WTF? £600 winter fuel allowance for all pensioners!

[user1497207191]

No wonder the country has no money and the deficit/debt is getting bigger.

MIL just phoned up saying she'd got a letter telling her £600 was on the way to her and asking why, when she doesn't need it?

Just why??? She's not claiming means tested benefits. Her state and her husband's occupational pension are already far more than she needs to live on, meaning she saves a few hundred pounds a month into ISAs (which already stand at over £100k). Owns her own house, so no rent/mortgage.

Why the hell can't this money be directed at those who actually need it or more worthy causes? It's insane to keep throwing money at people who don't need it.

She doesn't need it, she doesn't want it. She wouldn't miss it if it wasn't paid to her.

If they can means test the child benefit and claw it back from those earning over £50k, why can't they come up with a way of ensuring winter fuel allowance is only paid to those who may need it? Why not only paid to those pensioners claiming pension credits, or rent allowance, or whatever?

The payment varies from 250 to 600, it's only 600 for people over 80 years old who live alone. There are arguments for and against full income-based means testing, but people shouldn't be getting the idea that all pensioners get 600. The payment depends on the person's age and circumstances.

Apologies if I’ve missed a post so am repeating something. I am a pensioner aged 67 and have just looked up the winter fuel allowances. The Gov uk website says I will get between £250 and £600. The maximum includes the Pensioner Cost of Living Payment - this second payment is means tested and part of the three payments totalling £900 given during 2023. For pensioners, the eligibility is to be claiming pension credit or some disability payments.

So I will get the lower amount as I don’t get any additional allowances. I probably don’t need it as I carried on working after having my children in a fairly well paid job so have a decent company pension as well as my state one. I do make regular donations to a food bank so will probably increase my donations during the winter months.

You’re wrong. There would be armies of administrators if it was means-tested. Giving it to all pensioners is virtually cost free in admin terms. Ours is going to the foodbank if it makes you feel any better.

I’m fairly sure those aren’t the pensioners people begrudge the payment going to though? I’m more than happy for pensioners who are struggling to get £600 fuel allowance. I do begrudge the pensioners who are incredibly wealthy, going on holiday regularly and spending like we will never afford to getting it when we have just tipped over the child benefit liking and get nothing despite the cut off for this not having changed for years. 60k isn’t a huge salary anymore especially for the main breadwinner.

Ah, I really should have read more posts, the person above me explained it much better than me! Sorry!

!!!???
Getting pregnant really is a choice.
Getting old really isn’t
Its biology

The UK state pension is lower than most if not all in Europe. It should be higher then nobody would need handouts.

You don’t need to advertise that you can give it to charity. Not only do a lot of us know that but we do it.

Lots of home owners are living on basic state pension & don't qualify for pension credit really need this. Our pensions are the lowest in Europe. Everything has gone up particularly car and house insurance and many pensioners are struggling!

Highly unlikely, that we will benefit from this ourselves one day, as the boundaries will have been shifted by then, just like some already have

• Pension age was increased from 65 (60 for women) to 67, but will likely get higher, meaning future pensioners may be working until 70+.
• Public sector pensions used to be based on final salary, now based on career average earnings, meaning we’re still paying for those lucky enough to have the final salary, but from now on superannuation payments have increased significantly, but the pension received much lower.

Lets be honest, there isn’t going to be enough money to continue handing out COL payments, irrespective of which party is in Government. The previous generation were looked after much better, than those under 50 now. As well as the improved pensions, they also had no tuition fees for Universty / College, plus non repayable grants. They also had Child Benefit payable for any number of children, irrespective of how much they earned.

So, sorry, but things are only going to get worse.

How is she getting six hundred pounds when it says online 150-300 winter fuel allowance. They wont be getting six hundred.

She must be over 80 years old.

Some very blinkered attitudes on here. I'm getting the impression that a disproportionate number of posters have parents or PIL who are comfortably off in retirement, which gives them a distorted idea of what life is like for most UK pensioners.

@user1497207191 you need to ask MNHQ to change your misleading title, no £600 for me it seems with my pension

HS2 has cost about 100 billion (at todays rate).
8 million pensioners getting let's say £400 average = 3.2 billion.

It's not this payment that is the main problem with government spending.

Hmm, bit concerning really

My parents are the same, they don't need it

Actually, it’s more like those over 65 who are likely to vote Tory. They are also the highest number of voters per 1000 of the age demographic.
https://www.britishelectionstudy.com/bes-findings/age-and-voting-behaviour-at-the-2019-general-election/

Maybe if UK pensions were as generous compared to national living costs as they are in other European countries then pensioners wouldn’t have to be relying on handouts and top ups .

@Eustaciavile I think that’s precisely
the point.

What’s the ‘FFS’ for?

We're not entitled (rightly) to any benefits, but believe me, we'd struggle without winter fuel help.

I don't know if means testing would be cost-effective but I hope they wouldn't make the criteria as narrow as you are suggesting

I agree. It is absolutely not £600 for all pensioners, far from it.

@Mammajay its related to age. Very possible OP’s MIL is eligible for £600.

I apologise if this has already been answered, but does anyone have a link showing that the six hundred is for all pensioners?

My mum isn't entitled to Pension Credit because she has a bit of my dead dad's pittance of a pension. She does, however, have to pay full rent and is struggling to get by. This money would make a huge difference to her, but from what I have read, the full amount is only for those receiving PC.

The previous generation were looked after much better, than those under 50 now. As well as the improved pensions, they also had no tuition fees for Universty / College, plus non repayable grants. They also had Child Benefit payable for any number of children, irrespective of how much they earned.

They also had far less chance to go to university. I'm in my 60s and I think it was 15% at most of 18yos who went on to degree level study. Most people my age didn't even stay on at school after 16. When Labour decided the number of students needed to go up they funded that by making the students pay for it rather than the taxpayer.

As for benefits, there were no tax credits until Labour introduced those in the late 90s/early 00s. Working families had to manage on wages and child benefit. You only got welfare benefits if you were out of work. No free nursery hours, no minimum wage, less generous maternity benefits than now (none at all before the 1970s), blatantly unequal pay for women, rampant inflation in the 1970s, high unemployment in the 1970s and 80s, sky high mortgage interest rates in the late 80s, negative equity in the early 90s. Today's pensioners did not have an easy ride through adult life.

Is this being paid directly to the people or via the energy companies?