To say the £35k winter fuel threshold is way too high!

[chocolateismyweakness4]

The threshold needed to be raised, but £35k?! I wish I earned that and I have a mortgage and commuting costs. It also doesn’t take into account savings (so they could have millions in the bank) or household income.

We all know it’s a bribe, but they still won’t get pensioners to vote for them.

It' actually £100 each if it's a couple so never over £200 for a household under 80. It's reclaimed by income tax if you are undeserving.

As there’s another thread with links to articles saying that £44k after tax is needed for a comfortable retirement a threshold of £35k (gross), which is, what, a little over £30k net doesn’t seem unreasonable

Somebody said it was ignorance to suggest not all boomers were rich. I said it wasn’t as they weren’t. Whether it’s true of other groups is irrelevant to my comment.

I think it could also start at a higher age. I agree those over 80 should have a higher rate of WFA. I think most people at 66-67 are still very active, many still working or looking after elderly parents or grandchildren. With the huge increase in mothers having babies over 40, many over 65s still have children at uni or needing support after uni ends before they get a job. 66 just isn’t old at all.

It's not like elderly people can go back out to work and earn more is it? MN has become so poisonous towards older people, these are your parents and grandparents... Many are very poor, and for those that aren't - you'll be glad enough to accept their "wealth" when they are gone.

I think this is a good compromise.

Entitled Boomers is a phrase often used by ageist idiots who don't understand that people born within a certain time frame aren't a homogenous mass.

Many on MN hate disabled people too, to be fair. And other certain demographics.

Where are they then? They’re not at work.

It's relevant.

No - but 75% of them own their homes with no mortgage.

A third of pensioners have a million pounds in assets.

Some pensioners are very poor - but most with a pensionable income of £35k are going to be without housing costs.

Well, no it isn’t. I was correcting a comment about one demographic. But you seem so full of hate for everyone born between 2 random dates that you don’t want to discuss in good faith, so I’m going to stop responding to you now.

Cafes, shops/shopping centres, leisure centres, libraries, churches, community centres, friends houses etc.

It is, despite you not seeing it.
Calling someone 'full of hate' is a bit of an over exaggeration.

I’m a late boomer. I’m still years away from getting a state pension. I am a carer for a disabled adult child so work part time and earn less than the full time minimum wage. WFP is neither here nor there - it’s 50p a day and will be worth even less by the time I might be eligible. It’s all been a mad storm in a teacup in my opinion. However, I’m not sure who I’m shafting or how I’m managing it.

Those with £35k of pension income are poor though, you’d need to have built a pretty good pension pot to be in receipt of that.

And it’s the threshold which people are complaining about.

@Cel77
They have clearly stated it’s £35k taxable income!

It's surely per household? And I thought £200 unless you are over 80. It will be a help for my mum.

That's £2,730 a month cash income as a threshold.

Assuming they spend £1,000 on rent, £200 on council tax, £200 on food, £300 on bills (home all day), £250 running a small car, £100 on clothes and £100 on hobbies, I would have thought they still have plenty of money spare.

I'd expected them to set the threshold at £20k-£25k annual income.

I'm surprised.

And how have you come to the decision that people born between certain years are all entitled? But I guess there has to be someone to blame for everything and it might as well be boomers, who actually grew up through a lot of post war hardship.

Everyone had it before. Now just the rich don't get it. It's a reasonable level

You're clearly not the classic entitled boomer though.

No. Read the words.

Oh dear. You do realise that cafes and shops cost money? As for the rest, I personally can’t remember visiting any of them since becoming a pensioner. Your spite is off the scale - against a disperate group of people born over a 19 year period. Maybe one day you’ll grow up.

I did!

What a bunch of whinging moaning Minnie’s, all this when I was a teacher I got less than that etc etc
You all sound so bitter
as you get older you feel the cold more, hence needing more heating, lots of those on up to £35k don’t have lots of assets, and don’t all own properties, some still rent, and just look at the rental prices now a days, never mind increases in everything else

if You think your parents don’t need it then tell them to refuse it, they can do