Winter fuel payments

[dearydeary]

I have just heard on the news that this is being discussed again and they are considering reinstating them.

While I think that people who are on a lower income (pension credit for example) may need additional help I do not think this should be a universal benefit any more.

It appears the government is still looking for votes. What about everyone else in society? Younger people at universities or just starting out? Individuals with disabilities?

Surely we need to be moving to a more means tested approach as the finances need rebalancing?

Where pensioner need help, I am happy to support but many older folk have benefited from good pensions, valuable house price increases and a stable employment market. This is not the situation for many of us any more.

Have I lost the plot?

The way things are going we might not live long enough to collect a state pension. It'll be from 70 at least by the time that I retire, if not older.

I don’t recognise this.

But I do see pro Starmer who forgive welfare cuts even though they’re impacted, and I wonder why they make it easier for Labour to keep going with cuts knowing they won’t lose support.

Yes, Tory's do too.

I certainly don't rage on about disi certainly don't rage on about PIP fraud or mobility cars. My Foster Son has a mobility car and claims PIP. That is until until Labour take it away from him because although severely disabled is under 22 so Labour have said he won't be eligible for LCWRA anymore. His disability hasn't gone away.

Poor pensioners exist, but I suspect these are up north or in poorer areas of the country. Down south I know many who have benefited from the huge increase in house prices.

But the mentality among the wealthy pensioners is very strange and I know a few. They seem to think they can take the money with them and some be reluctant to spend money even on things that will make themselves more comfortable. I am often telling a family member to enjoy what they have as they won’t live forever rather than worry about money (this person is a millionaire all added il). He is elderly worries about flushing the toilet due to water bills, or buying anything other than the basic range of food. I don’t know what he’s saving it for.

No, I know you don't, @caringcarer. I have seen your posts on the disability bashing threads.

Which proves the point I made earlier that being anti-Starmer doesn't mean being pro-disability benefit cuts.

But most of those who disability benefit bash on MN are also anti-Starmer. Which is a different point.

Eta: what Labour is proposing for young disabled people is particularly loathsome and I am sorry your son is affected. I am hoping that enough backbenchers grow a spine and rebel. But it may be a forlorn hope.

We need to merge NICs into Income Tax. Those pensioners who genuinely are well off should be paying the same taxes as anyone else with the same income.

Perhaps the WFP should just be rolled into the state pension. Then it will be a taxable benefit for those over the threshold.

Not cull but there has to be a middle ground

I agree, they should just raise the pension by £200 and call it a day with separate WFA. It was raised by double that this year anyway. Having a separate payment makes some people think it’s a Christmas bonus or ties it to an emotive issue. Just increase the SP by £200 and be done with it.

I'm someone who lost the payment and I agreed with it. Benefits like this are not for me and Paul McCartney, better to target them at the needy. I understand the theory that universal benefits are cheaper, however.

Maybe It’s honesty? If you don’t need WFA why would you pretend you did? It’s not forgiveness, it’s agreeing it’s the right policy.

I was referring to the disability / welfare cuts as the pp was.

On the separate WFA I know some wealthy pensioners don’t want the WFA on here, fine. But they’re missing that other pensioners struggle and need it.

On welfare / disability cuts I wonder why Starmer gets the support below given they are impacted by Labour’s cuts.

"They"?

I don't think anyone on this thread has said whether or not they are affected by the disability welfare cuts. Caringcarer has said her son is, but presumably you don't know who he supports.

I find the posts over concern re ‘anti Starmer’ interesting, given the cuts Labour have made. And I don’t recognise what is claimed in the Venn diagram posts.

When it was cut I helped an elderly relative apply for pension credit.

They were awarded £2 a week. This meant they could claim the winter fuel which was great.

However, they were then advised to apply for attendance allowance, their illness is mainly age related. They were awarded the higher rate £110 a week. Then an extra amount of £82 a week for severe disability premium.

If the government hadn’t made the change to winter fuel they wouldn’t have applied for any of the above benefits.

I would therefore question how much, if anything, the government have saved as my relative cannot be the only person who has done this.

Perhaps means testing attendance allowance and possibly PIP and DLA would be a better idea.

But they’re missing that other pensioners struggle and need it.

I’m not missing that. The threshold is too low. Looks as if the government agrees with me now.

So who was the "they" you were referring to when you said:

On welfare / disability cuts I wonder why Starmer gets the support below given they are impacted by Labour’s cuts

Because I haven't seen a single poster on this thread (or on MN generally) who is potentially impacted by disability benefit cuts say they support Starmer over this. It doesn't mean they will suddenly support Reform or the Tories, though.

This post. It does make a difference to pensioners who struggle.

My colleague who's obviously not retied but does receive state pension as he is retirement age told me about his first mortgage being 110%. They got 10% extra to decorate 😅 his wife stayed home with the kids then too.
My in laws got a 100% mortgage on a single very normal income too.
They all acknowledge how much harder it is to get on the ladder now.
There's nothing wrong with having had certain things easier it's just odd to be so unwilling to acknowledge it as some people are.

I am guessing you don't want to say which poster you were referring to. So I will draw my own conclusions.

BULLSHIT My DH paid in and then the company went bust
Married women were conned into paying "half stamp" Stop trying to rewrite history

https://www.alsterskelley.com/driving-changes-and-new-road-laws-for-over-70s-in-2025/

Erm..................expect it is women who will suffer more due to WFA cut Didnt you get the memo that women live longer than men

Quelle surprise MN disagrees with winter fuel allowance but says keep the bus pass. Cos it keeps the pensioners out of the way of the school run parents in the mornings and 3pm

Just seen on the news 9 million pensioners qualified. 1 in 7 people in the UK?

Surely paying it to people on disability and housing, as well as pension credit would be fairer (1.2 million approx)?