Winter Fuel Payments Cut For Many Pensioners

[barry1010]

Labour is not messing about.  From this year only pensioners in reciept of Pension Credit or other means tested benefits will not the £100 - £300 annual payment to help with fuel bills.

Those just above the cut off for pension credit will really struggle

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3g9yy73l77t#:~:text=The%20chancellor%20confirms%20she%20is,to%20make%2C%22%20she%20says.

I think this is very wrong.  Too many pensioners with no savings and just a pound or two over the limit are struggling. 

[barry1010]

jourdain, I'm sorry to hear about your troubles.  I strongly advise you to get help from Citizens Advice as they have specialists to help you apply for benefits.  Reapply for attendance allowance.

If you are also on state you can't get carer's allowance but your husband can claim attendance allowance. 

[theshedman]

By taking this away in real terms she has done away with the triple lock as any extra we would have had with inflation as it is now will be taken away by her doing this.  So it seems I will still have not had a Labour government where I will have had a pay rise where my money has actually gone up.

[davebro3]

What's the betting they will remove the £1000 tax free allowance on savings interest (& possibly give ISAs a bashing)?

[rowanwitch]

Those with private pensions were always going to be an early target.  In many cases we earned those pensions doing those seemingly precious 'to the Chancellor' public sector jobs modest pay was offset by the thought of a decent pension when we retired.  Where's the incentive when those who made no provision get topped up to similar levels when you take into account housing and council tax benefit.

[New Judge]

"By taking this away in real terms she has done away with the triple lock as any extra we would have had with inflation as it is now will be taken away by her doing this."

How is that, shedman? The WFA is a flat rate and does not rise with inflation, so is not influenced by the triple lock at all. The basic State Pension is still subject to the triple lock (for the time being at least).

[theshedman]

No but they have said on the news today that the amount the state pension is expected to go up by next year due to low inflation is a very similar amount to what they are taking away with the WFA so there will be next no gain or very little gain.

[barry1010]

That's what's suggested in today's MailOnline, davebro.

rowan, I agree.  The current state pension is £221.20 and pension credit should simply top up the claimant's weekly income to that amount if that is their only income.  The government believes that is enough for a person to live on - unless your income is less then you get the top up, council tax benefit, housing benefit, cold weather payments, winter fuel allowance, free tv licence if you're over 75 and other extras.

[Khandro]

If that wasn't bad enough, Starmer want's to give back the Elgin Marbles! 😏

[barry1010]

Can't say I'm fussed about the Elgin marbles

[douglas9401]

Okay then, empty the museums of 'looted' treasures, return them all from whence they came and cancel all guilt-related largesse masquerading as foreign aid, let the former recipients live off their museum takings and fund their own damned private armies and nuclear programmes.

[youngmafbog]

I'm with Douglas.

[youngmafbog]

I wnder why the left are absent from this thread?

[douglas9401]

'Ere, 'ang abaht, I thought I was 'the left'. Maybe I'm ambidextrous.

[netherfield]

More like Starmer has lost his marbles.

We can manage without the payment, but I just said this morning Mum in law would have struggled without the payments. 

We lost her to covid in 2021,we would have helped of course, but she was a very proud woman as most of her generation were. And we hear talk of single persons reduction in council tax being removed.

Now we didn't vote them in, but somebody did.

[Untitled]

about a quarter of pensioners are millionaires or richer. it makes no sense to be paying this out to people who do not need it. 

i am uncertain whether or not the method of means testing they are using is the best one but the principle of means testing the winter fuel allowance is absolutely correct. it should go to those households who need it. 

[barry1010]

You could say the same thing about every benefit that isn't means tested including Child benefit, DLA, PIP, attendance allowance and of course state pensions.

[THECORBYLOON]

It's about a fifth of households in Great Britain including someone aged sixty-five or over, that have combined incomes of a million pound or more.

[barry1010]

Nice that high earners make a room for granny, isn't it?

[THECORBYLOON]

Unless there is further news from the Scots or Ulster governments, the change affects only those in England and Wales.

 

[maggiebee]

I have absolutely no problem with pensioners receiving the Winter Fuel Payment, in fact I have benefited from it in the past. I get confused about just how much some get in benefits as being in receipt of one seems to open the doors to many more. Friend is on a basic pension; she never worked for donkeys as she looked after her husband. When he passed she became eligible for rent rebate, pension credit which gives her a free TV licence and also applied for and receives attendance allowance. I truly don't grudge her any of these as she had a hard life in the past. However, I worked all my life and at the end of the day she has as much monthly income as I do. She will also receive the winter fuel allowance as she is in receipt of pension credit but it looks like I will lose mine. Nobody said life was fair but I do feel a little bit left behind at times.