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?

Time goes past very quickly, one day, and that day will arrive a lot sooner than they think. The people who seem to resent and dislike people over 65 will be old too. Do they want to live in a society that sees them as a drain on resources and something that needs to be dispensed with? By having this type of attitude today they are possibly contributing to a culture of ageism that will affect them later. If you live, you will grow old, surely you would like to grow old in a kind and civilised society that treats you as an individual. I have never been ageist, even when I was young, I hope that I always saw the person not the number of birthdays they had celebrated. Now, as an older person, I have friends in all age groups, it helps me understand different perspectives on life and hopefully stops me stereotyping people

Oh well OP fingers crossed that she'll die soon eh? Then you'll have a nice slice of that pie and you can happily donate it to a worthy cause. Because you wouldn't want to keep it would you? I mean she did nothing to earn it, no tax paid, no pensions paid into, no years of paying NI, no mortgage paid off. ...

I don't begrudge 80+ year olds getting this payment. Someone of this age is likely to be frail with health issues and will have more expensive heating bills to keep themselves healthy.

But I think there are many boomers out there (not all), but many who seem to minimise the economic problems the young face with housing, pensions, and general cost of living. I'm not saying everything was plain sailing for all boomers but many seemed to be able to buy decent sized houses on one average salary. That is an impossible dream now for the young unless if you live in a very very cheap area (but with little job prospects).

It doesn't help when some boomers say it's all because young people today buy takeaway coffees, Netflix subscriptions and avocados. Even if you forego all those things, it won't afford someone today the same relative lifestyle they may have been able to achieve 30,40+ years ago. It's that unawareness and idiotic narrative that grates.

Why should people who have worked, saved and acquired keep losing out to those who sat on their back side, drank or smoked their money away ?

So because a few idiots think this way the pensioners in genuine need should lose this small sum to help with their heating costs?

Pure ageism as usual on mumsnet. Move along now and die is the slogan.

Spot on.

Yeah, those damn tax payers that don't have the decency to just die at retirement instead of collecting their pension (and then still paying more tax).🙄

I never really clocked the ageism on MN before but it is shocking on this thread.

So because a few idiots think this way the pensioners in genuine need should lose this small sum to help with their heating costs?

Of course not, I said I agree with the 80+ year olds getting this payment.

My points were more about why young people may begrudge certain policies, as it often feels many of the Boomer generation are ignorant and dismissive of the issues faced by the young today. Plus it's a very popular opinion that these benefits (state pension, winter fuel etc) will not be around in the years to come, or the age requirement will be so high that no one under 45 or so will ever benefit from then.

This. She can give it away if she doesn't want it. Plenty of older people do need it and the cost of means testing is apparently more than the cost of giving it to everyone over State Pension age. It's per household by the way. Two pensioners don't get that each.

I agree with you about the child benefit, though.

Lots of pensioners do not have final salary pensions or Pension Credit. They also don't have the ability to go out to work and pay the higher fuel bills of the last year or two. This money will go to the energy companies in most cases. Why are people so jealous?

I don’t begrudge the payment to pensioners who need it, at all.

But 1 in every 4 pensioners in this country is a millionaire. Handing out benefits to millionaires is absurd.

Also why should all the people that didn't save up and have pensions be bailed out when the ones that worked hard, saved, had pensions dont?

You can constantly give houses, benefits, free prescriptions etc and then expect others to do it for themselves.

But 1 in every 4 pensioners in this country is a millionaire. Handing out benefits to millionaires is absurd.

Are you sure 1/4 of all pensioners are millionaires, it sounds a bit unlikely.

I'd hazard a guess that 1/4 of the pensioners in my neck of the woods are not millionaires! I doubt there's any. Seems a high percentage overall - unless you're talking property assets (which they don't have until house is sold).

Save your rage for a government made up of the elite. A government determined to demonise certain groups of people, encourage envy and blame among us while laughing their way to the bank.
Please see through them.

I'm lucky I've £300 food now as has my D's....mum and dad dont need it...that's six weeks food here...

Can't say I'm surprised, very much in keeping with the attitude of generation "me first".

I think the stat does include all assets, including property.

Good grief! You do realise that people don’t automatically become card carrying Tories when they collect their pension don't you? For a start, the average age of Just Stop Oil protesters was about 75!!!
Neither my grandparents, parents, or siblings have ever voted Tory. My grandmother cast her last vote when she just turned 100. Labour through and through.

Tell her to send it to me because I need it

Round my neck of the woods, there are very few £million properties.

I think the main conclusion to be drawn from the graph of voting shift by age group shows that people are more likely to vote Tory in self interest as they age and become more cynical about politicians. It's easy and cheap and costs nothing to post socialist and vote Tory in private.

Hurrah! Bernie Ecclestone can add his free £600 to his offshore secret millions. He'll need it as he's been fined for tax avoidance fraud. Poor old thing.

His £640m fine will help the Treasury pay for the winter fuel payments.