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?

There's a massive difference between - let's not give pensioners free money just by virtue of their age when they're the richest generation ever, and let's cull them.
How absolutely ridiculous

Oh behave. I dread to think what it’s going to be like for our kids generation and I’m only in my 40’s and I’ve had it easier than the generation below me. Nothing wrong with acknowledging that. Pensions and the NHS likely won’t exist by the time I’m 80 and I’ll probably have to work until I’m 79!

The problem is that something has to give at some point. Our population has increased by 13 million since 1985. With advances in medical science happening, people will just keep living longer and longer. The NHS will need to become more like the European model at some point. Whether that is in 5, 10 or 20 years time who knows, but it's inevitable.

When pensions were first introduced in the UK in 1948 the average lifespan was 64.8 years for men and 70.2 years for women. Today it's 79 for men and 81 for women. I suspect that retirement age will keep increasing until eventually a state pension will no longer exist and people will have to support themselves in old age.

Shall we go further and cull pensioners when they get to 70, that would save even more money.

yes, that's definitely the next logical step after means testing a benefit. Does means tested child benefit mean the government wants to kill children?

It needs to be means-tested. My late dad had 4 pensions plus his old age pension so he frittered the winter fuel payment in the betting shop

When pensions were first introduced in the UK in 1948 the average lifespan was 64.8 years for men and 70.2 years for women. Today it's 79 for men and 81 for women.

healthy life expectancy hasn't changed though has it

Yes means tested I think. My mum gets it and doesn’t need it at all, she saves it and gives it to the grandchildren 🤦‍♀️

What age did you buy a house?

Yes, there's a lot of made up nonsense misunderstanding on this frankly ageist thread.

So Tories brought it in, but it was a non means tested benefit which is an old Labour type concept. This Labour govt are getting bad press from some for not being very Labour. I suppose they might be trying to rethink/grab more voters etc.

Re bus passes - pretty useful if we are stopping our parents from driving. Very Mumsnetterish.

The next wave of 'Boomers' are definitely not a wealthy bunch. Those now in their early 60s are not at all well off

I worked with a local councillor and the number of pensioners who said (before the cut) they didn't need theirs and donated it to charity or gave it to the grandkids was shocking!

We are in our 70s and can afford to lose the WFP as we have savings and private pensions. However, if you rely on just the state pension, as all 4 of our parents did, it becomes an essential part of your budgeting. I would set the level at which it is cut higher, I would also like to see the tax threshold increased to £15k or £20k so if you are on a low income, you don't pay a relatively large proportion of your income on tax. I would recover this by tweaking the 40% tax level so someone on C £50k would pay a similar amount as now, those in less would pay less tax. With regard to bus passes. We live in a village, 10 miles away from 3 different towns. At the moment we have a car, but we use our bus pass to go into the towns, reducing congestion in the towns. If we didn't have a bus pass, we would not use the bus, but always drive in, adding to pollution, congestion and using parking spaces. In addition the passes subsidise the bus services, without them, fares will rise, services drop or the gov will have to subsidise them anyway. I would also like to point out that it hasn't been a bed of roses for boomers. We have seen inflation at over 20%, unemployment at over 3 million, recessions that were not shielded by furlough so thousands lost their homes or had massive falls in their values. The establishment are driving a wedge between groups of the population. If the younger generations keep complaining about pensioners benefits the gov will feel justified in cutting those benefits. When the younger gens reach retirement they will then be moaning at the lack of gov support for pensioners. Becareful of what you wish for.

Those wanting this freebie reinstated-how do you square that with the fact that child benefit is means tested?

Read the post again, please. I'm disabled. If I don't have my car, I can't get out to buy food. Neither can I get to the bus stop.

“It seems it is like a free bus pass, not needed by everyone, but people will take it regardless when those really in need get overlooked.”

People who don’t need a bus pass won’t get one, and even if they do would use the bus only very occasionally. OP, you talk about people on pension credit - they actually get more money than those who have to get by on the state pension into which they’ve paid in. Yes, many people will have an additional work pension - but not all, and the people most likely to be just above the threshold are widows and women who were SAHM (commoner among the retired than today). Our state pension is pitiful by International standards - the whole point of the triple lock was to raise it slowly in a manageable way. I think removing the WFA was outrageous - if people are in receipt of generous private pensions, they will be paying way more than the allowance in tax, anyway. For every pensioner who is happy to go without it, there will be someone struggling and going cold as a result of its withdrawal.

Jesus, all this furore over a couple of hundred quid. God help the government that has the balls to do something about the egregious triple lock.

I think a lot of people, like myself want the cut off to be higher rather than totally reinstated and surely means testing could be administered similarly to the CB. I don't think anyone on this thread has said that wealthy people should get it.

Do you think wealthy people should get CB

How is it “ageist” ?

If anything, not giving younger people free handouts to subsidise fossil fuel profits is ageist.

I think that you have all made good points, however, as a 66 year old with just the state pension coming in, I would have really appreciated the Winter Fuel Payment. I don’t have numerous holidays abroad and I most certainly would have noticed if I had received it and I’m not the only one!

Poster upthread seemed to think her in-laws got £600.

No one was up in arms when child benefit was (incorrectly) means tested. No one cares when predominantly women and children who suffer.

I know. The ignorance is staggering.

I don’t think most people would have an issue if the means testing for WFA was at the same income level as child benefit

That would render it completely pointless. The cut off should be at tax liability.

I don’t think most people would have an issue if the means testing for WFA was at the same income level as child benefit

How does that make sense?