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.

Like every low earning taxpayer who funds child benefit.

It doesn’t. You can have two parents earning £59k each and they get child benefit. Which is why it’s grossly unfair on single parents.

Which banks are paying 4% on savings ? I’ve just had a letter from the Halifax saying the interest on my savings account is dropping to 0.002% !!

Clearly it does as neither person gets it when it hits about £80k

That’s not the case with this benefit as below.

One will get it even if the other is high, there’s no threshold.

It can’t even be that hard to administer. You answer an are you married etc question on tax returns.

Simple to do with CB so would be simple here. No idea why Reeves wouldn’t beyond generally messing this up.

Try fixed rate savings accounts.

Ybs

But a household can get child benefit with a joint income of £118k. If one partner qualifies for WFA and the other doesn’t they get half - £100.

No half here for one over and one under.

Easy to do, Reeves is missing it.

ETA it shouldn’t be half it should be a household threshold and zero.

Too high, but better than the blunt instrament of PC only used before. I'd place it more to £22k for a single pensioner and £28k for a 2 pensioner household. That would target the 'needs most' pensioners whilst not 'affronting' the working population earning and paying taxes on NMW who help to fund these payments.

As I near my dotage I do find that I feel the cold a lot more than I used to and I've got 4.5 years to go before I can get any pension. Those older than me probably feel the cold more than I do.

Definitely not a food bank. Charity as in depending on family or friends.

Marcus is paying 4%. Get your money moved!

https://www.marcus.co.uk/uk/en/savings/online-savings-account

How do you work out that all pensioners don’t pay rent/mortgage?

I’d say getting help from family and friends isn’t charity - I wouldn’t think of it as charity if I helped one of my family or friends. Meanwhile Food Banks are literal charities.

There is no married or not question on the tax return.

Wouldn’t it also be declared on tax returns, and therefore the WFA would be paid back?

On gov site

If you fill in a Self Assessment tax return each year

Claim by completing the Married Couple’s Allowance section of the tax return.

If your income (or your partner's income if you're married or in a civil partnership) exceeds £60,000 per year, you'll still receive the full Child Benefit but will have to pay a portion of it back through the High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge.

@Badbadbunnythis too cites status

That’s assuming that the household is a cohabiting couple with shared finances which isn’t necessarily the case.

Do you always refer to the Chancellors by their first name? It makes your criticism seem very personal, it’s curious.

Surely the main takeaway is that anyone earning under 35k can legitimately say they struggle to pay winter fuel costs. And since it’s entirely unaffordable to give everyone a winter fuel alllowance, the solution is to reduce the costs of fuel, and one big way to do that is to take the energy companies out of the hands of shareholders. So maybe Labour’s long term plan is to prepare for renationalisation of utilities. Which seems like a good thing overall.

Because no previous generation has ever relied on family help of course

No anecdotes from me.

All this thread has proven is inter generational fighting is at an all time high.
Labour have made so many appalling decisions it’s a gift to Reform and has increased their popularity more than even the Conservatives could have done as people expected Labour to ‘be better’.

The removal of the WFA was a test to see what the British public would tolerate, they did something that even the Conservatives wouldn’t touch.

I do not believe for a second that any pensioner will now vote Labour because of this U turn if anything they have proven themselves to be very inconsistent.

@Rosscameasdoody its a good idea to have accounts with multiple banks. Some offer products to current clients only. I have one account currently paying 5% but you had to already be a member to be able to have this account.