Winter Fuel Allowance - is £37K disposable considered poor?
Discussion
Because it seems that is an option under consideration as a new threshold for the Winter Fuel Allowance.
Winter Fuel Payments may be reinstated for ALL state pensioners who earn under £37,000
Winter fuel payment U-turn: how will Labour balance the books?
Absolute crazytown.
Winter Fuel Payments may be reinstated for ALL state pensioners who earn under £37,000
Winter fuel payment U-turn: how will Labour balance the books?
Absolute crazytown.
By the time this has been meddled with the savings to the taxpayer will be the square root of f
k all. Afterall, I have read multiple posts on here saying means testing old people for the SP is uneconomical and unworkable, but now to qualify for £300 a year it suddenly is? And worse, labour clearly think they can reverse the polls by giving some old folks £300 to buy their votes, which if it works shows how pathetic the electorate in this country really has become.
k all. Afterall, I have read multiple posts on here saying means testing old people for the SP is uneconomical and unworkable, but now to qualify for £300 a year it suddenly is? And worse, labour clearly think they can reverse the polls by giving some old folks £300 to buy their votes, which if it works shows how pathetic the electorate in this country really has become.The first link I opened and then immediately closed. Lord how I hate websites like that.
The second link is paywalled.
Anyway, the WFA is a total st show and I’m minded to return to feedback I was given when I voiced negativity towards its introduction as a universal payment when Noah was a boy. Means testing it is so expensive and likely politically toxic as to mean universality is the least ugly solution.
Or you could mess about with it in the manner this government has and get the worst of all worlds.
The second link is paywalled.
Anyway, the WFA is a total s
t show and I’m minded to return to feedback I was given when I voiced negativity towards its introduction as a universal payment when Noah was a boy. Means testing it is so expensive and likely politically toxic as to mean universality is the least ugly solution.Or you could mess about with it in the manner this government has and get the worst of all worlds.
While I agree that £37k of income seems a lot, it is better than the current everyone gets it policy.
I am all for having a much more progressive approach to support for pensioners. Those less well off need our support. Those well off are so well off that they can deal with it for themselves. The detail of this policy I have no idea, but the principle is there,
I am all for having a much more progressive approach to support for pensioners. Those less well off need our support. Those well off are so well off that they can deal with it for themselves. The detail of this policy I have no idea, but the principle is there,
You’ve gotta love labour. WFA threshold of 11k, then the local elections pasting, and now magically a threshold of 37k presumably extracted from whichever black hole du jour is the least deep.
My guess is by the time they’ve appointed enough new staff to oversee the 37k ‘earnings’ checks the taxpayer may find it cheaper to put all the pensioners up in centrally heated 4 star hotels each winter.
My guess is by the time they’ve appointed enough new staff to oversee the 37k ‘earnings’ checks the taxpayer may find it cheaper to put all the pensioners up in centrally heated 4 star hotels each winter.
bhstewie said:
hstewie said: It seems strange that a thread about free school meals for kids is already 4 pages of moaning about the feckless and workshy yet a thread about about the possibility of pensioners with a disposable of £37K receiving state support doesn't seem to have the same level of disapproval.
Indeed.Seems that the boomers are happy to put themselves first 'because I worked for it' and leave some impoverished kids to starve...
I have a neighbour
- house bought new in 1974 for £11.5k - now valued at £600k. On only inflation, this should be worth just over £100k, not £600k.
- Let us not forget that they benefitted from MIRAS
- their house is twice the size of mine, but because of the sh*tt*n*ss of local Council Tax Assessments, we are both in the same banding and so pay the same.
- both on final salary, local authority pensions. For the last decade my full time salary or my wife's part time teacher salary has been less than their individual pensions.
- both claim they have never made use of the NHS (unlike the 'immigrants' down the street apparently), despite having four children, a replacement knee and a couple of ski related broken bones.
- they are open about spending the last 10 years dumping money on their kids - apparently none of their children have ever bought a car as they are given them knowing that HMRC will never look to a car V5 being changed....
And they are raging about their winter fuel allowance being removed...and of course looking to vote Reform.
They have no idea of how privileged they are, and their only argument is 'we worked for it, we deserve it, and have we told you the immigrants down the street have not?'
bhstewie said:
hstewie said: It seems strange that a thread about free school meals for kids is already 4 pages of moaning about the feckless and workshy yet a thread about about the possibility of pensioners with a disposable of £37K receiving state support doesn't seem to have the same level of disapproval.
Just further confirmation of the demographic split on PH, if ever it was in doubt. Don’t forget, they’ve ‘earned’ the WFA though
KarlMac said:
bhstewie said:
hstewie said: It seems strange that a thread about free school meals for kids is already 4 pages of moaning about the feckless and workshy yet a thread about about the possibility of pensioners with a disposable of £37K receiving state support doesn't seem to have the same level of disapproval.
Just further confirmation of the demographic split on PH, if ever it was in doubt. Don t forget, they ve earned the WFA though
Well, I have no desire or intention to claim WFA. I don't need it and there a plenty of people who do need help.
However WFA is a different question to free school meals. The anti meals argument seems to hinge on the idea that feckless parents should be dealt with differently, not that their kids should starve. It is a child abuse issue, not a cost one. I don't actually agree with that, but it's a view.
Whereas WFA is a tiny addition to a grossly inadequate state pension. The issue here is the unfairness of some pensioners being poor, whilst wealthy pensioners get the full state pension. I would dramatically increase state pension but means test 50% of it
However WFA is a different question to free school meals. The anti meals argument seems to hinge on the idea that feckless parents should be dealt with differently, not that their kids should starve. It is a child abuse issue, not a cost one. I don't actually agree with that, but it's a view.
Whereas WFA is a tiny addition to a grossly inadequate state pension. The issue here is the unfairness of some pensioners being poor, whilst wealthy pensioners get the full state pension. I would dramatically increase state pension but means test 50% of it
Rufus Stone said:
S600BSB said:
Why not limit it to pensioners paying basic rate tax? Could take the same approach to other benefits as well - free bus passes etc.
Pensioner couple each receiving £50,000 pa get it, single pensioner receiving £50,300 pa doesn't.Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff