THE ROYAL UNITED KINGDOM BENEFICENT ASSOCIATION

Registered charity 210729 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as INDEPENDENT AGE, INDEPENDENTAGE, RUKBA · also registered in Scotland as SC047184 (OSCR)

Our mission is to enable older people to lead independent and fulfilling lives. We do this by providing high quality advice & information services, befriending & support services and campaigning work on behalf of older people.

Objects

THE OBJECTS OF THE CHARITY ARE PRIMARILY 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, SOCIAL OR FINANCIAL HARDSHIP.

Area of benefit: THE BRITISH ISLES

The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.

Causes: General Charitable Purposes · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Hammersmith and Fulham, London, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported an operating deficit of £7.0m for the year ended 31 December 2025, which was funded by drawing down £6.0m of investment capital and proceeds from property sales. Per the trustees' report, the charity maintains a General Fund of £5.7m, which is in line with its stated reserves policy of holding one year's unrestricted expenditure, supported by total funds of £181.1m.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by RSM UK AUDIT LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Policies the charity declares

In its annual return the charity told the Commission that it has the policies listed below. This is self-declared: it is not verified by the Commission or by this site, and it is not evidence of how a policy works in practice.

• Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
• Campaigns and political activity policy and procedures
• Complaints handling
• Complaints policy and procedures
• Conflicting interests
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• Investment
• Paying staff
• Risk management
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
• Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
• Social media policy and procedures
• Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures
• Volunteer management

From the charity’s annual return (Part A, self-declared)

Answers and figures the charity gave in Part A of its annual return to the Charity Commission. They are self-declared: not verified by the Commission or by this site. Only positive answers and figures are listed; items not listed are simply not shown.

Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.

In the news

Recent coverage mentioning this charity by name (automated match; headlines belong to their publishers).

• Meetings with Independent Age and Pocklington Lodge Residents hammersmithtoday.co.uk · 14/07/2025

Funders the charity credits

Named as funders/supporters on the charity’s own website (the charity’s claim, distinct from accounts-verified grants).

• The John Laing Charitable Trust — “We take this opportunity to thank some of the wonderful Trusts and Foundations that very generously support our work and vision: The John La…” (source page)

Property (HM Land Registry)

5 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (2 freehold); recorded price paid £400k. All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

CQC provider record: Royal United Kingdom Beneficent Association t/a Independent Age — Deregistered, 3 registered locations.charity number confirmed by CQC CQC record

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook · instagram

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2025)

Reported reserves equal ~4.9 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 4.7 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 44.4% of total income — above the 90th percentile for charities its size (median 5.3%) (benchmarks).

Register events

• Received assets from another charity (17/06/2026) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
• Received assets from another charity (05/12/2024) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

• Guillermo Pablo Donadini
• Helena Rebecca Herklots · trustee of 1 other charity
• Joan Elliott · trustee of 1 other charity
• Joshua Greenspan
• Julia Shelley
• Kate Cavelle
• Mary Bernadette O'Hagan
• Peter Mobbs · trustee of 1 other charity
• Professor Caroline Glendinning · trustee of 1 other charity
• Richard Anderson
• Ritam Gandhi

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Northern Ireland · Scotland · Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Common questions

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

Grants marked “Unverified read” were flagged by automated checks as possibly misread from the funder’s filed accounts. They are listed, but left out of the totals, counts and funder relationships this site computes.

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE BRITISH GERIATRICS SOCIETY.

• THE BRITISH GERIATRICS SOCIETY income £1.8m
• AGE UK income £131.8m
• AGE UK RICHMOND UPON THAMES income £2.4m
• AGE UK CROYDON income £1.7m
• AGE UK LAMBETH income £3.1m
• AGE UK TORBAY income £869k

Side by side with its peers

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.