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.

Precisely. DM took equity from her home to ensure it would be adapted as she aged. Clever planning.

In her home she is safe, secure and her MH is at its best. She loves her grandchildren to stay and looks after them during holidays.

along with all the other benefits in the system?

Just wrote out a post saying the same but you've put it way more eloquently! I would also add that a move would probably also entail moving outside their community, one they probably feel safe in, and away from neighbourly support. This would be end of days for many pensioners. Physically, unless they have family to do much of the groundwork, it's a massive near-impossible undertaking. There's not a chance in hell my parent's would cope with such a move, physically and mentally, even with our help. Imagine a single pensioner without family having to do this?

I've tried to give benefit of the doubt but there's huge ignorance about the reality of elderly people's lives on here - nor an inclination to even want to understand - and too much me me me it's just not fair. Honestly some of you come across like you'd love nothing more than to bump off granny.

They would be likely to go back to the lifetime allowance on pensions though which is a tax on pensions.

@BellaBellla having seen in-laws and parents decline and die in the last ten years or so, ranging in age from 65 to 84, I think you are spot on. There's a huge ignorance of the realities. People seem to think elderly people can just snap their fingers and move. Some can't see past their sea of medical appointments to do the shopping let alone 'release equity'. And in our case that was with our support. Getting old is a privilege of course but its reality is often far from pretty, and I wasn't about to berate my loved ones to up sticks and downsize to appease younger generations. Besides that would have meant them moving into smaller properties and increasing price and demand lower down the ladder.
The truth is we need more housing. Not a shuffle round

And a lot of pensioners have incomes marginally above the PC limit. Not necessarily because they earned more, but because they thought they might have a better retirement. Means testing WFA to PC levels would see them miss out even more. I’ve talked to quite a few in that position.

Good point. The only way around that would be to have some sort of taper for those above PC levels, but it would be resource intensive to administer.

The current system is the best and cheapest way IMHO. If those who don't need it are spending it on other things (so putting it back into the economy) or donating it, or even saving it so it can go towards care costs in the future or be inherited (and some clearly can't wait for elderly relatives to kick the bucket, so that cohort shpuld be pleased) that's all fine.

Is it? This is getting a bit silly now. Why not just let tax evaders keep their money? It’ll go back into the economy after all… etc

it needs to be means tested and based on need like most other benefits.

Most older people that I know don't need this and I know plenty of people with kids that do. It's illogical.

@MrsFiddle - don't see why not. I disagree with the triple lock as a policy. I would rather it applied to education budgets. What I notice is that there are not such generous policies for children. What a fantastic society we could be if there were.

Alas, it's just Conservatives making prejudicial policies for the old. More children in poverty than pensioners, needs looking at urgently.

it is the elderly who die of hypothermia though
not younger people

Eh, how is that comparable,? It is legal for pensioners to spend the Winter Fuel Allowance how they please. Tax evasion was illegal last time I checked. And tax evaders tend to evade a bit more than £300 a year.

Not sure I am the silly one!

As has been said a zillion times on this thread, it is not cost effective to means test such a small amount of money.

We receive subsidised childcare in the form of 30 hours because the government wants us back to work! No other reason and we have still spent over £80k to date on childcare so we could both work. Lucky us’! By the time I get to retire at 68 assuming the SP age doesn’t go up I will have worked for a total of 50 years(52 if counting mat leave). Way more than the majority of the boomers
I'm 65 don't know if that makes me a boomer, fucking insult to be called that btw. But by the time I get my pension next year I will have worked 50 years. So your figures are out. I will still have to carry on working because unfortunately due to my DHs ill health our mortgage doesn't finish for another four years.
You really need to consider that other people have different circumstances.

@Anxioys I love it when people say things like that without checking their facts, did you know that the guaranteed element of PC takes a single pensioners income up to £201.05 so thousands of pensioners on just the new full state pension of £203.85 won't qualify (unless they qualify for the disability element) so you are really saying that someone on £201.05 clearly needs it and someone on just £2.80 a week more doesn't.

JamTart is a bit dim. Be kind.

I know, that was malicious. But earned and deserved.

Calling people dim is indeed very kind.

Yes but clear facts won’t deter the people on this thread who are no doubt protecting their own interests and trying to persuade us it’s ‘the right thing to do’

@Oldsu - I think the broad point is that this money is better spent on pensioners who actually require it. I dare say you can make an adjustment to ensure that those who qualify for PC can receive this payment, and a line has to be drawn somewhere.

Exactly

OP YANBU

Who exactly is "protecting their own interests" on this thread? Because, really, that seems to be you more than anyone else. There's actually been some very balanced arguments on this thread but you're comeback is always "yeah but what about my situation".

This is a reasonable article which summarizes the issues. It touches on a lot of problems with the state pension, and how difficult it will be to change.

www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/comment/article-12434127/amp/It-appear-untouchable-triple-lock-borrowed-time-says-JEFF-PRESTRIDGE.html

Each individual means test costs.... which is slow and cumbersome and requires a cadre of administrators, which costs. For £300... really? Either run it via income tax and PAYE to determine who needs the money or pay it to all. The one certainty is that the least able to fight for the £300 are the ones who will be most in need of the help. It's not me, because I am comfortable with digital technology, and can fight my own corner, and read regulations.

And my state and pensioner benefits are limited to SP at the standard rate. I don't need meds, don't have a bus pass. And given the resentment on this and similar threads I have posted on in the last week, the more I like the idea of seeing out my days in another country.

Brexit, you say; you can't do that. Actually, on a non-lucrative visa, you can, definitely in Spain, Portugal and France. As long as you can pay your way without needing state funding, you can live most places. You just can't pitch up and expect to claim any handouts. Which I wouldn't.

Where did you get your home ownership figures from,please? It does not match up with any I've seen

I was mainly pointing out that most pensioners don't get the new state pension, it's only those under 70.