I know this will be contentious - cost of living rise

[qualitychat]

My mum is a pensioner and gets Disability Benefit and Mobility Benefit and Pension Credit. She receives almost what I get in a month. She is moaning about the Government not doing enough about the cost of gas and electricity, which I agree with. The thing is they have said that people on benefits and pension credit will be given lump sums towards their bills. I am a middle earner and so is my husband. We will likely get nothing. Do you not think it will be the ordinary working families who will be squeezed the most if something is not done?

[LexMitior]

The government does not now have time to sort out some bespoke scheme where income, assets and deserving or non deserving are sorted out. It is also gambling that energy costs will decrease in the next 12 months. People are going to be expected to meet these bills themselves, and bailiffs if you can't after a point.

The best that might come after these rises hit (because hey, after months of this leadership election its here) is something like a cold winter payment which you can get after you can show you are a) impoverished to the point where you could not meet these bills and b) you get the money afterwards. You pay first.

[ArseInTheCoOpWindow]

Well if they own a house they could downsize or release equity

But stamp duty puts them off.

[Wouldloveanother]

@wherearebeefandonioncrisps does your mum have a pension?

[talkingdeadscot]

Nice. Don't forget that you'll all be pensioners at some point. You could lose your health at any time too. Then who will you decide is worth nothing?

[gyurghle]

It would be so bad but when I'm old my state pension will likely be 70, the NHS will not exist in its current form, etc

[gyurghle]

wouldn't

[RosetteNebula]

@tiger2691

One of my daughters works full time (she's a TA), she also has to claim UC and is basically impoverished, so fuck off with your snap. Ditto the person you quoted can do the same (fuck off), 50% of people and families claiming UC work for their poverty.

If you'd actually read the comment properly instead of telling me to fuck off you'd see one stated that I am aware there are genuine claimants. I used to claim working tax credits to top up a low wage myself hen I lived alone. But come on now, we all know there are scammers who just can't be arsed to work.

[idonotmind]

Of course some boomers won't be affected even if their energy costs double. Because they are not paying for childcare costs, transportation, food, etc.

They have fewer outgoings.

I get the whole 'I've worked hard, i deserve it' argument.

But they didn't work hard enough because we're fucked now with the energy/rising costs. Only our grandparents worked hard enough to make it comfortable for the boomers.

[rainbowmilk]

@CeeJay81

Also if you havent got children. Even if you are on a low income you can't get benefits. Rubbish for single working adults. One of my colleagues works 50 hours a week ut will struggle to get by and isn't entitled to anything cause she's not pension age and has no dependants anymore.

Sadly nobody cares - it’s all about hard working families. During lockdown I went months and months living alone without being able to touch anyone or have them over to see me. Same thing will happen here. Even if the middle incomes are given help, it’ll be based on dependants and those without won’t matter.

[gyurghle]

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow I don't get that, my aunt wants to downsize but moans about the stamp duty. The house cost about 60k & is worth about 1.6m.

[ohdearnotme]

@tiger2691 - does she have a child/children?

It's interesting how UC is distributed - it appears that some benefit a great deal and others don't depending on circumstance.

[talkingdeadscot]

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

Well if they own a house they could downsize or release equity

But stamp duty puts them off.

And if they don't own a house they should give up their council place to a family who needs it. Is that the way it goes???

[ASDstruggles]

@gyurghle

but the Rui her you are the more likely you are to be able to make choices (pull the kids out of private school) to pay the higher bills, so in my opinion it is correct that the burden is borne by the richest.

depends how you measure richness, I don't think the burden is equal, too much on PAYE

Agreed 100%. PAYE is a very very blunt tool to assess wealth. Misses out the err, trust fund recipients!

[ArseInTheCoOpWindow]

There’s been many threads on here about how stamp duty is ‘stopping’ older people from selling their houses.

When l retire l think l will want to downsize, but lm put off by stamp duty. It seems different paying it to move up than down.

[gyurghle]

And if they don't own a house they should give up their council place to a family who needs it. Is that the way it goes???

well that's a leap!

[GoTeamRocket]

I know families with low income and on benefits. Sometimes I do think they have it easier.

Then i think of the extra activities I can pay for, for my DS, which is out of their reach. I think that every month I own a bit more of my house and my pension pot is growing.

The grass is not always greener.

Then I remember the awful Conservative government who are only interested in themselves and their mates and who don't give a shit about families like mine. I remember they are to blame for this situation not my neighbours, or families I meet on the school gate.

[Forestgate]

I agree OP.

W are planning to emigrate in the next few years. Economics in UK don't add up for working people.

[gyurghle]

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow I think it's worse paying it on the way up as often it's such a chunk for a bog standard property so difficult to avoid & afford

[Rosscameasdoody]

Pensioners and disabled people who can’t work are on fixed incomes and are going to struggle with the cost of living rises.
The only disabled people who are getting anything other than the £400 universal payment, are those on DLA, AA or PIP, who will get £150.
All other payments to disabled people will be targeted at those on income related benefits, which not all disabled people will qualify for.
Pensioners are the same - extra payments are based on whether they receive winter fuel payments, pension credit, etc.
You’re not getting nothing - you’re getting £400 off your bills, £150 council tax payment and whatever else the new PM puts in place.
Everyone is being squeezed but don’t compare yourself with disabled people who are already at a disadvantage and are afforded extra support for a reason.

[Babyroobs]

@alexdgr8

OP, are you sure about that, i thought people receiving tate pension can only claim attendance allowance, and there is no mobility element in that.
what mobility benefits does she receive ?
and would you prefer your mother to be struggling.
it's hard enough to be an older person at the moment on a fixed income with soaring prices. if disabled, any extra payments go towards extra costs of disability, and are never enough.

If a pension ages person is on PIP before they turn pension age they continue to get PIP including mobility. So you could have two equally disabled pensioners but if one was already on PIP they could be getting almost double the one who claim Attendance allowance after pension age. I work for a charity for older people and this is why we see a sudden rush of people trying to claim PIP just before pension age. To be fair PIP is a lot harder to get than AA.

[NameChangeLifeChange]

@Forestgate

I agree OP.

W are planning to emigrate in the next few years. Economics in UK don't add up for working people.

Us too. We meet all the requirements for Canada but can’t afford to save the needed cash. If we ever get a windfall I’ll be on the first plane there.

[gyurghle]

@Forestgate I've read that more & more & would encourage young people to look abroad for opportunities but than that compounds our ageing population situation.

[Seafretfreda]

Agree wholeheartedly with @Tigerstigers and @NameChangeLifeChange

Both work full time here, decent middle management level, and our take home pay is about the same as FIL’s pension each month! We have a small 3 bed, DC and a second hand car. Our outgoings are higher than theirs as we have a mortgage. PILs get winter fuel payments, free bus passes etc, senior citizens’ entry to everything and are minted compared with us! No mortgage, big brand new car, multiple holidays each year, private health cover, shop at Waitrose, every middle class stereotype going. MIL has never worked full time, more like a day a week for 10 years or so. It’s a joke!

[roopeedoopeedooo]

Your mum gets about £16-18k a year I reckon. Can't be a huge amount as she gets pension credit. That would be the first one to go if she was "well off".

So let's say your mum gets £18k a year as a retired pensioner. You claim you are a mid earner. So is your DH.

So you two get an above average wage of £27k. Let's say one at £30k and one at £35. You are earning £65k and have your health and years left and are complaining about a disabled pensioner that gave birth to you living it up.

Mums net gets better and better 🤷🏼‍♀️

[edwinbear]

@NameChangeLifeChange my mum is the same. She lives in a massive 5 bed house by herself, mortgage paid off years ago. Gets a huge (inflation linked), widows pension courtesy of my Dad (who sadly died years ago) plus her triple locked state pension and has c.£250k in the bank. All fine, it’s a benefit of being a baby boomer. But absolutely she could manage without a free bus pass and winter fuel allowance, which could be much better directed, (in my opinion), to those with caring responsibilities, disabilities, struggling on just a state pension etc etc. But what really boils my piss, is her constant moaning about how hard up she is.