Is fuel poverty only for those on benefits?

[fizzbuzz]

I only ask, beacuse with these new round of current rise in power prices, we are spending well over 10% of our disposable income on fuel, it is now more like 18%.

The only benefit we receive is a tiny bit of child tax credit (and we are not getting that as we are curently having to pay back an overpayment)

I am just interested beacuse it is talked about in terms of elderly or people claiming benefit....but nobody else Obviously we are not as short of cash as these people, but it is a real struggle to find these new payments. I wonder if we are a missing statistic like a lot of other people, or the definition is only applicabe to those on benefit.

How many more are like us?

my Dh works but he doesnt earn much rise in fuel and shopping bills is killing us.

I know exactly what you mean, my friend is a single mother, she works from home and gets ctc but no other benefits, but she's really struggling with bill hikes.

Same here.....if it is applicable to a lot more people, shouldn't the government know?

Not that they will actually do anything........

tbh she's worked out she'd be better off not working, and claiming benefits. The system is seriously messed up.

if it helps the official definition of fuel poverty is needing to spend more than 10 per cent of income on fuel bills
so if that's you you are officially fuel poor: doesn't matter if you are old/young,on benefits for not. when you read in the papers about fuel poor being pensioners and benefit claimants etc that's just sort of shorthand, as a lot of fuel poor people would be in those categories, but then again quite a lot are not (and every time the bills go up, quite a lot more are not....)
unfortunately being classed as fuel poor doesnt actually entitle you to anything automatically so far as i know.

not for much longer methinks.....

in Today's Times

My Parents get a winter heating allowance because they are over 65. My mum gets more in her pension (she worked in the NHS for 40 years) than I got paid when I was working. She doesn't really need the heating allowance. I'm sure there are many more like her but she has paid her tax and NI for 50 years and has never claimed anything before. The entire benefits system is really messed up.

Jaamy - my DPs grandfather lives in sheltered housing. Gets a host of benefits and ends up paying less than £20 per month for rent/heating etc. He also get the winter heating allowance - which he admits he doesn't need. He says he's got more money now that he ever did when he was working. I agree that the benefits system needs looked at

NO!

We are a working poor family who are looking at one very, very cold winter.

We get child benefit and some child tax credit. That's it.

We'd be financially better off on benefits.

If there has to be benefits reform, it would be nice to see some of it in the form of helping out the working poor and/or pensioners who literally can't get a job.

don't know if any of you have heard but the government are suppost to be giving all families with 1 child £150 this winter for the fuel bills (like the old folks getting £100 each)

not a great deal no but if it's true I shall certainly welcome the extra help from my fuel bills.

(or shall I say any family who has CB will get £150)

I'd not heard that, Spandex!

well one would imagine it will cover scotland as well expat, but it's the talk down here at the mo - dad was telling me about it, but not sure if it's just pipe line plans, nan says you get a cheque thru and it's up to you how you spend it (it's non means tested as well)

for me it will go either £75 on each lump sum or £100 gas £50 electric.

my mistake it's not 100% yet but is hopefully planned

not so sure myself if he's only doing it to win votes - not that i'm a sceptic!

it's about £400 to fill our LPG tank so anything we got would go towards that.

wonder if you'll get more if you have 2 kids .

Hmm, I wonder if anyone will get anything at all because they need to figure out how to afford it.