Winter fuel payments for pensioners scrapped

[MidnightPatrol]

Unless they are in receipt of pension credit or other benefits.

I suspect this will be the first of many benefits which will be restricted as part of cost-cutting measures.

What else might we see / should we see?

But many poorer ones won't get it. If you get £1 over the amount allowed before getting pension credit you won't get it and those on pension credit will be much better off. How is that fair?

You could say that to anyone who claims any benefit then ? Renting out a room means you have to have a room and house that you can rent a room out, safety checks etc, fill in a tax return.these people have paid in and still pay in to society, we all pay tax in other ways every time we buy something. The ui state pension is one of the worst in europe. I mean if its all about choyces why are we funding those with numerous children , thats a choice. Child benefit for those on 5 x a pension etc

Yes sadly will be people like you just over the pension credit threshold due to a small private pension that will miss out the most. It is unfair.

It is a massive vote loser. You can see why they’ve got it out of the way early.

I think it's more disgusting how low state pension really is tbh.

When she comes for them, they will soon squeal.

Council tax bands should not be used because they reflect the variations in house prices around the country, NOT people's incomes.
In my road in London all 3 bed properties semi houses are band E but in the North East are band B. That is 3 bands difference.

I’m loving this. If this had been announced by the Tories three weeks ago Mumsnet would have been overwhelmed by posters saying how terrible it was and how they all know someone just below the cut-off.

😂

This is a good decision. All pensioners automatically receiving it despite a lot with wealth and assets is ridiculous.

Pension Credit being the cut-off is unnecessarily harsh. Martin Lewis is writing to the chancellor about this https://x.com/MartinSLewis/status/1817938929938514274?t=RYbCnlw-rIT6SHLr_XOV-Q&s=19

Hopefully she will tweak it a bit

I don't think my DP needs theirs but they will be very upset because they are always worried about money. It's ridiculous because they have assets but they are concerned that as they get older and older their money will run out. I think there are also lots of pensioners just on the cusp who don't get pension credit but do need it.

Allow me to tell you that you oviously know very little about pensioners and how they live.

Take your older single pensioner who has just the state pension (hardly riches) and compare to those who made no provision for their old age who receive all the add-ons (worth up to £3k a year).

There are those who did not have access to company pensions etc - but have a small annuity that takes them above the PC level. They have to pay for their TV licence, their council tax, their housing costs etc and you think 'most' pensioners will not miss that £200 per annum for the winter months.

It is sickening, do people not realise that time flies by and if they live they too will be old

Absolute rubbish that there are many add ons. Many don't qualify for pension credit because they get as little as £1 over the cut off point. Many would not be entitled to housing benefit. Some may have paid off their mortgage but doesn't mean they are rich does it? They still have to pay for gas, electric, water, food, council tax, transport costs, insurance etc etc etc.

Lots of poorer ones won’t get it though, many are just pounds over the the threshold so will be plunged further into poverty. I’ve no issue with wealthy pensioners not getting it, but many who have the old state pension + a tiny private pension which takes them just over the limit for pension credit will be hugely affected by this.

Agree that this kind of cliff edge eligibility is very harsh especially when applied to a group who don't have flexibility to increase their household income in other ways .

It's also concerning in wider policy terms. Pension credit being the requirement to access help that was previously unrestricted while at the same time gradually becoming more difficult to qualify for. Is this what's going to keep happening now? Work till you drop right enough.

Our pensions and healthcare is about average for what people have paid in.

If you paid into a private pension, making your outgoing payments similar to countries who have more generous pension amounts, you would, combined receive about the same.

Yes it is disgraceful. And the tax thresholds are so low that you don't need to earn much over the pension to pay tax at 20%. Many people still work to supplement their pension only to have it taken away in tax.

My in-laws live abroad and are loaded and yet still receive the WFA. It does need to change

I'm worried sick, really needed it and used it for what it was intended for.

I feel so sorry for anyone for whom this is worrying. The seniors in our lives shouldn’t be sat in cold houses. That’s barbaric in a first world country.

I think pressure needs to be put on energy companies to help with this.

Having said that, it’s undeniably true that a lot of people got this benefit with more money in the bank than many people earn in a few years.

Therefore I’m in agreement that the current arrangement is changing, but hope that safety nets are put in place.

This thread is so depressing. So far this government has taken money from people who are paying twice for education, now they are taking a tiny sum from old people. As we have continually been told that means testing costs too much I have to assume they don't care if this policy raises nothing but will go down well with that section of society who can't bear the fact that someone might get something that they aren't. The school fee tax will also raise very little if anything but delights those who are terrified that some people might be allowed to spend their own money as they please.
When can we look forward to taxpayer funded childcare only being paid to people in receipt of other benefits?

Rachel Reeves said only those receiving pension credits or other means tested benefits will be eligible .

Have 4 lots of oldies in the extended family that we keep an eye on. The poorest one has two years of my salary in savings and more coming in each month than me.

I think it's reasonable.