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.

I’m more than happy that part of my taxes will be going to support pensioners, many that have likely contributed greatly to the pot themselves over the years. £35k is less than the UK average income for one person so I dont think it’s unreasonable. Especially when people can earn up to £99k in joint income and still received considerably more in child benefit.

With another six years before they get their pension.

Not unreasonable:

• The cap is £35k per person so £70k per household.
• If one person earns more, the person on the lower income gets half the allowance. Wouldn’t that be nice for free childcare hours?
• The allowance for some reason automatically goes up once you are 80. I don’t understand that but maybe there is wisdom behind it.
• ~75% of pensioners own their home outright so have no mortgage or rental costs (https://ageing-better.org.uk/housing-state-ageing-2022h).
• It may be a piddling amount per person, enough for a really nice dinner out in a city or a budget weekend away, but it adds up to £1.25 billion. Even on national policy terms that’s a significant chunk.

But they had loads of notice that it was increasing from 60 - goes right back to the 1990's. They didn't just wake up one random morning to find the government of the time had changed it from 60 to 67!!

My husband gets a state pension of 1019.00 + 525.00 private work pension.He still pays tax on the work pension. I am 65, unemployed,was made redundant, difficult to find employment at my age,so just have to wait till February 2026 my pension age.We have a small terraced house,with no mortgage.we cannot claim anything as we do not pay a mortgage or rent.Its still sometimes a struggle.Our Daughter & partner moved in with us recently, as the flat they lived in for over 3 years + became too expensive.We are just managing. The problem is only pensioners over 80 yrs receive the £300.00 pa.People younger get £200.00.We did not get this payment last winter, as we own our home.Its taken 14 years to save enough money to buy a modest house outright.We would of received more income on benefits! Our heating bills are horrendous as we live in a old property.I have managed to give my husband my married tax allowance, that I am not using the £12,0000 personal tax allowance Husband gets a tax benefit of £232 pa. The whole system is broken in the UK, who have one of the lowest pensions in Europe.Things will get even more challenging when the pension age increases.The Job market now is getting tougher.How will people survive with not many low skilled jobs available, pension age will rise,people may have poor health.The DWP will expect you to work with major health issues.I am very concerned & worried, especially for people who are young and are going to have to pay rent indefinitely.

My dad's annual income including state pension and his small private pension is £15.5k per year. He isn't entitled to any benefits and pays full rent and council tax. He's mid 70s and not capable of working to boost his income.

What a bloody shitshow
Whoever decided to take it away in the first place was a bloody idiot.
Take it away threshold too low
Give it back threshold too high

What a load of election suicide for what £300 a year?

Have you transferred the £1,260 of your unused personal allowance for your OH to use? It's called "marriage allowance" and would save him £252 of income tax which you could use towards gas & electric costs!

Yup, I think most people now realise Rachel is a bloody idiot! It's one thing after another. She's not got a clue.

If he has under £16k in savings he should be entitled to a council tax discount and likely housing benefit too.

£35k cut off does sound a bit high.
Probably, like the inheritance tax threshold, this isn’t expected to change for many years though.

Current state pension is £230 per week. Taking only the 2.5% guaranteed annual raise part of the triple lock, by 2060 the state pension alone would pay £545 per week. That’s £28,000 a year. Obviously more if the other parts of the triple lock continue.

Projections of a state retirement age in 2060 are 72-74, which would be anyone born in the late 1980s - so in their late 30s now.

Chances are that by 2060 £35k may be a low pensioner income anyway. So really very few pensioners will get the WFA if it still exists.

At least a retirement age of 74 gives people lots of time to save up in preparation for retiring!

Do you really think people will magically be healthier in 30 years and able to work until 74? They won’t. People will either have to spend their (possibly very small) pension pots to plug the gap for a few years until that runs out, or live on Universal Credit which is a pittance if you’re a single person.

He isn't. Everything has been applied for and he's entitled to nothing. He didn't receive the WFA last winter either because he doesn't qualify for pension credit.

It suits the politicians and journalists to pit generations against each other. The truth is the housing crisis was caused by Thatcher selling off council houses and not replacing them, subsequent politicians didn't build new homes, wages were depressed by Blair's mass immigration policy, reinforced by Cameron, May, Boris. The low wage economy encouraged by all of them. Plus the introduction of university fees - Labour under Blair was responsible for that.

does he have savings over £16k? If not he should be entitled to housing benefit

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/benefits-entitlements/housing-benefit/

No, I don’t.

But so many commenting here are adamant that pensioners are wealthy and have too much money relative to younger people. Plus, pensioners don’t work, which always grates.

I can only assume that they will be happy to see the retirement age raised along with the expectation that people plan to fund their own retirement rather than relying on the state.

For anyone in their late 30s a retirement age of 70+ is likely. But that’s ok, because by then they’ll have paid off their mortgage and will be sitting on equity which will be unfair to anyone who is in their 20s then and struggling to make ends meet.

So, in case you’re not healthy enough to work full time then, better get saving eh? Wouldn’t want to take from the state when you’ve had so many years to plan, would you? That’d be selfish and taking from the younger generations.

Yep

No. His income is not deemed low enough to qualify.

No I'm not really. I don't waste money on " stuff" but I travel regularly . So get about £1250 a month. Council tax is £120, gas/electric £50, water £16, phone £8. Still leaves over £1k for food etc

Car is a work vehicle so not under my household expenses

This was meant to be a quote to person saying I must live frugally

How do you spend so little on energy??

Gas standing charge is about 31p a day, electric 47p. That’s £25 a month before you use any fuel!

But you still need to declare interest over the savings allowance, even if you don't do a tax return.

it can be adjusted in through your paye code,depending on the amount.

I only get the state pension and because it's slightly more than the tax allowance I have to pay tax on it

That’s because so many people feel ignored by the mainstream politicians!

The personal allowance is over £12k and the state pension is just under £12k so anyone who only gets the state pension shouldn’t pay income tax.