Over 80s Discount

Summary

In January 2019, the Municipality of Port Hope implemented an initiative where all older adults aged 80 and over can participate for free in registered fitness programs offered by the Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture. Regular registration timelines apply and participants must meet the age requirement at the time of enrollment. The Over 80s Discount was developed to encourage and maintain older adults’ participation in fitness programs and activities. This milestone age benefit recognizes that participation in physical activity programs for older adults is an important component of healthy aging and seeks to increase access to these opportunities. All drop in fitness activities were selected as eligible programs for older adults aged 80+ to apply the discount to. The discount was added as an option in our registration software and older adults, regardless of if they belong as members to our Senior Active Living Centre, can have this discount applied to their accounts.

The decision to implement the Over 80s Discount was determined by the Municipality of Port Hope’s with support from the Age Friendly Steering Committee. The Committee is comprised of a variety of community partners that reflect the diverse community interests on age friendly matters. The Municipality piloted the discount in 2018 and was able to sustainably maintain as part of regular operations in 2019.

Older adults who utilize the over 80s discount can participate in fitness programs without paying any registration fees. This has made registration straightforward for these individuals as no payment is involved. For instance, participants can register at home in a matter of minutes (either online or over the phone) as no payment information must be provided.

Website: https://porthope.ca/age-friendly

Key facts

Main target group: Older people in general

Sector(s): Health, Social protection

Desired outcome for older people:
Be mobile

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:

Accessibility
Ageing in place
Healthy behaviours (e.g. physical activity)
Inclusion
Participation

Contact details

Name: Emily Morris

Email address: jsnoek@porthope.ca

Age-friendly practice in detail (click to expand):

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Local authorities

Others involved in the project:

Social or health care provider

How collaboration worked: the management of this fall to the Parks, Recreation and Culture department and is now an inclusion in the regular operating budget.

Older people’s involvement: Older people were consulted during the planning process

Details on older people’s involvement: Older adults were consulted during the planning stages of the grant and sustainability, relating to the positive impact and desired outcomes of the project.

Moving forward

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: Yes

Was the impact positive or negative:
Positive

Please share with us what you found in detail:
From January 2019 to December 2019 a total of 32 older adults aged 80 and over utilized the Over 80s Discount. This resulted in a total savings of $7,343.90 among these participants.

Feedback:
The use of the program is growing and requests have been made to extend the options to more programs including drop in otions.

Expansion plans:
We are currently reviewing the option to expand the program to more program opportunities.

Looking back

Reflections:
From January 2019 to December 2019 a total of 32 older adults aged 80 and over utilized the Over 80s Discount. This resulted in a total savings of $7,343.90 among the group. Advertising the initiative to members to increase awareness to the discount has been a main priority along the way. While both digital and print advertising has been displayed, word of mouth proves to be a common avenue for older adults to learn about the discount.

Challenges:
Advertising the initiative to members to increase awareness to the discount has been a main priority along the way. While both digital and print advertising has been displayed, word of mouth proves to be a common avenue for older adults to learn about the discount.