First, you must log in to Beacon. There are two options here, the links for them are shown at the bottom of this page, but don't click them just yet. When you have successfully logged into Beacon, you'll see the option to renew your membership, and this will then guide you through the payment process.

The payments portal uses PayPal, but just as an agent to collect your membership fee. With effect from Thursday August 20th 2026 the interface with PayPal has been vastly improved, and you can simply pay using a Credit or Debit Card as you would with any other online payments. You do NOT need a PayPal account.

We've created a guide on how to go through the renewal process (now much simpler 😊) which you can view as you go through it (or maybe print off before you start). What you see on your screen may be slightly different. This guide starts from the point at which you have logged in to Beacon, so if you haven't yet registered for Beacon access, you'll need to do that first (using the appropriate button below). After reading/printing the Guide please return to this window to continue the process.

To open the guide, please click on the button below:

You will not be charged for using online membership services, although our u3a will have a small commission fee deducted from your payment by PayPal - but we think this is worth it.

Completing the form will mean that you agree to the terms of our Data Protection policy, which you can view by clicking on this button:

Right, ready to continue? Then please click on the appropriate button below: