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?

Massive but generalisation- your generation voted for Brexit.

Oh no @pleasehelpwi3 you will just get a barrage of responses now saying “we never voted for Brexit”. MNs seems to really struggle with statistics 😆

I haven't read the thread but DH and I certainly don't need free prescriptions. We may be over 60 but we are both still working.

I’m pretty sure the age of free prescriptions will get moved out in the next decade.

So she still gets the payment but through a different route? Have I understood that right? If so, what's the problem?

No, but most older people did:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/520954/brexit-votes-by-age/

Not all of us. Certainly not myself or anyone I know, in fact.

Bingo! 😆

Also, I suspect not everyone is entirely honest about how they voted. As they're allowed to be in a democracy of course.
Rather like the trees for Tories phenomena of the 1992 election (ok so I'm a politics nerd.)

Good. Ridiculous that hard working people are funding a benefit for pensioners that can be well off - just because they had the privilege to grow old. However the issue is they will catch those on the threshold who will really suffer. However for years, workers on the thresholds of CTC, CHB and PAYE have been seen as fair game. It’s almost what people have been cheering for when its workers.

Let’s hope it continues. For too long the young worker with a family have been slammed at every corner to provide for a generation who had it all. Opportunities our young will never have.

Labour doesn’t have a magic money tree this time - too many people not paying in. I’ll be expecting more of the same. I think people will be bitterly disappointed and that’s why they will be 1 term.

Same - and actually I think that bringing it in line with state pension age would be perfectly reasonable.

I also think they need to look at the condition-based free prescriptions (and I say that as someone who benefits from that)

For too long the young worker with a family have been slammed at every corner to provide for a generation who had it all. Opportunities our young will never have.

There is a lot more financial support for families today than there was when today’s pensioners were bringing up their own families.

Oh I've no doubt this is a one term government! Maybe this is why they are starting off early with all this.

Aren't very well off pensioners paying tax to fund their own WFA? Why do people here seem to think they're funding it? It's the poorest who suffer here. Women who have been shafted already in waiting till 66 to claim their pension, may not now be working but not on benefit.

I sort of think that anyone who worked until they were nearly 80 should not have to worry about being warm at home in winter. And yet my DM does, at 90. For 90, she's in good shape, and has lots of family support, but she's on the edge of being in poverty, despite working since she was 17.

No it wasnt. I am similar age to you. We arent a selfish generation. I am fed up with hearing that.

I would love to see some of the comments in 10 yrs time-a people get older and start to resent what has been taken.

Lot of pensioners worked hard, saved to buy their first home etc - different times and different wages. I remember my parents saving to buy a hoover and we had no treat, biscuit, cake to go towards it. Previous generations did not have it "easy" and they do not owe the younger generation an easy life

It will be interesting to see what Labour go after next. Nothing that involves the Unions. It’s clearly going to be an open door for pay rises for public services.

they could review the Barnett formula possibly? CGT and inheritance tax. Also raise the section 106 contribution percentage for developers. On the subject of buses, I can’t see the profitability or need in our area of running near empty buses every 15 minutes during the day which have only one or two pensioner passengers. It would be cheaper to pay for taxis for them. Always seems crazy to me to put on services that aren’t properly used.

Yep my grandad has been retired for 35 years on a cushty final salary pension, has £1m in cash and assets, has more coming in via interest than my sister's household does with two local authority jobs....

It absolutely should be means tested.

Some people on Pension credit are not the very poorest. I assisted a couple who had just turned pension age to claim Pension credit a while ago. They were both on disability benefits, both decided they were carers for each other and lived in a council property. They had two state pensions of around £900 a month each, they were eligible for two severe disability premiums on their pension credit claim and two carers premiums. So £1800 a month in state pensions, both on higher rate disability benefits ( hers for anxiety ) so another £1400 between them, Then they started receiving £150 a week pension credit and all rent and council tax paid in full because they got pension credit Guarantee. So total income for this couple of around £2900 a month to live on AFTER all rent and council tax paid. Even discounting the disability benefits it is still £1500 a month ish to live on after all rent and CT paid . They will continue to get this wfp. Then you can have a single pensioner just on new state pension of £220 a week so around £900 a month losing it. Don't be fooled that everyone on pension credit is the very poorest in society ! This is my experience of what people are getting and is repeated over and over. I don't know how it is affordable.

Not all pensioners have private pensions .many are just living on their state pension. Which come on is a pittance! Not even a living wage!
labour should hang their head in shame..
I work with many pensioners who paid their stamps & will now struggle this winter .
I’m Disgusted with this ongoing narrative that all pensioners are wealthy & don’t struggle. A lot of them it’s a choice between eating & heating ..
Many of these pensioners were working since they were 14!
I suppose the next thing will be to get rid of the state pension altogether …

My Mums 93 and she hates being cold. Not only did she work for 51 years, she has done charity work for at least another 20 years, brought up 3 children, 5 grand children and now helping out with her great grand children. A life long labour supporter. I cant beleive that they are doing this.

My grandad died and was still paid a winter fuel allowance (to the estate) aparantly that's what happens if you're entititled to it on a certain date

My dad has a public service pension and private pensions. They hire a self catering apartment in Southern Europe. I absolutely don’t blame them and will do the same if we can afford it once DH retires.

Definitely

I'm sure the state pension will be scrapped eventually. Hence this push for everyone to be enrolled in one.
Maybe not for years, but I'm convinced it will be a thing of the past within 20 years.

So my mother was literally less than £5 above the pension credit threshold. She had no spare money but paid for everything that would have been free if on pension credit. This made her far worse off than those on pension credit as it is a straight cut off and does not take into account how much over the limit the income is. But nobody is bothered about that. She desperately needed that £200 but would no longer get it. Not everyone not on pension credits is rolling in it

I have seen people on MN saying for years that the WFA should be means-tested, but to do so would cost too much. I guess this is the next best thing. Not saying it is right of course, because there will be people very close to the line that has now been drawn that will lose out and suffer.

My dad gets it (being a pensioner and all) but he is not on pension credit as my mum works. When they get the payment, they put it straight on to their gas and electric meters. I know he will be on his soapbox about this.