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.

Half is paid to each person if they are both pensioners so max £200 per household.

Not helpful to ship lots of 80yos to an area far away from their families and support networks. Do you think all their children are going to trek up the M6 every Friday night?

I've no idea why this is an argument at all. The great majority of current pensioners have had ample time and ability that should have enabled them to buy a property (often more than one) at some point during their working lives.
@MidnightPatrol is absolutely correct that older people frequently tell younger people to just move to a cheap area if you can't afford the prices. The hypocrisy demonstrated by some is shocking.

This income level is clearly far too high and is obviously a pathetic attempt to buy votes, which will inevitably fail.

Not to mention all the additional pressure on healthcare. Favoured retirement areas are already seeing the impact on health and social care. That would be disastrous in a depressed area - which anywhere with those property prices clearly is.

It's too high. Should have been set out about £18,000, ie £1500 or less a month in income.

I live in NW, and would dispute you can get ‘nice’ houses for £85k. They do exist, but usually in shit holes.

It's not that they're "scared" of the pensioner cohort but of their own left wing back benchers who dont think any cuts should be made at all.

It's to allow for those pensioners with high home care costs (can be £15k a year) and many pay rent or rip off service charges in retirement villages. You would be shocked how expensive being old and sick is.

Well luckily they don't need to because the huge majority of them already bought decades ago, when prices were easily affordable, often on one salary.
Why is it that this is apparently an acceptable argument given to the young? Move to a cheaper area, stop being so entitled, is a well used phrase when a younger person complains about the unaffordable house prices.

Quite. And today’s young parents have much more access to help than I had. No food, milk, nappy banks etc when I was young. No breakfast clubs or subsidised childcare. 🙄

Yes it will because they will probably use your tax account to identify those who qualify. All, well most, investments are no longer taxed at source but the interest is estimated by HMRC and taxed via tax code. This is then adjusted when financial institutes submit returns at the end of the tax year. Unless you have complex offshore investments or you keep your savings in a shoe box under the bed then it will be included.
I’ve just submitted my DS’s application for student loan and maintenance grant. Because it’s all done via HMRC records it’s very straightforward and takes less than 24hrs if you are PAYE or sole trader. Probably difficult if you run a limited company.
Because of estimating interest they use the previous years completed tax returns. So if your taxable income was less than £35k in 23/24 you will qualify.
It’s easy to check by logging onto your HMRC account. If you don’t have one I would advise setting one up ( very easy), just to check the pension companies and bank have submitted the correct figures.

It's £35 k per person taxable income but the £200 is payable per household not per person. (£300 for over 80s)
I think the cut off just for those on pension credits was punative but this threshold is too far the other way.
I'm not sure why so many better off pensioners got so worked up over £200 per household but there you go.

Yes and many of these same people have grandparents to dump their kids on. Some of the elderly people i know are very busy with almost full time caring for grandchildren, picking them up from school and looking after them in the school holidays.

Are you seriously moaning that there were no food banks when you were younger? Do you actually understand what food banks are for? Are you really so blinkered?!

Most boomer women did not need to work when they had young(ish) children. Families could usually manage on one wage, certainly the middle class ones. Nowadays, the COL generally demands two salaries.

Where do I get my free food, milk and nappies!!?

This 💯 👍.

The working generation have ALWAYS paid for the generation above.

The younger whingers on here will, one day, in old age, be paid for by the generation below.

Thats how it works. 🤷‍♀️

Don't be absurd. There are dozens of threads on here of adult children trying to get elderly parents to move closer so they can help without huge amounts of travel. But now you are seriously suggesting that we send thousands of elderly away from their support networks, resulting in poor accessibility and failed support networks.

Building a new life as a young family is one thing. Trying to do it as an octogenarian would cause more problems than it solved

Ask the CAB. They will give you vouchers.👍

FFS Another grudging poster who'd rather see our Pensioners, some of whom have fought for our country freeze to fucking death.
I have Cp and have increased muscle spasm and pain in the winter.
They removed the warm home discount from claimants who receive PIP £150 is a lot of money to me.
Be grateful you're not one of those

looking at flats (flats were mentioned) in st Anne’s/Ansdell/lytham. Lots under £112K

Guys the enemy isn't pensioners or gen Z or whatever. It's the government, who fuck over everyone except the very rich as they have always done, and pit generations against each other to gain votes. Yes this threshold is obviously too high, but we should be fighting for every person on low income, particularly the medically vulnerable and those with young children, to receive this payment, instead of arguing about boomers Vs Gen Z.

I don't think you actually bothered to read my post before ranting. I have not suggested that the elderly ought to move to the NW.
To break it down for you:
The huge majority of elderly have had ample opportunities to buy property during their working lives so this is a pointless argument.
It is hypocritical to use the 'move to a cheap area' argument to a young person/ family but complain when it is used for an older person with the same affordability argument. All age groups need support. Just to be extra clear, I am against this argument regardless of age.

It’s not quite that easy.

But… and the issue this thread is about… is pensioners receiving benefits when on decent incomes, meaning they are far better off than the working adults funding it.

£35k of income, after tax no NI = £2.5k a month.

£35k of income standard tax, NI, pension, student loan = £2.2k a month

Then your working adult will be paying for housing - let’s say a £160k mortgage, that will be around £900.

So the pensioner is £1k/m better off than someone on the average wage, ignoring supporting any children for the working age adult.

Whats the rationale of the pensioner on £35k needing the £200 fuel benefit? Their disposable income is vastly higher than the average working adults.

£700k assets - do you mean mainly the house they live in, which will either be used to pay their care home fees, or given to you? I'm shock so many people see this as "greedy boomers". But yes there should be higher inheritance tax to make things fairer.