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?

Or just live alone, it’s automatically £500 or £600 depending on age. No requirement to be on benefits.

You get the years you are given. It’s not boomers’ fault they were born when they were. I inherited my parents’ house which has allowed me to live fairly comfortably. But my Dad was absolutely piss poor as a child. My inheritance allows me to help my DD. I’m too young for the fuel allowance but my DH will get it. He’s currently dying upstairs. We all have our crosses to bear.

https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/how-much-youll-get

If you live alone or no one you live with is eligible for the Winter Fuel PaymentYou’ll get either:

• £500 if you were born between 25 September 1943 and 24 September 1957
• £600 if you were born before 25 September 1943

If you live with someone else who’s eligible for the Winter Fuel PaymentYour payment may be different if you get one of the following benefits:

• Pension Credit
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Income Support

If you do not get any of the benefitsYou’ll get a payment of either:

• £250 if you and the person you live with were both born between 25 September 1943 and 24 September 1957
• £250 if you were born between 25 September 1943 and 24 September 1957 but the person you live with was born before 25 September 1943
• £350 if you were born before 25 September 1943 but the person you live with was born between 25 September 1943 and 24 September 1957
• £300 if you and the person you live with were both born before 25 September 1943

If you and your partner jointly claim any of the benefitsOne of you will get a payment of either:

• £500 if both of you were born between 25 September 1943 and 24 September 1957
• £600 if one or both of you were born before 25 September 1943

You’ll be paid into the bank account your benefits are usually paid into. If you get any of the benefits (not as part of a joint claim)You’ll get a payment of either:

• £500 if you were born between 25 September 1943 and 24 September 1957
• £600 if you were born before 25 September 1943

If you live in a care homeIf you’re eligible you’ll get either:

• £250 if you were born between 25 September 1943 and 24 September 1957
• £300 if you were born before 25 September 1943

There’s nothing nuanced about it, it tapers over the course of a £10k income bracket until you are entitled to receive £0 and if you claim it when not eligible it is taken back in tax. It’s an incredibly black and white situation.

Yes, and the reason for that is medical. Older people more heating so have higher bills.

Whereas you are an advocate of a 50K household income getting child benefit. Funny how you don't afford the same benefit to OAPs.

@crumblingschools

My husband got this last year and as I was still working we didn’t need it so tried to return it. It caused so many headaches, it just couldn’t be done. In the end we gave it all to the local food bank.
This year we’re both reliant on state pension and will need it if we’re to keep the damp away (very old house and health issues that need medication if we get too cold ) We’ll get £500 between us but won’t need all of it because we have good thermal undies, warm socks , blankets and woolly pullies 🙂 so we’ll just give the extra to the food bank again without the hassle.
Surely the few of us that don’t actually need it will do that or similar without being told!

You're wasting your time.

That’s hardly an argument for it to be non means tested.
If it was means tested then those who needed it would still receive it.

At a time when both education and health services are on their knees, this is ridiculous.

See also free prescriptions etc for pensioners.

I have just been on .GOV site to check. My DH is retired and gets a reduced pension. It would be nice to have any amount towards the winter heating bills. We will look out for the letter detailing how much, if any, he will receive. Have attached the relevant advice from .GOV.

I have zero issue with those genuinely struggling getting this money, but my dad gets it too and he changes his car every year and is on a very fat end of salary pension that is more than I earn in a year working full time! They absolutely DO NOT need it and I really begrudge them getting it!

I have been a pensioner for nearly 20 years.
I get nothing.
Mind you 600 quid would not even pay my heating bill (gas) for 2 months.

But most of the suggestions have been that the only pensioners to get it should be those on pension credit. But my parents example is just one of many on here, where pension credit isn't given to those with the tiniest of private pensions, literally a couple of pound. So it would have to be tapered, a task which is not cost effective.

And you're slagging him off online. 🙄 Classy

@FelicityFlops I have been a pensioner for nearly 20 years.
I get nothing.

This is not true though?

THIS YEAR it's that much because it includes a cost of living payment. It is normally only £200. Should that really be means tested?

I believe it should be means-tested. My pensioner mother lives a very lavish life and has never had to face any financial insecurity. She is the last person in the country who should be receiving this. The money wouldn’t go towards the fuel as my father pays the bills - it would go towards her next silly designer bag or face cream.

Oh dear. Your reference to ‘the ‘ageist’ card’ tells me how seriously I need to take you, along with the remark about your ‘hard earned taxes’ 😆🙄.
Cliche upon envious cliche. Please educate yourself.

🙄quit the overkill

Why shouldn’t it be? Some pensioners are incredibly well off and don’t need a payment towards their fuel. A universal application is just as ludicrous as saying everyone who works from home should receive a winter fuel payment because they need their hearing on more.
Should all families with young children get it too because they also need their house to be warmer?
Its simply not logical to apply it to all pensioners when actually on average as a group they have more disposable income than many working families.
Pensioners who are on a low income should receive the help they need, those on high incomes should not.
Bizarre that some people are acting like that school of thought is so controversial and even the “ageism” claim.

You seem to take great offence to people stating their own experiences of close relatives who don’t need the benefit.
Not all pensioners are struggling to find 2p to rub together.

Same for my DM. She has lived on her own for nearly 40 years and she is receiving the £600. I believe it's the winter fuel allowance plus an extra £300 COL allowance.

You seem to hate pensioners. Crack on.

Why do infants age children get free school meals £15 a week for 39 weeks?