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?

AA isn't about buying in care or carers. My mother was blind and my father looked after her. She qualified for AA and he was her carer until she needed to go into nursing care and then the AA was stopped.

My father lived to such a great age that one of his pension pots was nearly empty. But not because he hadn't managed his money well and he had savings for the care my mother received.

AA doesn’t have to stop if you’re in a care home and self funding. That’ll doubtless blow some minds!

The most unsafe drivers ive seen are parents on the school run.

If you are self funding you can continue to claim higher rate AA.

This is different, you are in 24hr care and there is no need to pay for heating.

It stopped because her care was palliative and paid for by the NHS

Me too, it needs to be targeted purely at those who need it. Some pensioners are in the 40% tax bracket with there private and state pension.

Lets see what’s next for their attack on the weakest in society, the sick and disabled. I wrote to my Labour M.P about this, and it’s obvious from his response that he’ll be voting for it. Thanks Toby Perkins, he referred to my situation that I’d be Ok as I have M.S and an indefinite award, that’s not the point. I had an horrendous time applying and constantly battling, it’s exhausting and demoralising. I fear for other poor sods out there that are going to be turned away, and there won’t be enough work coaches to help disabled people into work, it’s a falace, shocking.

I think I would like to see people who need help get it. It is not solely dependent on a person’s age.

Only pensioners that currently receive pension credit receive winter fuel allowance

so this is already means tested

Secondly, those who receive full state pension.
This is approx £12k

Could you live on £12k per year ?

They were mentioning ways they could do it on BBC and council tax bands were mentioned, I guess that would exclude all the wealthy MILs on here

Great, replace one flawed criteria with another flawed criteria. Council tax bandings bear no relation to the income nor living costs of the occupants. Lots of poor old people rattling around in larger houses they can’t afford. Or do they mean that those in larger homes will get wfa because their heating costs will be higher?

And also some of the council tax bandings, particularly for properties built after 1991 in England (don’t know about Wales) bear no resemblance to the relative cost of the properties now.

Rishi Sunak did it for some fuel cost payment, those up to band D, I think, got an extra sum of money towards the fuel when it was very high. The thing that comes up most when people are moaning on here is MIL's house price though and old people in big expensive houses so would probably suit many people moaning about it. It was just people on the BBC mentioning things they could do, not what they were doing, nothing will suit everyone though.

Yes and the people who just don’t qualify are those who have paid in maximum years of National Insurance. If you are on pension credit then it’s a gateways to other benefits. So people in receipt of pension credit, who may not have paid in anything like 35 years of contributions will be better off than those who have. Another disincentive to work.

I wrote to my MP when it was removed to point out that removing it affects many more women than men. Many women have much less valuable pensions than men for a whole host of reasons some to do with the inequality regarding pay that still exists in many workplaces (Birmingham city council fought its equal pay claim for years). I see many peoples finance arrangements. This is anecdotal but in almost every case I see the men have a higher level of pension when adding together state and private pensions than women do.

Needs means testing

That’s crazy. Some people are asset rich and income poor. Sheer idiocy.

Means testing is all well and good, but it’s very costly to do so. Making people apply is also costly and can be a barrier for some older people. Hence WFA was rolled out to everyone who met the age criteria automatically. It would be interesting to see how much the current arrangements are costing in comparison to automatic eligibility based on age alone. Although I think it would be extremely difficult to capture the social and NHS costs due to inadequate heating being used.

I don't know anyone who got 100% mortgage - not my parents, not my siblings, my aunts and uncles nor any of my friends.

It was also very rare among my friends and family for the woman not to work at all. My mum worked evenings so she could be at home during the day and my dad looked after us while she worked.

I don't agree that we had it way easier and certainly my parents did not. Life was much harder for them

I only get state pension and I get just over £14,000 so you are wrong.

I should have said basic pension. I’d forgotten about SIPPS, etc.

Wrong. I only get state pension and receive just over £14,000 so over the tax threshold

Why don’t you just accept that we’re talking about the basic pension which is what the vast majority of pensioners get?

People who get universal credit don't have to pay tax do they? My state pension is more than the tax threshold so I will have to pay tax. How is that fair?

How do you know what the vast majority of pensioners get? You might think you know it all but you really don't.

Most of my friends and family get the same amount I do.

It fair because all income over the threshold is taxable. Why would it be fair for you not to pay tax on your additional pension when I have to pay tax on my occupational pension that exceeds the threshold? It’s people like you that give us all the label of “greedy pensioners”.