The names Age UK‚ Age Cymru‚ Age NI and Age Scotland will be in use from Spring 2010 when the new brand is launched. Until then‚ it will continue using the joint branding of Age Concern and Help the Aged.

The new names were chosen following extensive consultation with older people‚ Age Concerns‚ partners‚ staff and other stakeholders over the past eight months. Overall‚ most audiences felt these names were the best for the new family of charities.

The charities hope this early decision will give its staff and partners - particularly local Age Concerns - time to prepare for the launch of the new brand next year.

Commenting on the new name‚ Tom Wright‚ Chief Executive of Age Concern and Help the Aged‚ said:

“We are delighted to have finalised an important part of the new organisations’ identity and feel confident that our new name clearly reflects who we represent and what we do.

“The research we have carried out over the last eight months has not only helped us choose the right name‚ but given us the chance to hear how we can best represent and support people in later in life. This has been crucial in helping us develop a shared vision for the new charity so we can deliver real improvements to the lives of older people.  

“This collaborative process has taken time to carry out‚ but we were committed to a process which gave older people‚ our staff and partners a genuine say and a powerful voice in the new charity.  We look forward to telling everyone much more about the work we will be doing as the Age UK family from Spring 2010.”

The new organisations will have a turnover of more than £150 million. In addition to campaigning and influencing‚ their work will include providing information and advice to over 5 million people‚ commercial services for over 1.1 million customers and more than 15 million customer transactions through over 500 retail shops. Internationally‚ they will support a global network for older people in more than 70 countries and will fund pioneering research into all aspects of ageing.