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.

I think generally the objections are not focused on supporting pensioners on low incomes, but rather on supporting them regardless of their income. I would support increasing the state pension and paying for it by means testing it so not everyone received it some people received a reduced amount. I want fewer poor pensioners, but dishing out more money to everyone regardless of need is madness.

That’s because the Tories honoured the triple lock which is applied to stop state pensions from falling behind due to inflation.
Most state pensioners absolutely needed the raise and it’s not their fault that salaries are not increased. The UK provide a lower level of pension than most other advanced economies relative to average earnings. The Irish state pension is €265.30 per week.

My mum and dad are wealthy pensioners every year they give my mums sister their winter fule payments as she is on state pension only. I like to think most people are decent folks.

You win a generous pension at a younger age than the following generations will get. You also win the right to pay less tax by not paying NI which I imagine will be gone in a few years. and a bus pass and £300 no matter how wealthy you are. Which I doubt will be there when my dds generation are pensioners.

Apologies I thought this was referring to the payments that were made out of the windfall tax from the energy companies, not the winter fuel allowance which I presume comes from taxes

I misunderstood the thread

none of the old people I know need this

Oh well, it must be changed then.

As also explained. The amount involved in paying out working age benefits is vast and so makes it cost effective to means test. And not all are means tested, btw.

UC and legacy spending is forecast to be £77.5 billion in 2023-24

Cost of winter fuel payment: £2 billion.

One fifth of pensioners are millionaires. Yet they got a taxpayer funded 10% increase- far more than teachers or nurses.

This x 100

The £100k to £125k tax trap is awful if you have children.

You can actually have a marginal tax rate over 100% when you have small children!

The tax structure in the UK had been completely distorted over the years to keep funding short-term political promises.

Its just so backwards. We invest more in the old vs the young.

And then the pensioners wonder why the whole country is turning against them.

At this point, it looks like the UK will have to really hit rock bottom before things can possibly turn around.

I’m older and retired and I don’t know anyone in my social circle this wealthy. My total savings are less than €3k.

However, I don’t live in the south of England. 🤷🏻‍♀️

That’s a sobering statistic

YANBU. ALL pensioner benefits should be means tested, but at a pretty high level, maybe a household income of £50k. So those on low/average incomes continue to get benefits, but really, any with incomes over £50k in retirement really don't need benefits at all. Alternatively expand the scope of NIC so that it follows income tax rules and therefore charged on all incomes over £12.5k regardless of age.

They can "means test" child benefits for workers on over £50k, so they can follow the same rules/procedures to means test all retirement/oap benefits.

pensioners have paid into the system if the illegals can get all their benefits while never paying a penny I personally think better to give to our own who have worked for the country

How incredibly short sighted to think a sustainable income (including winter fuel payments) for pensioners doesn't also benefit society as a whole.
I am sick of these mean-spirited attacks on old people. No-one who is lucky enough to live to old age can help the fact that they are old, and for most their opportunities to make financial adjustments in response to changing economic conditions are limited. The rampant age-based hatred on MN is disgusting.

Neither do they. They’re from the north east and live in the north east!

My mum used to donate hers to charity as she didn't need it. She did always think it was silly she was entitled to extra money when she had a £3.7k a month NHS pension when she retired on top of her state pension and she donated a lot of her money to charity and didn't accept pensioner discounts on things from small businesses etc.

But while there are a lot of wealthy pensioners thanks to gold-plated pensions, massive rises in property values, etc. there are also a lot of very poor pensioners who didn't get those nice pensions and who are living in poor quality accomodation on state pension and nothing else, are in poor health, poor mobility, etc. I'd be surprised if means testing for this benefit would be cost efficient given what it would take to implement. So I'm not sure what the answer is. It would be nice if the most in need got more than £300 at the expense of those who don't need it though.

I'm 67, I have an occupational pension as I worked in local government all my adult life, I now have my state pension , and a share of my late DHs public sector pension. I never earned more that 27,000 despite doing a very responsible job. I'm not a millionaire, I don't own a property worth squillions. I still pay tax. Many,many pensioners are far less well off than me.Many are really having to choose whether to heat or eat. We have one of the worst state pensions in Europe. Most pensioners would prefer to have a better weekly rate than have handouts once a year and free bus passes, much less do we want to feel that we are freeloaders. I have NEVER voted Tory, I didn't vote for Brexit. My late DH didn't even get 1 year of his state pension .
The fact is that successive governments have screwed us all. Not one of them has managed the economy so that we can live well , none had the foresight to ring fence any NI and invest it for the purpose of the state pension.
And now, we are being set against one another and we have a race to the bottom.

How the hell have most of them taken out more than they have put in. Absolute rubbish.

My parents started work at 14 (dad) and 15 (mum). They worked until they were 64 (dad) and 68 (mum). Unlike so many who go to university and don't actually start working until in their 20's (often well into their 20's). I know 3 people who didn't start work until at least 25.

My mum only ever took 3 years off work when me and my 2 siblings were young. She got an evening job so she could be at home with us and then dad would be with us when she worked.

There was no money given for first children when me and my siblings were young. Child benefit (known as Family Allowance then) was only given once there was a second child. Unlike today when child benefit is given from the first child.

Me and DH are pensioners as are most of our friends and relatives. Out of about 30 only 2 I would consider well off.

To be honest, all the pensioners I know are minted. I still think it's an excellent idea for a large proportion of people. Energy bills are insane at the moment.

People are not “illegals”.

Source please. I am guessing a large percentage are millionaires because of property values, rather than liquid assets.

I can't imagine tainting my life like some of the bitterness on this thread. My mother needs it, as do many I know.

If you want something, if you want change, stop moaning and being a bystander and actually do something.

Over 3 million living in "millionaire" households - yet they still receive automatic state benefits without means testing.

https://www.express.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/1632987/pensioner-millionaires-state-pension-triple-lock-increase-UK-2022

And you will inherit that house which has gone up 15 times in value plus any savings so you won’t have worked for a penny of that massive windfall either, I bet you won’t be complaining then.

Yes it is also one that benefits further examination - it is mostly to do with property values which are not liquid assets.