What are all pensioners getting another £300 this winter??

[F0RBIDDENFRUIT]

They are amongst the richest people in the country, yes there are poor pensioners but a lot of them are way richer than anyone else.

£300 more for energy, none of the old people I know need this, they all have more money than their children.

Just because they vote, that is the only reason they can be doing this.

Oh for God’s sake. I am genuinely shocked at how many people cannot understand that “spending X on a holiday” does not mean “the holiday only cost X”.

It’s basic reading comprehension. The fact that I’ve had to clarify this multiple times is really worrying.

Yes I know, but the state pension is tax free too, I meant is it specifically left out of your taxable income (unlike the state pension)

Oh that sounds tough and tiring. The people making unpleasant comments will find that time goes by very quickly and they will too will be old. I hope that you are managing to do some small things that bring you pleasure and relaxation. x

I don’t have nursery aged DC and I am happy about the very expensive free nursery care available to those who do, and meet minimum income requirements for this. This £300 for pensioners may be politically motivated, but to object only to handouts that benefit other demographics than your own is hypocritical.

Don’t let the Tories divide us.

The fact that you saw fit to post it in the first place is really worrying. As is the grasp of maths you displayed in that post.

The winter fuel allowance should be paid to all those in poverty regardless of age, as should free prescriptions and bus passes. It’s absurd that this isn’t already the case.

The state pension isn’t tax free, it’s set against your personal allowance. The winter fuel allowance is tax free, it doesn’t count for tax purposes.

It already is. Everyone on benefits gets it. And free prescriptions.

@BIossomtoes Ah how much more interesting life would be if we got a "personality allowance" 🙃

@TheThinkingGoblin I think your posts have been excellent and no-nonsense. The fact that some posters can’t counter then with any facts speaks for itself and they have to resort to childish personal attacks. Play the ball not the man and all of that.

There is no direct line between money borrowed in public debt (or the interest we pay on it) and our budget expenditure on the state pension and pension benefits.

There is zero correlation or causation between spending on pensioners and national debt.

The fact you do this for a living explains a lot about the state of our economy.

@Judashascomeintosomemoney / tbh since pensioners mostly vote Conservative and are dominantly responsible for supporting this shit show as well as voting Brexit I would say the division isn't a Tory thing but a very real action.

I have enough money. I don't need help from the state. But there are a lot of young people and children who do. They have been screwed over by the voting patterns of the old.

@Lifeomars thank you for your kind words, thankfully i do get to have enjoyment too.

When was your teacher maternal grandmother born and working? You seem to be ignoring the very real barriers to returning to professional work that would have been in the way of many middle class women. You do realise the Marriage Bar wasn’t lifted from some professions and private companies until well in to the 1970s don’t you? And no, no one stopped my dirt poor, working class, married with four children, grandmother from being a cleaner (with no such thing as minimum wage) either. Funny that.

Do you think the old should have the vote removed?

I know a lot of rich pensioners. Final salary pension, no mortgage or rent and they have loads of disposable income.

I also know a lot of pensioners who are struggling. Who just survive.

And there are those in the middle.

I am not sure that the first group need this extra £300 and I can think of plenty of better ways of spending that money.

Well my father and all of his neighbours and friends his age need it very greatly

Please don't blame it all on the pensioners. Plenty are not Tories. Over 40s are also more likely to vote Tory than not. Anyone under 40 who didn't get out and vote also shares in the blame.

I think we’re talking at cross purposes. The state pension does not have tax deducted at the point of you receiving it, but yes I know it is included in your personal allowance for tax purposes. I just wasn’t sure whether the fuel payment was treated the same. Thank you for clarifying.

@Judashascomeintosomemoney the 1950s, and yet many of her colleagues returned to work after getting married and having kids. It was not impossible. Funny that so many working class women were able to return to work isn’t it? Almost like middle class women didn’t want to return to work and preferred to spend the time at home with their kids. However if a woman today comes on here with kids older than school age and isn’t working she will absolutely be berated for not looking for work. Total unfairness and double standards. Choices and opportunities have undoubtedly increased for my generation but not in every way.

Only those who are over pension age get the winter fuel allowance. And you only get free prescriptions if you're on certain income based benefits.

@Judashascomeintosomemoney - no. But when 67 percent of people over the age of 67 voted Conservative at the last election, you can give over with Tory division. It's something wanted by older people by a huge margin.

Honestly what are the government playing at? I didn’t vote Tory for them to start doling out handouts to scroungers who couldn’t get off their arses and just work harder when they were young. Enough of this nannying socialist drain on public funds that would be much better siphoned off into party donors pockets, if a few pensioners freeze so be it, the market has spoken, there’s no such thing as society after all.

I disagree, I think @TheThinkingGoblin has made some useful points which have been far more informative than the "so you want all pensioners to starve to death" and "well my parents are poor so your evidence must be wrong because it doesn't reflect my personal experience" type posts.

Almost like middle class women didn’t want to return to work and preferred to spend the time at home with their kids
Oh no, how terrible.

However if a woman today comes on here with kids older than school age and isn’t working she will absolutely be berated for not looking for work
Not by me. And do you mean SAHM/housewives (or whatever is the acceptable terminology)? In fact, I imagine that non economic work is deemed less worthy and is less respected than economic work precisely because it is more often undertaken by women and not men. Traditional female roles are often disrespected because women do them - probably why care work is so low paid (or not paid at all, despite it saving the welfare state an absolute fortune)