Would you be willing to pay more for your TV licence to ensure it stays free for over 75s?

[ChaosTrulyReigns]

I blinking would.

I know it's be a administrative impossiblity to achieve, but volunteering to pay an extra £5/£10 per year? Could it work?

My 83 year old mum was rolling around in pain and crying on Saturday. Cant get decent treatment on the NHS so is planning on going private.

Or at least she was until she heard todays news. Parents arent on Pension Credit but their money dosnt stretch to the moon and back.

It may not stretch to the moon and back but if private healthcare is an option for them then I'm sure it can stretch to cover the license fee. I certainly can't afford private healthcare and I'm a full time nurse.

Well they could pay some of the TV presenters a bit less.

Just goes to show how strong the celeb culture is that no one has mentioned that yet.

@Pacificallythespecific My 83 year old dad is a taxi driver. Cant see him giving that up if an extra bill is added.

Honestly I'd just scrap the license fee altogether and stick adverts on. I don't get why the BBC is this sacred cow that is beyond reproach.

No I bloody wouldn't!

No way. Even though my parents are over 75 they are comfortably off and can easily afford £13 a month. My Dad is just tight but thinks nothing of giving his grand child £4 a week "pocket money" which was £4 a week more than he gave me as a child. I can imagine him frothing at the mouth about having to now pay for it.

I would

Nope
My GMIL is an over 75 and has more money than the rest of the family put together by a long way.
My ILs will be soon and are also very well off with loads of disposable income.
My mum is also nearly 75, has dementia and is quite isolated, her tv is a lifeline as she cannot read, or do puzzles anymore, although we have lots for her to do in the day and loads of visitors there are still times where she fills it with tv but I still think that it shouldn't be an automatic thing.
Link it to pension credit or attendance allowance, to means test it or make sure there is a need that I'm happy with but not blanket provision.

What about under 75s who are disabled or have chronic health conditions? Should they be given a free license fee in case in means they can afford private health care?

helenadove have I missed the point of your post or are you implying that having to pay less than 150£ per year is the line between your mum being able to afford private healthcare or not? Like I get that 'money doesn't stretch to the moon and back' but if that's the wiggle room she has then it doesn't sound like she could afford to go private anyway what a weird comparison to make.

Not a chance.

My 75yo mum gets more money in pensions and whatnot than I do for working full-time.

My DM grew up in poverty in post war Italy. Once you have been through that the fear of poverty never leaves you. She was born in 1936. She was EIGHT years old when working in the fields plus helping to run the home while my grandfather was away fighting in the Italian army.

Many pensioners didnt fight in the war i agree but plenty were affected by the aftermath.

There is a lot of ignorance and hatred towards pensioners on here.

She worries about being without and i do mean WITHOUT Because shes been there.

Not really as my disabled son who lives alone, trying to be independent, has to pay the same as my husband and I who are quite able to pay the fee.

not a chance
make the so called 'celebs' and top bosses take a massive pay cut
the bbc is not fit for purpose anymore

I think there should be concession on the TV licence for people with disabilities.

My parents have more money than I ever will. The golden generation. Subsidise their telly watching? No thanks.

Let them keep the free bus passes and get them off the road

That should work in theory but I don't think it does in reality. Free bus passes don't stop pensioners who should not be driving going out in their cars.

Agree with some kinds of means testing. I know a fair few over 75s who can easily afford a tv licence. For example dh gran is 87 and is very well off - thousands in the bank, various shares, owns a 4 bed house, pays for help etc. She doesn’t need a free tv licence, but there are many struggling families who would notice an increase. Why should they have to pay more to subsidise people like dh’s gran.

Helena, I think the point the previous poster was making is that there is a MASSIVE difference between private healthcare and a tv license. My parents can afford the latter but not in a month of Sundays could they afford private healthcare, no matter how much pain they were in.

I don’t hate pensioners but I hate the idea that they’re a starving group of desperately poor people struggling to get by. Many of them are and that is tragic, but many of them are doing very very well and are probably the last generation of pensioners to get it this good. Universal pensioner benefits are a travesty when so many sick and disabled people are living in dreadful poverty with no hope of alleviation by this awful government.

No I don't think they should get it for free.

I do think that the TV licensing shouldn't be allowed to carry on with their intimidation tactics though. Nobody else is allowed to lie and threaten so blatantly.

No. Benefits should be means-tested. I’d like to have a free tv license for those living below minimum wage, using food banks, relying on PIP... Not just because they are old. BIL and SIL get a free license for their Cotswold mansion.

If you receive high rate dla or enhanced pip (care or mob) as an adult you should get a free tv license.
Just because you have lived to 75? No, it’s right to link them to pension credit.

With the cuts to Pension Credit that came in last month it wouldnt surprise me if the plan is to phase out PC altogether.

No I will not pay more so Rupert Murdoch can have a free TV licence.

Increase the basic pension for over-75s by the cost of a TV licence.

QED