042 1,920	1,920 2,042
Intangible assets	10 41 70 41	41 70
Investment properties	11 2,270 2,300 2,270	2,270 2,300
Investments	12 165,101 172,543 165,101	165,101 172,543
Concessionary loans	13 78 89 78	78 89
Total fixed assets	169,410 177,044 169,410	169,410 177,044
Current assets
Debtors	14 1,183 1,609 1,183	1,183 1,558
Cash at bank and in hand	2,140 3,701 2,067	2,067 3,641
Total current assets	3,323 5,310 3,250	3,250 5,199
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	15 (1,380) (2,202) (1,380)	(2,202)
Net current assets	1,942 3,108 1,870	1,870 2,997
Total assets less current liabilities	171,352 180,152 171,280	171,280 180,041
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year	16 (5,297) (6,001) (5,297)	(6,001)
Net assets excluding pension liability	166,055 174,151 165,982	165,982 174,040
Defined benefit pension asset	17 114 282 114	114 282
Net assets including pension liability	166,169 174,433 166,096	166,096 174,322
The funds of the charity	18
Endowed funds	60,148 59,168 60,148	60,148 59,168
Restricted funds	12,431 15,471 12,431	12,431 15,471
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds	83,995 87,965 83,995	83,995 87,965
General fund	9,595 11,829 9,522	9,522 11,718
Total unrestricted funds	93,590 99,794 93,517	93,517 99,683
Total charity funds	166,169 174,433 166,096	166,096 174,322

Approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 22 July 2021 and signed on their behalf by:

Baroness Neuberger, DBE, Chair

Notes 1 to 24 form part of the financial statements.

50 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 51

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

for the year ended 31 December 2020

		2020	2019
	Notes	£000	£000
Net cash outfow from operating activites	21
Net cash used in operating activites		(13,105)	(14,645)
Cash fow from investing activities
Payments to acquire tangible fxed assets	9	-	(14)
Payments to acquire intangible fxed assets	9	(51)	-
Receipts from sale of tangible fxed assets		1	-
Net proceeds on disposal of property held for sale		1	722
Payments to acquire investments	12	(15,935)	(33,000)
Net proceeds on disposal of investment property		270	-
Loan repayments received		10	-
Receipts from sales of investments and cash transfers		22,924	43,591
Interest received	3	3	6
Dividends received	3	4,262	5,421
Rents received from investment properties	3	59	59
Net cash fow from investment activities		11,544	16,785
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents		(1,561)	2,140
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January		3,701	1,561
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December		2,140	3,701
		2020	2019
		£000	£000
Cash and cash equivalents		2,140	3,701

Cash and cash equivalents includes £153,000 (£556,000 in 2019) of funds held in respect of the Campaign to End Loneliness.

Notes 1 to 24 form part of the financial statements.

Notes to the Financial Statements

for the year ended 31 December 2020

The Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities and Group Balance Sheet do not include Independent Age Enterprises Limited (IAE Ltd) – a limited company (04735201). For the purposes of the financial statements, Independent Age is deemed to control 100% of IAE Ltd being its sole shareholder. However, actual income and expenditure or financial impact of this subsidiary are immaterial in the context of the charity, therefore its results are not consolidated. Summary trading results for IAE Ltd are shown in Note 12.

1. Accounting policies

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows.

a) Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain items at fair value. The going concern basis has been adopted as, having considered the risks and uncertainties to which the charity is exposed, and the current strong reserves position, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that Independent Age will continue in operation for the foreseeable future and meet its liabilities as they fall due. The statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (Charities SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (updated in October 2019) – Charities SORP FRS 102, and the Charities Act 2011.

The net movement of funds of Independent Age, the charity, was -£8,225,000 (£4,325,000 in 2019).

The charity has been entered on the Scottish Charity Register (SC047184) since 17 February 2017.

Independent Age meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s). The accounts are presented in pounds and rounded to the nearest thousand.

The financial statements have been prepared to give a ‘true and fair view’ and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a ‘true and fair view’. This departure has involved following the Charities SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102 updated in October 2019, rather than the Charities SORP effective from 1 April 2005, which has since been withdrawn.

b) Fund accounting

Independent Age has a number of discrete funds that are grouped by type as shown below:

Endowed funds

These are funds normally arising as a result of a will that contained restrictions on the retention of the capital value and disposal of any income.

The General Endowment Fund was created by the Supplementary Royal Charter, which came into effect on 1 August 2014.

The Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities and Group Balance Sheet consolidate the financial statements of Independent Age and Counsel and Care for the Elderly (Counsel and Care) – a registered charity (203429) and a limited company (645708). For the purpose of the financial statements, Independent Age is deemed to control 100% of Counsel and Care because it is the sole legal member. The results of Counsel and Care are consolidated on a line-by-line basis. The income, expenditure and funds of Counsel and Care can be seen in Note 18 and a summary of results is shown in Note 20.

Independent Age is the Managing Trustee of the F E Cobbold Trust Fund, Backsettown Endowed Charity and Wharton & Wittrick Fund. As such, the Board of Trustees considers and approves resolutions specific to these funds as appropriate.

As shown in Note 1 c) below, the trustees are required to maintain the capital of these funds, but they may choose to spend some or all of the Unapplied Total Return Fund – see Note 18.

52 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 53

Restricted funds

These are funds that can be spent, at the discretion of the trustees, on particular restricted purposes within the objects of Independent Age. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor, as modified by any Charity Commission scheme, or when funds are raised for particular purposes.

Additionally, where assets have been transferred to Independent Age under Charity Commission schemes, and there are restrictions as to the use of the sums transferred, these are treated as restricted funds.

Unrestricted funds

These are funds that can be spent in accordance with Independent Age’s objects at the discretion of the trustees.

Designated funds

Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes.

General Fund

This fund represents the charity’s free reserves, equivalent to one year’s charitable expenditure, other than the amount funded by the endowment funds, to protect the planned activity of the charity from unforeseen shortfalls in income or unplanned additional costs.

More details of the charity’s funds are disclosed in Note 18.

c) Total Return Accounting

Independent Age adopted Total Return Accounting for its permanent endowed funds with effect from 1 January 2015. This adoption is permitted for the General Endowment Fund by virtue of the Byelaws to the Supplementary Royal Charter 2014 and for the other permanent endowed funds through the resolutions relating to the other funds passed by the Board of Trustees in December 2014.

The trustees have chosen to maintain the capital of the permanent endowed funds in real terms by making a transfer from the Unapplied Total Return Fund equal to the increase in Consumer Prices Index (CPI) from the base point to the Balance Sheet date. Any amounts remaining after this transfer in the Unapplied Total Return Fund will be applied to income funds or retained as the trustees see fit. Any income funds not disbursed in the financial year are retained as Unapplied Total Return. Should any year experience a negative return, a negative balance will be held in the Unapplied Total Return Fund until such time as future returns on the investments eliminate it.

d) Income recognition

All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.

The following specific policies apply to categories of income:

Donations are recognised when the charity has been notified in writing of both the amount and settlement date or on a receipts basis if earlier. In the event that a donation is subject to conditions that require a level of performance before the charity is entitled to the funds, the income is deferred and not recognised until either those conditions are fully met, or the fulfilment of those conditions is wholly within the control of the charity and it is probable that those conditions will be fulfilled in the reporting period.

Income from government and other grants is recognised at fair value when the charity has entitlement after any performance conditions have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. If entitlement is not met, then these amounts are deferred.

Legacy gifts are recognised on a case-by-case basis following the granting of probate and when sufficient information has been received to judge the receipt of income as probable. In the event that the gift is in the form of an asset other than cash or a financial asset traded on a recognised stock exchange, recognition is subject to the value of the gift being reliably measurable with a degree of reasonable accuracy. Reversionary legacies are not recognised during the lifetime of the original beneficiary under the will.

Gifts in kind and donated services are included at the value to the charity where this can be quantified. An equivalent amount is recognised in costs. The value placed on them is the value to the charity (that is, the price the charity would have paid on the open market). No amounts are included in the financial statements for services donated by volunteers.

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally on notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank. Dividends are recognised once the dividend has been declared and notification has been received of the dividend due. This is normally on notification by our investment adviser of the dividend yield of the investment portfolio. This also applies to returns on accumulation units held in pooled funds, which are reinvested by default.

Where it is not practicable to identify investment management costs incurred within a scheme with reasonable accuracy, the investment income is reported net of these costs. It is included within cost of raising funds when the amount can be measured reliably.

e) Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis inclusive of any VAT. The charity is not registered for VAT so is unable to recover any of the tax paid, therefore costs include VAT where applicable.

Grant payments are recognised as expenditure when the conditions for their payment have been met or where there is a constructive obligation to make a payment. A constructive obligation arises when:

• the charity has communicated its intention to award a grant to a recipient who then has a reasonable expectation that they will receive a grant, or

• the charity has made a public announcement about a commitment that is specific enough for the recipient to have a reasonable expectation that they will receive a grant.

Grants are not usually awarded with conditions attached. However, when they are then those conditions have to be met before the liability is recognised.

Where an intention has not been communicated, then no expenditure is recognised, but an appropriate designation may be made in the appropriate fund. If a grant has been offered but there is uncertainty as to whether it will be accepted or whether conditions will be met, then no liability is recognised but a contingent liability is disclosed.

Expenditure on raising funds comprises investment and property management fees and the direct costs of raising voluntary income where not included within charitable activities.

Charitable activities comprise direct expenditure, including 20% of the total costs of raising voluntary income invested in generating funds in furtherance of the objects of the charity for information and advice, and a proportion of the support costs.

Support costs include governance costs and other indirect costs. Governance costs comprise all expenditure involving the public accountability of the charity and its compliance with regulation and good practice. These costs include some legal fees, plus the costs of trustees’ and Charter Members’ meetings, the costs of compliance such as audit fees and staff time spent serving the committees. Support costs (including governance costs) are allocated to the costs of raising funds and charitable activities on the basis of the numbers of staff engaged in each of these elements. This allocation is reviewed annually.

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 55

54 Independent Age

f) Tangible and intangible assets

Tangible and intangible individual assets costing more than £5,000, including any incidental expenses of acquisition, are capitalised and recorded at cost.

The costs of implementing computer software designed to improve the handling of data within the charity, with a consequent cost savings benefit, have been capitalised as intangible assets.

Depreciation/amortisation is calculated and charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on a quarterly basis commencing in the first full quarter after the asset was acquired/came into use.

Depreciation/amortisation is calculated so as to write off the cost of the tangible assets on a straight-line basis over the expected useful economic lives of the assets concerned, which are taken as:

Tangible assets

Plant and machinery

Electrical installations 10 to 25 years Mechanical installations 10 to 25 years Architectural components 20 to 30 years Lift 15 years

The expected useful economic life of each item of plant and machinery has been determined by independent consulting quantity surveyors.

Fixtures, fittings and equipment

Furniture and fittings 10 to 15 years ICT hardware 3 years Office equipment 3 years

Buildings

Freehold buildings 50 years

No value has historically been recorded for freehold land owned by the charity because it cannot be practically measured.

Intangible assets

Computer software 3 years Representing the useful economic life of the assets.

g) Investment properties

The Board of Trustees determined in February 2014 that all property not required for operational purposes should be disposed of at the appropriate time. Prior to sale these properties are treated as investment properties. Investment properties are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value as at the Balance Sheet date. Fair value is ascertained either by an independent valuer or reference to movements in the market value of similar properties.

Surpluses on the sale of properties are taken to the Statement of Financial Activities as they are realised. Unrealised gains and losses on revaluation of investment properties are shown in the Statement of Financial Activities.

Properties for sale at the Balance Sheet date are reported as assets held for sale within current assets.

h) Investments

Investments are a form of basic financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value using the closing quoted market price. All gains and losses are taken to the Statement of Financial Activities as they arise. The Statement of Financial Activities includes the net gains and losses arising on revaluations and disposals throughout the year. As investments are revalued continuously to fair value, no realised gains or losses arise.

The charity does not acquire or hold put options, derivatives or other complex financial instruments.

i) Financial Instruments

The charity only holds basic financial instruments. The financial assets and financial liabilities of the charity are as follows:

Debtors – trade and other debtors (including accrued income) are basic financial instruments and are debt instruments measured at amortised cost as detailed in Note 14. Prepayments are not financial instruments.

Cash at bank – is classified as a basic financial instrument and is measured at face value.

Liabilities – trade creditors, accruals and other creditors are classified as financial instruments, and are measured at amortised cost as detailed in Note 15. Taxation and social security are not included in the financial instruments disclosure. Deferred income is not deemed to be a financial liability, as the cash settlement has already taken place and there is simply an obligation to deliver charitable services rather than cash or another financial instrument.

j) Concessionary loans

These are amounts that were awarded to further the charity’s purposes as loans to individual beneficiaries who were leaseholders or freeholders of their property, mainly for household repairs and maintenance. The practice of awarding such loans was ended in May 2014 and no more loans will be made.

A provision for non-repayment is made against the aggregate value of loans issued and is reviewed annually, which has been calculated as 67% (2019: 67%) based on past experience of repayments and on management’s current expectations. Loans are written off when there is no realistic prospect of any further recovery and are treated as charitable expenditure. The loans are not subject to interest charges. It is expected that loans will be repaid when the beneficiary has the capital available or from the beneficiary’s estate on the death of the member.

k) Regular payments

The estimated net present value of the regular payments to Independent Age’s beneficiaries is treated as a long-term liability. The long-term provision is calculated using life expectancy tables to determine the period for which the regular payments may be made. The commitment is discounted using a rate based on the discount rate used for the defined benefit pension scheme, adjusted for the differing expected timeframes of the two liabilities. The movement on the regular payments provision is included within Grant-making in the Statement of Financial Activities. The movement in the year includes the un-winding of the discount factor used to estimate the current value of future commitments.

l) Pensions

Independent Age operates a defined benefits (final salary) pension scheme, which is closed to new members. The current service costs of the scheme, together with the interest cost less the expected return on assets for the year, are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities within staff costs. The actuarial gains and losses are recognised immediately after net income/ expenditure as other recognised gains and losses. More details are provided in Note 17. The assets of the scheme are measured at fair value at the Balance Sheet date. Liabilities are measured on an actuarial basis at the Balance Sheet date using the projected unit method and discounted at a rate equivalent to the current rate of return on a high-quality corporate bond of equivalent term to the scheme liabilities. The resulting defined benefit pension asset or liability is presented separately after other net assets on the face of the Balance Sheet.

Independent Age also operates a defined contribution pension scheme and contributions have been accounted for in the period to which they relate. This scheme has been accredited for the purposes of auto-enrolment.

m) Foreign currencies

Foreign currency transactions are initially recognised by applying to the foreign currency amount the spot exchange rate between the functional currency and the foreign currency at the spot rate on the date of the transaction.

Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in a foreign currency at the Balance Sheet date are translated using the closing rate.

n) Taxation

Independent Age is a registered charity (210729) and as such is entitled to certain tax exemptions on income and profits on investments and surpluses on any trading activities carried on in furtherance of the charity’s primary objectives, if these profits and surpluses are applied solely for charitable purposes.

56 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 57

o) Redundancy and termination payments

Redundancy and termination costs are recognised as an expense in the Statement of Financial Activities and a liability on the Balance Sheet immediately at the point the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or group of employees before normal retirement date. The charity is considered to be demonstrably committed only when it has a detailed formal plan for the termination and is without realistic possibility of withdrawal from the plan.

p) Critical accounting estimates and judgements

In preparing the financial statements the trustees are required to make certain estimates and judgements which have an impact on the carrying value of assets and liabilities. These estimates and assumptions are reviewed on an on-going basis, and are based on historical experience and other factors considered relevant at the time the estimates and judgements are made. The key sources of estimation uncertainty are:

• Defined benefit pension liability – measurement requires a number of significant assumptions as disclosed in note 17.

• Regular payments provision - the charity provides for future regular payments to its annuitants, a life-long commitment to each individual. Estimation uncertainty arises from the discount rate applied to reflect the time value of money, and assumptions around life expectancy. Further details of how this provision is calculated can be found in note 16.

• Investment properties - the charity holds a number of investment properties which it carries on the balance sheet at fair value. Measurement requires a number of assumptions about local market conditions and other factors which are outlined in note 11.

2. Donations and legacies

2. Donations and legacies
Current year	Unrestricted	Restricted	Endowed	2020
	funds	funds	funds	Total
	£000	£000	£000	£000
Donations	1,499	67	-	1,566
Grants	17	1,665	-	1,682
Legacies	865	-	-	865
	2,381	1,732	-	4,113

Donations include £397,811 (2019: £279,543) of donated services received in the year.

Grant income includes £524,324 (2019: £749,527) in restricted grant-funding relating to the Campaign to End Loneliness of which £459,325 was received from the National Lottery Community Fund (2019: £648,126). The Campaign to End Loneliness was transferred to a new host, the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, on 1 January 2021.

Income from grants includes £559,325 from government sources, including the National Lottery Community Fund, Local Authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups (2019: £648,126). There are no unfulfilled conditions or other contingencies attaching to grants recognised as income in either year.

either year.
Previous year	Unrestricted	Restricted	Endowed	2019
	funds	funds	funds	Total
	£000	£000	£000	£000
Donations	1,442	109	-	1,551
Grants	102	816	-	918
Legacies	909	-	-	909
	2,453	925	-	3,378

3. Investment income

	3. Investment income
	Current year	Unrestricted	Restricted	Endowed	2020
		funds	funds	funds	Total
		£000	£000	£000	£000
	Fixed interest income	3	-	-	3
	Dividend income	1,877	328	2,057	4,262
	Investment property rental income	59	-	-	59
		1,939	328	2,057	4,324
	Previous year	Unrestricted	Restricted	Endowed	2019
		funds	funds	funds	Total
		£000	£000	£000	£000
	Fixed interest income	6	-	-	6
	Dividend income	2,251	412	2,758	5,421
	Investment property rental income	59	-	-	59
		2,316	412	2,758	5,486

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Annual Report and Accounts 2020 59

4. Expenditure allocations

Current year	Raising						2020
	voluntary	National	Community	Policy and	Grant-	Marketing
	income	services	services	infuencing	making	and comms	Total
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
Staf costs	737	1,116	1,807	1,261	129	1,083	6,133
Non-staf costs	1,470	560	357	443	2,970	570	6,370
Subtotal – Direct costs	2,207	1,676	2,164	1,704	3,099	1,653	12,503
Support costs	368	711	1,298	731	94	583	3,785
Subtotal – All costs	2,575	2,387	3,462	2,435	3,193	2,236	16,288
Reallocation – Fundraising	(515)	515	-	-	-	-	-
Reallocation – Marketing	-	861	430	861	84	(2,236)	-
and comms
Expenditure by	2,060	3,763	3,892	3,296	3,277	-	16,288
charitable activity
Investment and property							274
management
Total expenditure							16,562
Previous year	Raising						2019
	voluntary	National	Community	Policy and	Grant-	Marketing
	income	services	services	infuencing	making	and comms	Total
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
Staf costs	918	1,184	2,061	1,476	10	1,244	6,893
Non-staf costs	2,758	923	446	700	-	1,718	6,545
Subtotal – Direct costs	3,676	2,107	2,507	2,176	10	2,962	13,438
Support costs	570	924	1,546	976	7	823	4,846
Subtotal – All costs	4,246	3,031	4,053	3,152	17	3,785	18,284
Reallocation – Fundraising	(849)	849	-	-	-	-	-
Reallocation – Marketing	-	1,514	757	1,514	-	(3,785)	-
and comms
Expenditure by	3,397	5,394	4,810	4,666	17	-	18,284
charitable activity
Investment and property							222
management
Total expenditure							18,506

Support costs	Staf	Non-staf	Total	Staf	Non-staf	Total
	costs	costs	2020	costs	costs	2019
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
Chief Executive's ofce	239	16	255	249	46	295
Director of Corporate Services	191	31	222	176	114	290
Facilities	212	575	787	209	732	941
ICT	622	598	1,220	534	705	1,239
People and Organisational Development	364	380	744	480	1,111	1,591
Finance	392	86	478	288	83	371
Governance	40	39	79	46	73	119
	2,060	1,725	3,785	1,982	2,864	4,846

During the year the charity engaged the consultancy services of its external audit firm to the value of £nil (2019: £6,060).

£nil (2019: £6,060).
Governance costs	2020	2019
	£000	£000
Auditor’s remuneration for the statutory audit of the fnancial statements	38	33
Legal and other professional fees	-	2
Trustee recruitment fees	-	32
Trustees’ meetings incl. expenses and AGM costs	1	6
Staf costs	40	46
Total governance costs	79	119

The apportionment of support costs was made pro rata to the number of staff (full-time equivalent) in each of the activity areas. Facilities costs were apportioned pro rata to head-office-based staff only. The charity indemnifies every trustee in respect of any liability arising from or in respect of the charity.

5. Regular payments and grants

5. Regular payments and grants
	Grants	Support
	£000	costs	2020	2019
		£000	£000	£000
COVID-19 support grants to organisations	2,382	460	2,842	-
Supporting individual benefciaries	426	9	435	17
	2,808	469	3,277	17

Direct Campaigning costs include £671,419 (2019: £813,036) relating to the Campaign to End Loneliness. On behalf of the partnership of all five organisations on the ‘management group’, Independent Age had responsibility to employ the staff and manage the budget of the Campaign to End Loneliness, which was subject to the charity’s financial policies and procedures. This included monthly reviews of management accounts and reporting to the funders on a regular basis. The Campaign to End Loneliness was transferred to a new host organisation, the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, on 1 January 2021.

60 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 61

6. Staff costs and employee benefits

6. Staf costs and employee benefts
	2020	2019
	£000	£000
Salaries	6,839	7,233
Temporary staf costs	152	367
Employer National Insurance	688	755
Employer pension contributions	514	520
	8,193	8,875
Redundancy and termination payments	78	294
	8,271	9,169

Total remuneration of the key management personnel (which comprise the trustees with the Senior Leadership Team comprising the chief executive and directors), including pension and National Insurance contributions, was £631,671 (2019: £785,440).

No trustees received nor waived any remuneration.

Redundancy and termination costs arose in 2020 and 2019 due to restructuring of the charity to ensure we have the right structures in place to deliver our ambitious strategy to increase impact.

7. Average monthly staff numbers

7. Average monthly staf numbers
	2020	2019
National Services and Grant-making	25	25
Community Services	47	49
Policy and Infuencing	25	30
Fundraising	12	15
Marketing and Communications	18	23
Support Services	33	31
	160	173

8. Number of employees with total emoluments (excluding pensions) of more than £60,000

of more than £60,000
	2020	2019
£60,001–£70,000	9	11
£70,001–£80,000	4	7
£80,001–£90,000	8	-
£90,001–£100,000	-	1
£110,001–£120,000	1	3
£140,001–£150,000	-	1
	22	23

9. Tangible fixed assets

9. Tangible fxed assets
			Fixtures,
	Freehold	Plant and	fttings and
	buildings	machinery	equipment	Totals
	£000	£000	£000	£000
Cost
As at 1 January 2019	1,215	1,119	446	2,780
Additions	-	-	-	-
Disposals Total Depreciation As at 1 January 2019 Depreciation charge in the year	- 1,215 123 24	- 1,119 301 56	(137) 309 314 39	(137) 2,643 738 119		Strategic report
Disposals	-	-	(134)	(134)
Total	147	357	219	723
Net book value
As at 31 December 2020	1,068	762	90	1,920
As at 31 December 2019	1,092	818	132	2,042
10. Intangible fxed assets
Cost As at 1 January 2019 Additions Disposals Total			Computer software £000 620 51 (70) 601	Totals £000 620 51 (70) 601		Financial statements
Amortisation
As at 1 January 2019			550	550
Amortisation charge in the year			10	10
Total			560	560
Net book value As at 31 December 2020 As at 31 December 2019			41 70	41 70		Legal and administrative details

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Annual Report and Accounts 2020 63

11. Investment properties

11. Investment properties
	2020	2019
	£000	£000
As at 1 January	2,300	2,300
Disposals	(200)	-
Revaluation	170	-
As at 31 December	2,270	2,300
Historic cost	1,373	1,549

The investment properties were last independently valued as at 31 December 2014 by a combination of external surveyors, use of the RICS Red Book, or comparison to the market values of similar properties. The trustees are satisfied that, having reviewed available data on market activity in the respective locations, that investment properties are carried at fair value at the Balance Sheet date.

12. Investments

12. Investments
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Endowed
	funds	funds	funds	2020 2019
	£000	£000	£000	£000 £000
Quoted investments	77,643	11,726	50,812	140,181 143,556
Quoted liquid funds	15,584	-	-	15,584 19,249
Non-quoted investments	-	-	9,336	9,336 9,738
Investments held with fund managers	93,227	11,726	60,148	165,101 172,543

Reconciliation of investments held with fund managers	2020	2019
	£000	£000
Market value at 1 January	172,543	168,929
Additions	15,935	33,000
Disposals	(22,718)	(33,000)
Net unrealised (losses)/gains	(453)	14,205
Movement in cash	(206)	(10,591)
Market value at 31 December	165,101	172,543
Historical cost at 31 December	141,151	156,260

Investments held with fund managers – analysis by type	2020	2019
	£000	£000
UK equities – FTSE350	27,234	35,233
Global equitites	48,070	34,850
Diversifed growth funds	40,104	45,746
Infrastructure	9,336	9,738
Multi-asset credit	24,773	27,727
Quoted liquid funds	15,584	19,249
	165,101	172,543

The charity has invested £1 in the share capital of its wholly owned trading subsidiary, Independent Age Enterprises Limited.

The wholly owned trading subsidiary Independent Age Enterprises Limited handles the noncharitable activities of Independent Age. It donates all of its profits to the charity by Gift Aid. As such no corporation tax is payable. It is currently dormant (2019: dormant).

As such no corporation tax is payable. It is currently dormant (2019: dormant).
	2020	2019
	£000	£000
Current assets	9,052	9,052
Current liabilities	(9,051)	(9,051)
Shareholder's funds/total net assets	1	1

13. Concessionary loans

13. Concessionary loans
	2020	2019
	£000	£000
Loan balance as at 1 January	303	325
Loans repaid	(10)	-
Impairment	(6)	(22)
Total loans outstanding	287	303
Provision	(209)	(214)
	78	89

These loans represent interest-free advancements to qualifying beneficiaries to further the charity objectives to assist with essential house repairs, and are repayable as the individual beneficiary’s circumstances allow. The practice of awarding such loans was ended in May 2014 and no more loans are made.

14. Debtors: amounts falling due within one year

14. Debtors: amounts falling due within one year
Group Group Charity	Charity
2020 2019 2020	2019
£000 £000 £000	£000
Trade debtors 8 24 8	24
Other debtors 125 129 125	129
Prepayment 299 334 299	334
Accrued income 751 1,122 751	1,071
1,183 1,609 1,183	1,558
15. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Group Group Charity	Charity
2020 2019 2020	2019
£000 £000 £000	£000
Trade creditors 270 572 270	572
Regular payment liability – see Note 16 759 931 759	931
Other creditors 145 185 145	185
Accruals 174 189 174	189
Deferred income 32 325 32	325
1,380 2,202 1,380	2,202

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Annual Report and Accounts 2020 65

Movement in deferred income	Charity	Charity
	2020	2019
	£000	£000
Charity and Group
Deferred income brought forward	325	365
Amounts released in the year	(325)	(365)
Amounts deferred in the year	32	325
Deferred income carried forward	32	325

16. Reconciliation of regular payments

16. Reconciliation of regular payments
	2020 £000 2019 £000
Charity and Group
Commitments at 1 January	6,932 8,191
Movement in provision	418 (257)
Amount paid in the year	(1,087) (1,002)
Amount released in the year	(207) -
Commitments at 31 December	6,056 6,932
Payable within one year – see Note 15	759 931
Payable after one year	5,297 6,001
Commitments at 31 December	6,056 6,932

The movement in the provision is derived from three factors: the numbers of annuitants at the year end, changes in the discount factor and changes in the mortality tables used to determine life expectancy.

At 31 December 2020 the number of annuitants was 1,026, 213 fewer than at the same date in the previous year (2019: 1,239). The discount factor decreased from 2.05% to 1.05%. Taking into account the movements in the factors above, there was a small reduction in the overall liability.

17. Pension schemes

The employer, Independent Age, operates a defined benefit (final salary) scheme in the UK. A full actuarial valuation was carried out at 30 September 2019 and updated to 31 December 2020 by a qualified actuary, independent of the scheme’s sponsoring employer. The major assumptions used by the actuary are shown below.

“The most recent actuarial valuation at 30 September 2019 showed a surplus of £799,000. The employer currently pays contributions at the rate of 38.3% p.a. of members’ earnings in respect of non-contributory members and 32.3% p.a. of members’ earnings in respect of contributory members. The employer also pays £63,000 p.a. in respect of scheme expenses. The PPF levy is paid separately by the employer upon receipt of the invoice.

From 1 April 2021 the above employer contribution rates will increase to 44.5% p.a. of members’ earnings in respect of non-contributory members and 38.5% p.a. of members’ earnings in respect of contributory members. Since the year end we have consulted with the remaining active members and the scheme will close to future accrual from the end of April 2021.”

Member contributions are payable in addition at the rate of 6.0% p.a. of members’ earnings in respect of contributory members only.

			Introduction
Present values of defned beneft asset/(obligation),	31 December	31 December
fair value of assets and defned beneft liability	2020	2019
	£000	£000
Equity-type assets	1,364	2,450
Fixed interest bonds	8,579	2,593
Index-linked bonds	5,963	6,072
Fixed interest gilts	1,892	4,957
Property	1,240	1,392
Other Total market value of assets Present value of scheme liabilities Surplus Efect of asset ceiling Net pension asset under FRS 102	6,076 25,114 (23,213) 1,901 (1,787) 114	5,055 22,519 (20,631) 1,888 (1,606) 282	Strategic report
None of the fair value of the assets shown above includes any direct investments in the employer’s
own fnancial instruments or any property occupied by, or any other assets used by, the employer.
Reconciliation of opening and closing balances	31 December	31 December
of the defned beneft obligation	2020	2019
	£000	£000
Defned beneft obligation at start of period	20,631	19,401
Current service cost	21	60
Interest cost on defned beneft obligation Past service cost – plan amendments Member contributions Benefts paid Losses due to beneft changes Actuarial loss on changes in demographic and fnancial assumptions Experience gain on liabilities Defned beneft obligation at end of period	405 - 2 (800) 3 3,491 (540) 23,213	522 - 5 (817) - 1,548 (88) 20,631	Financial statements
Reconciliation of opening and closing balances	31 December	31 December
of the fair value of plan assets	2020	2019
	£000	£000
Fair value of plan assets at start of period	22,519	20,933
Interest income on assets	443	565
Expenses	(71)	(81)
Return on assets excluding interest income Employer contribution Member contribution Benefts paid Fair value of plan assets at end of period	2,923 98 2 (800) 25,114	1,814 100 5 (817) 22,519	Legal and administrative details

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Annual Report and Accounts 2020 67

Movement in balance sheet asset during the year 31 December	31 December
2020	2019
£000	£000
Surplus in Scheme at the beginning of the period 282	766
Current service cost (21)	(60)
Past service cost–beneft changes/curtailments (3)	-
Expenses (71)	(81)
Net interest credit 6	22
Re-measurements included in the statement of fnacial activities (177)	(465)
Employer contributions 98	100
Surplus in Scheme at the end of the period 114	282
Defned beneft costs recognised in the statement of fnancial activities 31 December	31 December
2020	2019
£000	£000
Current service cost (included within Staf costs) 21	60
Expenses (included within Staf costs) 71	81
Past service cost – plan amendments 3	-
Operating charge 95	141
Interest income on assets (443)	(565)
Interest cost on defned beneft obligation 405	522
Interest on surplus that is not recoverable 32	21
Net Interest credit (6)	(22)
Defned beneft costs recognised in Statement of Financial Activities 89	119
Defned beneft costs recognised as other gains and losses 31 December	31 December
in the statement of fnancial activities 2020	2019
£000	£000
Return on assets excluding interest income 2,923	1,814
Experience gains on liabilities 540	88
Loss from change of assumptions (3,491)	(1,548)
Efects of changes in the amount of surplus that is not recoverable (excluding amounts included in net interest cost) (149)	(819)
Actuarial loss on defned beneft pension scheme in the Statement of Financial Activities (177)	(465)
Movement in assumption Efect on liabilities
Discount rate +/- 0.1%	+/- 2%
Infation assumptions +/- 0.1%	+/- 2%
Life expectancy +/- 0.1%	+/- 2-3%

			Introduction
		31 December 31 December
		2019 2018
		£000 £000
Discount rate		1.35% p.a. 2.75% p.a.
Infation (RPI)		2.95% p.a. 3.25% p.a.
Infation (CPI)		2.55% p.a. 2.25% p.a.
Deferred revaluations		2.55% p.a. 3.25% p.a.
Salary growth		2.95% p.a. 2.25% p.a.
Pension increases in payment CPI max 5% p.a. CPI max 2.5% p.a. CPI max 3% p.a.		2.55% p.a. 2.10% p.a. 1.85% p.a. 1.65% p.a. 2.1% p.a. 1.8% p.a.	Strategic report
Demographic assumptions	31 December 2020	31 December 2019
	£000	£000
Mortality
Base tables	Pre retirement: nil	Pre retirement: nil
	Post retirement: 106% of S3PXA	Post retirement: 105% of S2PXA
Improvement allowance	CMI_2019 (1.25%) for males	CMI_2018 (1.25%) for males
	CMI_2019 (1.00%) for females	CMI_2018 (1.00%) for females
Smoothing parameter	7.5	7.5
Life expectancy from age 65 Pensioners (currently aged 65) Non-pensioners (currently aged 45) Commutation Proportion married at retirement Spouse age diference	Male: 21.6 Female: 23.8 Male: 23.0 Female: 24.9 75% of maximum allowance 75% for both males and females Males 3 years older	Male: 21.4 Female: 23.1 Male: 22.7 Female: 24.3 75% of maximum allowance 75% for both males and females Males 3 years older	Financial statements
Other demographic assumptions	As per most recent Technical	As per most recent Technical
	Provisions assumptions	Provisions assumptions
Independent Age also operates a defned contribution scheme administered by TPT Retirement
Solutions. Members of the scheme	contribute up to 6% while the employer contributes up to 10%.
Total employer contributions towards this scheme in the year were £416,897 (2019: £430,523).
			Legal and administrative details

68 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 69

18. Movement on funds

18. Movement on funds
	Balance at					Balance at 31
	1 January	Incoming	Resources		Gains	December
	2019	resources	expended	Transfers	(losses)	2020
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
Endowed funds
F E Cobbold Trust Fund	1,477	-	-	9	-	1,486
Backsettown Endowed Charity	289	-	-	1	-	290
Wharton & Wittrick Fund	428	-	-	602	-	1,030
General Endowment Fund	56,974	-	-	368	-	57,342
Unapplied Total Return Fund	-	2,057	(67)	(873)	(1,118)	-
Total endowed funds	59,168	2,057	(67)	107	(1,118)	60,148
Restricted funds
F E Cobbold Trust Fund	12,030	258	(1,860)	-	(52)	10,376
Backsettown Charity	112	-	(12)	-	-	100
RUKBA Holiday Fund	2,657	57	(1,739)	-	(11)	964
Ulster Ladies Trust Fund	574	12	(198)	-	(2)	386
Campaign to End Loneliness	98	550	(921)	273	-	-
Grants fund	-	881	(381)	-	-	500
Reconnections	-	106	(101)	-	-	5
Other restricted funds	-	250	(150)	-	-	100
Total restricted funds	15,471	2,114	(5,362)	273	(65)	12,431
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
Investment Property Fund	1,772	-	-	(802)	170	1,140
Tangible and Intangible Fixed Assets Fund	2,142	-	(131)	(50)	-	1,961
Endowment Funded Activity	20,559	412	(24)	(229)	(26)	20,692
Protection Fund
Future Impact Fund	63,492	4,076	(10,937)	2,920	651	60,202
Total designated funds	87,965	4,488	(11,092)	1,839	795	83,995
General fund	11,717	24	-	(2,219)	-	9,522
Total unrestricted funds	99,682	4,512	(11,092)	(380)	795	93,517
Subtotal Independent Age	174,321	8,683	(16,521)	-	(388)	166,096
Counsel and Care for the Elderly
General fund	112	2	(41)	-	-	73
Subtotal Counsel and Care for the Elderly	112	2	(41)	-	-	73
Total Group	174,433	8,685	(16,562)	-	(388)	166,169

Fund descriptions

The Supplementary Royal Charter 2014 stipulated the establishment of a General Endowment Fund comprising all of the monies previously held in the Permanent Annuities fund, the Provision of Homes Capital fund, the Annuitants’ Relief fund and part of the Life Annuities fund.

The Charity Commission scheme, which became effective on 23 October 2014, defined the nature and purposes of the three endowed funds of which Independent Age is the Managing Trustee: F E Cobbold Trust Fund, Backsettown Endowed Charity fund, and the Wharton & Wittrick Fund. The Scheme further provided for the merger of Homes of Rest for Gentlewomen and the Georgina Tompkins Ladies Fund into the RUKBA Holiday Fund; confirmation that both the capital and income of the Ulster Ladies Fund could be expensed in accordance with its restrictions; and amended the restrictions on other named funds.

The Board of Trustees resolved in December 2014 that the charity would adopt Total Return Accounting for the three above named Permanent Endowed funds with effect from 1 January 2015 and acknowledged that this should also apply to the General Endowed Fund as permitted under the Supplementary Royal Charter.

The funds of Independent Age are as described below.

Permanent endowed funds

The F E Cobbold Trust Fund represent monies to be held on trust to invest and apply to relief to older people in need by reason of ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage, with preference to persons who are residents of Suffolk, by the provision of grants and other financial assistance and the provision of advice and support.

The Backsettown Endowed Charity fund is to relieve persons who are in conditions of need, hardship or distress or who, by reason of physical or mental illness or otherwise, are in need of rest and recuperation by making of grants or the provision of facilities that are calculated to relieve such need.

The Wharton & Wittrick Fund is to be held on trust to invest and apply the income to relief to older people in need by reason of ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage, with preference to persons who have been employed with the health and social care professions, by the provision of grants and other assistance relating to accommodation.

In 2020 we transferred £602,000 from the designated investment property fund to the Wharton & Whittrick Fund representing previous revaluations of the investment property held in this fund, to better reflect the fund’s fair value.

The General Endowment Fund, which was established by the Supplementary Royal Charter in 2014, provides for the general purposes of the charity.

The Unapplied Total Return is the balance of income earned, less investment management fees, plus investment gains after the maintenance of the capital value of the Permanent Endowed Funds calculated by the movement in CPI for the respective period.

Under section 104(A) of the Charities Act 2011 on 1 January 2015 the trustees have the power to invest permanently endowed funds to maximise total return and therefore to apply an appropriate portion of the Unapplied Total Return to income. The Unapplied Total Return remains invested as part of the permanent endowment until that power is exercised.

In 2020 the trustees exercised this right and transferred the Unapplied Total Return net balance of £412,000 to income funds. This amount was fully utilised in the year.

70 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 71

	Endowed for	Unapplied	Total
	investment	Total Return	endowed
	£000	£000	£000
At start date: 1 January 2020
Gift component of permanent endowment	59,168	-	59,168
Unapplied Total Return	-	-	-
	59,168	-	59,168
Movements
Recoupment of trust for investment*	378	(378)	-
Dividend return	-	2,057	2,057
Transfer	602	-	602
Losses	-	(1,118)	(1,118)
Investment management costs	-	(67)	(67)
	980	494	1,474
Unapplied Total Return retained	-	-	-
Unapplied Total Return transferred to income funds	-	(494)	(494)
Totals	60,148	-	60,148

*This represents the sum elected to maintain the real capital value of the endowed funds by offsetting the impact of inflation.

Restricted funds

These are funds that the charity must spend on activities specified by the restrictions of the fund.

The RUKBA Holiday Fund: the income and capital may be applied for the relief in need of persons in reduced circumstance with a preference for those from the South of England, by provision of holidays or in such ways as the trustees shall think fit.

The Ulster Ladies Trust Fund: the income and capital may be applied for the relief of persons in need by reason of ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage with a preference for those living or formerly living in Northern Ireland.

The Campaign to End Loneliness: grants received including those from the other partners to address the issues related to older people experiencing loneliness. During the year £273,000 (2019: £268,000) was transferred from unrestricted fund to support this activity.

We received £881,000 from trusts and corporates restricted to grant-making and £105,000 for Reconnection services.

Other Restricted funds are donations from trusts on which a restriction is placed by the donor.

Designated Funds

In accordance with the Charity Commission guidance, the trustees have designated funds to mitigate the charity financial risks and to indicate which reserves are held in property and therefore not available as ‘free’ reserves. Individual purposes of these funds are described below.

The Investment Property Fund represents the amount of reserves relating to investment properties not held in restricted and endowed funds.

The Tangible and Intangible Fixed Asset Fund recognises the net book value of operational fixed assets – primarily the head office building at 18 Avonmore Road.

The Endowment Funded Activity Protection Fund will be used to cover the gap in funding of charitable activities arising from a potential negative return on the endowed investment. Trustees have designated for this purpose a value equivalent to 35% of the endowments.

The Future Impact Fund represents the balance of unrestricted reserves which, together with growth of voluntary income, will be used to continue to expand the scale, scope and depth of charity services now and in the future. Transfers are made annually between general funds and designated funds to maintain designated funds at the levels specified by trustees as set out above.

General Funds

The General Fund represents free reserves used for the general work of Independent Age.

Comparatives for 2019 of movement on funds are shown below:

	Balance at					Balance at 31
	1 January	Incoming	Resources		Gains	December
	2019	resources	expended	Transfers	(losses)	2019
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
Endowed funds
F E Cobbold Trust Fund	1,458	-	-	19	-	1,477
Backsettown Endowed Charity	285	-	-	4	-	289
Wharton & Wittrick Fund	428	-	-	-	-	428
General Endowment Fund	56,239	-	-	735	-	56,974
Unapplied Total Return Fund	(2,385)	2,758	(58)	(6,459)	6,144	-
Total endowed funds	56,025	2,758	(58)	(5,701)	6,144	59,168
Restricted funds
F E Cobbold Trust Fund	13,304	297	(2,622)	-	1,051	12,030
Backsettown Charity	129	-	(17)	-	-	112
RUKBA Holiday Fund	4,363	98	(2,149)	-	345	2,657
Ulster Ladies Trust Fund	783	17	(288)	-	62	574
Campaign to End Loneliness	74	858	(1,102)	268	-	98
Other restricted funds	-	67	(67)	-	-	-
Total restricted funds	18,653	1,337	(6,245)	268	1,458	15,471
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
Investment Property Fund	2,300	-	-	(528)	-	1,772
Tangible and Intangible Fixed Assets Fund	2,255	-	(128)	15	-	2,142
Endowment Funded Activity Protection Fund	20,443	524	(21)	(2,059)	1,672	20,559
Future Impact Fund	50,833	4,429	(12,012)	15,776	4,466	63,492
Total designated funds	75,831	4,953	(12,161)	13,204	6,138	87,965
General fund	19,488	-	-	(7,771)	-	11,717
Total unrestricted funds	95,319	4,953	(12,161)	5,433	6,138	99,682
Subtotal Independent Age	169,997	9,048	(18,464)	-	13,740	174,321
Counsel and Care for the Elderly
General fund	106	48	(42)	-	-	112
Subtotal Counsel and Care for the Elderly	106	48	(42)	-	-	112
Total Group	170,103	9,096	(18,506)	-	13,740	174,433

72 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 73

19. Analysis of net assets between funds

	Unrestricted	Designated	Restricted	Endowed	2020 Total
	funds	funds	funds	funds	funds
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
Tangible and intangible fxed assets	-	1,961	-	-	1,961
Investment	13,477	80,780	11,726	59,118	165,101
Investment properties	-	1,140	100	1,030	2,270
Concessionary loans	78	-	-	-	78
Current assets	2,544	-	779	-	3,323
Current liabilities	(1,206)	-	(174)	-	(1,380)
Creditors: Amounts falling due after more	(5,297)	-	-	-	(5,297)
than one year
Defned beneft pension scheme asset	-	114	-	-	114
Total	9,595	83,995	12,431	60,148	166,169

Comparatives for 2019 analysis of net assets between funds are shown below:

	Unrestricted	Designated	Restricted	Endowed	2019 Total
	funds	funds	funds	funds	funds
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
Tangible and intangible fxed assets	-	2,112	-	-	2,112
Investment	14,878	83,799	15,126	58,740	172,543
Investment properties	-	1,772	100	428	2,300
Concessionary loans	-	-	89	-	89
Current assets	4,740	-	570	-	5,310
Current liabilities	(1,788)	-	(414)	-	(2,202)
Creditors: Amount falling due after more than one year	(6,001)	-	-	-	(6,001)
Defned beneft pension scheme asset	-	282	-	-	282
Total	11,829	87,965	15,471	59,168	174,433

21. Reconciliation of net movements in funds to net cash flow from activities

	2020	2019
	£000	£000
Net income/(expenditure) for the year	(8,087)	4,794
Dividends received	(4,262)	(5,421)
Interest receivable including bank interest	(3)	(6)
Rents received from investment properties	(59)	(59)
Loss on disposal of fxed assets	-	-
Less gain on sale of assets held for sale	(70)	(7)
Depreciation and impairment of tangible fxed assets	122	128
Amortisation and impairment of intangible fxed assets	80	29
Revaluation of investment property	(170)	-
Movements in concessionary loans (repayments)	(10)	-
(Gains)/losses on investments	453	(14,205)
Movement in the provision for concessionary loans	11	6
Post-employment benefts less payments	(9)	19
Movement in the provision for regular payments	418	(257)
Decrease/(increase) in debtors	425	1,874
(Decrease)/increase in creditors	(1,945)	(1,540)
Net cash fow from operating activities	(13,105)	(14,645)

20. Trustees, related parties and connected charities

No Trustee received any remuneration from Independent Age during the year ended 31 December 2020. Two trustees (2019: one) were reimbursed for travel expenses incurred in the furtherance of charity’s activities totalling £454 (2019: £1,446).

Professor Martin Green, OBE, Trustee at the International Longevity Centre – UK (ILC-UK), is a Trustee of Independent Age. A total payment of £18,669 was made in 2020 (2019: nil) to ILC-UK for research services and events.

Baroness Julia Neuberger, Trustee at the Rayne Foundation, is the Chair of Independent Age. Independent Age received a donation of £100,000 from the Rayne Foundation in 2020 (2019: nil) to support the work of our Grants Fund.

Counsel and Care for the Elderly merged with Independent Age in October 2011 but continues to operate as a separate charitable company for the collection of donations and legacies. Independent Age is the Managing Trustee and continues to provide the services previously offered by Counsel and Care. In the year ended 31 December 2020, the income for Counsel and Care was £3,000 (2019: £48,000) and expenditure was £41,000 (2019: £42,000), while total net assets value was £73,000 (2019: £112,000).

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 75

74 Independent Age

22. 2019 Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities

	Unrestricted	Restricted	Year to 31 December 2019 Endowed Total
	funds	funds	funds funds
	£000	£000	£000 £000
Income and endowment from:
Donations and legacies	2,453	925	- 3,378
Raising funds – events	199	-	- 199
Investment income	2,316	412	2,758 5,486
Other income	33	-	- 33
Total income and endowments	5,001	1,337	2,758 9,096
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Raising voluntary income	3,397	-	- 3,397
Investment and property management	146	18	58 222
Total cost of fundraising	3,543	18	58 3,619
Charitable activities
Information and advice	2,630	2,764	- 5,394
Wellbeing	2,466	2,344	- 4,810
Campaigning	3,564	1,102	- 4,666
Regular payments and grants	-	17	- 17
Total cost of charitable activities	8,660	6,227	- 14,887
Other expenditure
Pension – net interest cost	-	-	- -
Total expenditure	12,203	6,245	58 18,506
Operating (defcit)/surplus	(7,202)	(4,908)	2,700 (9,410)
Gains/(losses) on investments	6,603	1,458	6,144 14,205
Net income/(expenditure)	(599)	(3,450)	8,844 4,795
Transfers between funds	5,433	268	(5,701) -
Other recognised gains/(losses)
Actuarial (loss)/gain on defned beneft pension scheme	(465)	-	- (465)
Net movement in funds	4,369	(3,181)	3,143 4,331
Total funds brought forward at 1 January	95,425	18,653	56,025 170,103
Total funds carried forward at period end	99,794	15,471	59,168 174,433

23. Operating lease commitments

The Group had total commitments at the year end under operating leases in respect of office premises as follows: within one year £123,000 (2019: £290,000) and within two years £0 (2019: £123,000).

The lease agreement on Exhibition House will end in June 2021. We have decided not to renew the lease and have given notice post year end.

24. Post-balance sheet events

The Campaign To End Loneliness (CEL) was transferred to a new host, The What Works Centre for Wellbeing (WWCW), on 1 January 2021. £152,000 in cash was transferred to WWCW, representing £153,000 of payments received in advance from the National Lottery, less £1,000 of CEL’s expenses paid in advance.

76 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 77

Legal and administrative details

If you’re shut in at home, to have someone to talk to, whether they are face to face or at the end of a telephone, makes life so much better. Peter

78 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 79

Legal and administrative details

Charity information

Independent Age is the operating name of the Royal United Kingdom Beneficent Association (RUKBA).

It is registered in England and Wales with the Charities Commission under charity number 210729 and has been entered on the Scottish Charity Register under charity number SC047184 as of 17 February 2017.

Registered address: 18 Avonmore Rd, London W14 8RR.

Trustees

Richard Anderson

Lucy Blythe Karen Byrne

Michael Craston

Karl Demian

Vivienne Dews

Prof Martin Green, OBE

John Hannaford (Treasurer)

Simon Inchley

Lorraine Lander

Baroness Julia Neuberger, DBE (Chair)

Amit Patel

Royal Patron

Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra, the Hon Lady Ogilvy, KG, GCVO

Patrons

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

The Free Churches Moderator

The Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster

Senior Leadership Team

Deborah Alsina, MBE, Chief Executive

Gerard Crofton-Martin, Director of Strategy, Impact and Transformation (from January 2020 to October 2020)

Simon Hewett-Avison, Director of Services (from January 2020)

John Palmer, Director of Policy and Communications (from January 2020)

Stuart Rogers, Director of Corporate Services (from January 2020)

Karen Thompson, Director of Finance and Governance

Matthew Wilkley, Director of Income Generation

Professional advisers

Independent auditors MacIntyre Hudson LLP 2 London Wall Place London EC2Y 5AU

Principal bankers NatWest Bank plc 156 Fleet Street London EC4A 2DX

Insurance broker

Scrutton Bland LLP 820 The Crescent Colchester Business Park Colchester Essex CO4 9YQ

Solicitors

Bates Wells & Braithwaite London LLP 10 Queen Street Place London EC4R 1BE

Winckworth Sherwood Minerva House 5 Montague Close London SE1 9BB

Investment advisers

Lane Clark & Peacock LLP 95 Wigmore Street London W1U 1DQ

Investment managers

Baillie Gifford & Co Limited Calton Square 1 Greenside Row Edinburgh EH1 3AN

Cazenove Capital 1 London Wall London EC2Y 5AU

2003 Mr P W Fane

Charter Members as at report signing date

Schroder Investment

Management Limited 1 London Wall Place London EC2Y 5AU

report signing date 2012 Mrs F Findlay Charter Members are appointed 2009 Prof M Green, OBE when an application, which 2016 Mr J Hannaford may have been invited by the 2004 Mr M A Hayes trustees, has been approved 1996 Miss D A K Hayman by the trustees. Trustees are appointed Charter Members for 2012 Miss D Hodson the period of their trusteeship 1999 Mr A M Hogg only. 2006 Mr T J Howe At each annual general meeting, 1990 Dr T G Hudson the Charter Members shall 2005 Mrs F C Hughes resolve on the appointment or 2008 Mr R Humphries reappointment of trustees who have been nominated by the 2017 Mr S Inchley trustees, and the appointment 2012 Stella Kyriazis, of the auditors. Countess Caridi 2020 Mr R Anderson Mr R Anderson 2020 Ms L Lander 2003 Mr U D Barnett Mr U D Barnett 2009 Mrs C Loyd 2010 Ms E C Best Ms E C Best 1986 Mrs I Macdonald 2020 Ms L Blythe Ms L Blythe 2017 Ms H Mustafa 1995 Miss M C L Boggis 2010 The Rt Hon the

BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited 12 Throgmorton Avenue Drapers Gardens London EC2N 2DL

Lindsell Train Ltd 66 Buckingham Gate London SW1E 6AU

Vanguard Asset Management Limited

25 Walbrook London EC4N 8AF

Legal & General Investment Management Limited One Coleman Street London EC2R 5AA

2020 Mr R Anderson Mr R Anderson 2003 Mr U D Barnett Mr U D Barnett 2010 Ms E C Best Ms E C Best 2020 Ms L Blythe Ms L Blythe 1995 Miss M C L Boggis 2006 Mr R D H Bryce 2009 Mr S Burke 2019 Ms K Byrne 2009 Mr P Cann 2005 Mrs J M Casimir 2008 Ms S Collins

M&G Securities Limited Laurence Pountney Hill London EC4R 0HH

Baroness Neuberger 2002 Mrs P A O’Brien 2019 Mr A Patel 2012 Mr G Patterson 1985 Mr P G Pollock 2004 Mr H M Priestley 1989 Mr W Rathbone, OBE 2013 Ms L Romeo 1985 Mr J G Tregoning 1999 Mr W G Underwood

State Street Fund Services (Ireland) Limited 78 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay Dublin 2 D02 HD32 Ireland

JP Morgan Institutional 2016 Mr M Craston Investments Inc 270 Park Avenue 2012 Ms M Dangoor New York NY 10017 2019 Mr K Demian US 2012 Mr T Dennis 2016 Ms V Dews

80 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 81

Our year in numbers

In 2020 1,149,768 people accessed our services.

We helped individuals 1.27 million times.

More than 211,782 information resources were distributed.

We answered 28,470 Helpline enquiries.

We facilitated 209,402 friendship contacts for 1,560 older people.

Some £4.29 million was raised to help deliver the support we provide. We provided £2.3 million in 203 grants to charities working with older people, and £1.1 million in grants directly to 1,157 older people.

Our overall income

In 2020 we generated a fantastic £8.7 million to help support older people in greatest need, their families and carers. This included individual donations, income from trusts and corporate supporters, investment income and a number of very generous gifts from supporters who remembered us in their wills.

Our overall spending

In 2020 we spent £16.6 million to transform the lives of older people in the UK. This included £14.2 million in charitable expenditure, a decrease of 5% from 2019, and an investment of £2.1 million in activities to generate long-term voluntary income as we seek to sustainably grow our vital work.

----- Start of picture text -----
£93k £69k
£3.3m
£4.3m
£865k
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Income by type

----- Start of picture text -----
Investments
----- End of picture text -----

50% / £4.3m

• Legacies 10% / £865k

• Donations

• 37% / £3.2m

• Other trading activites

• 2% / £179k

• Other income

1% / £69k

----- Start of picture text -----
£274k
£2.1m
£3.8m
£3.3m
£3.9m
£3.3m
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
Expenditure by activity
----- End of picture text -----

• National services

23% / £3.8m

• Community services 23% / £3.9m

• Policy and influencing

• 20% / £3.3m

• Grant-making 20% / £3.3m

• Raising voluntary income 12% / £2.1m

• Investment and property management 2% / £274k

82 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 83

84 Independent Age

Annual Report and Accounts 2020 85

Get involved!

We’re helping to build a society where older people can live the lives they aspire to – and you can be involved.

Working in partnership with individuals, charitable trusts and businesses large and small, we offer older people regular friendly contact, free impartial advice and, crucially for the future, a strong campaigning voice.

Your time, expertise, insight, contacts or funding could help change the inequalities and discrimination in our society and enable people to live well in later life.

No matter who you are, there’s a vital part for you to play: volunteering your free time, fundraising, forming a strategic partnership, campaigning, or making a small gift or longterm investment.

Working together helps us shape our strategy, services, policies and campaigns to secure a better future for older people – and for you.

Contact [e-mail] to find out more.

Independent Age 18 Avonmore Road London W14 8RR

020 7605 4200 [e-mail] independentage.org Helpline 0800 319 6789

© 2021 Independent Age

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Independent Age is the operating name of the Royal United Kingdom Beneficent Association. Registered charity number 210729 (England and Wales) SC047184 (Scotland).