The aim of this article is to explore recent policy debates connected with older people specifically, and health and community services more generally. The article first identifies and analyses two dominant discourses of ageing that are current in policy debates, healthy ageing and the burden of ageing, and then seeks to examine how these discourses enter the lives of low income older persons and influence their use of health and community services. The article draws on two recent qualitative research projects undertaken by the Brotherhood of St Laurence during the past two years. These studies focused on those who were the most disadvantaged and who were reliant on the pension and having to pay rent.