Vocal Voices

I am one of the many pensioners who will not get the Winter Fuel Allowance this year.

Yet there is a couple who are 72 and 74 years old who are claiming benefits. They get nearly £22,000 per year which is tax free.
They will get the Allowance as they get Housing benefit.
This is nearly as much as my State and Company pension. And I have to pay Income Tax.

Also someone who now retires gets more basic State pension than I do.

I am thinking of going to France and coming over on a dinghy and being put in a four star hotel. No mention of this cost in the recent statement.

I will be losing it too.

Strangely enough I suppose the politicians who used to talk about pensioners having to choose between heating and eating will fall silent now.

It will be interesting to see how the new rules apply.

Simply doubling the single person's pension to come up with a couple's total income might not work. Whatever it is a couple will still pay income tax. It is also the case that housing benefit is not a qualifying benefit and, anyway, a couple on a full pension will likely be over the threshold to be able to claim it depending upon their home and where they live.

I will be losing the winter fuel allowance (WFA) because I have the full OAP plus my RAF pension and savings. As things stand I understand that the WFA will be based on means-tested benefits so the couple mentioned are unlikely to get it or only the minimum, £100.

The WFA was brought in when the energy prices went mad and were intended to cover about 21 weeks of the winter, but can they be really justified for all pensioners now?

The poorest pensioners, those at the very bottom and on benefits / credits do need it, and that's fair. However, for people like me who have other pensions I ask if they are an absolute necessity? I tend to think not.

I won't get it either
I know wonder why bill worked and saved all our lives was worth it
I'm just very glad we where able to help out boys in later life
My bug bare is all this foreign aid we send every year I never voted for them either so I can have a moan
Your right WM I probably don't need it but I don't need to
see money squandered the way the government sees fit
Every time over a pension rise I just pay more rent

It probably should always have been means tested, to be fair. D gets the higher rate, she doesn’t need it. We don’t get it yet, but would do soon and we don’t need it. Many pensioners are reasonably well off compared to younger families struggling. Personally I would rather struggling young families got it, to keep their kids warm. I think this government have to got to sort out a lot of inherited problems, and propping up comfortably off pensioners isn’t a priority.

Sorry, just my opinion

Yes I agree it could be better spent a lot don't need it
But neather does over seas aid and mad scheme

There’s certainly a lot wrong, Saundra. I agree.

Dunno what y'all grumblin' about.

You're still going to get the £10 Xmas Bonus from the Government .....

Seriously, though, the majority of pensioners who are losing the WFA have benefited from the Triple Lock and received some pretty hefty weekly pension increases over the last few years, so we can't really grouse too much. And Labour have comitted to retain it over the period of this Government. So far.

Just don't get me going about the 22% pay award to those striking doctors though. Labour caving in to the unions - quelle suprise!

Haven't you heard ossie elderly pensioner are called
The bank of mum and dad
By there family
Well they are by my family
And no interest payable