Winter fuel payments: Chancellor Rachel Reeves says millions of pensioners must miss out
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3g9yy73l77t
Posted by wkavinsky
Winter fuel payments: Chancellor Rachel Reeves says millions of pensioners must miss out
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3g9yy73l77t
Posted by wkavinsky
41 Comments
If a pensioner is on pension credit, this won’t affect them.
This is a good thing.
We need to not be forking out billions in benefits to people who don’t need them.
Disabled people and job seekers have been required to undergo extremely stringent means testing for years – it’s about time that pensioners had the same (and that pensioners with significant private pensions stopped getting help that is meant for the poorest of them, like the winter fuel payment).
I don’t think she actually said in the speech how much this would save, which is quite annoying – I bet its quite a lot. I suspect, depending on how many are exempt due to tax credits its somewhere in the region of £2-3bn a year. Probably another billion or so on free bus passes too, if they want to dip into that pot as well.
Isn’t it time we means tested them all. There’s plenty of pensioners in the UK that don’t need help of any sort.
Edit: to be clear, means tested for the winter fuel payments.
There was a £6.4 billion overspend on asylum seekers. As a result, heating costs for pensioners are cancelled, road and rail projects cancelled.
Let’s hope it’s a mild winter. Although I’m sure the asylum hotels will still be toasty warm.
I’m not a fan of Reeves at all, but I don’t see why the state should pay for Alan Sugar’s winter heating bill. My only concern is that once we start means testing for more state benefits, it could lead to a future government denying them to people who genuinely need assistance.
A lot was sacrificed to protect the older generation during the pandemic. Time to give back for once. My literal millionaire pensioner neighbour gets ridiculous amounts from the public purse.
I know the Daily Mail boomer crowd will cry ‘they deserve it and they have paid taxes all their lives’ but the simple fact is we cannot afford to give winter fuel payments to more people than those who desperately need it. Whether someone deserves it is irrelevant because there are plenty of working age people funding the benefit that also deserve a better value for money with their taxes.
Perhaps if boomers didn’t vote for disastrous economic policies over the past decade we could have afforded to keep it.
Interesting start –
Will see how it all comes to fruition
Could be a dangerous move as the [over 40 vote for Labour increased in 2024 and decreased for under 40s](https://www.focaldata.com/blog/how-britain-voted-2024) many of those in their >40s will have elderly parents or grandparents.
I dont see why this is remotely controversial. Just because your a pensioner doesnt mean you poor and need help. If you need help then their are systems to help with that. A blanket handout seems daft when trying to save money.
My parents are doing ok financially, and use the fuel payment to buy something for the house. Goes against the point of it
This is actually a bad thing. Many pensions don’t actually claim their entitlements so may not be on those benefits. Furthermore you’re now going to need a team to actually check this benefit is being applied correctly, which costs money. Also some pensions who are on the cusp of not needing the benefits stated are really going to be stretched with this.
The fucking QUEEN got winter fuel allowance.
This is a common sense measure, however hopefully not the thin end of the wedge towards means tested pensions (although that’s almost an inevitability within the next 20 years)
I mean good.
It should never have been a universal benefit.
My in laws have gold plated final salary pensions, property assets worth 650k, masses of savings and are literally giving as much money away to their kids as possible at the moment. They didn’t want or need the winter fuel payments or the extra support they got compared to their kids during the cost of living crisis and felt it was wrong it was given to them while their kids with their grandkids struggled.
So yeah. To reiterate. Good!
Ah the social care cap gone too.
Stuff the people who work all their life to safe a little something to pass into their children I guess.
Killing off the Tory voter base!? Labour starting the purge already!!
*Daily Mail, probably
Still plenty of money for the asylum seeker hotels though.
No surprises to see the blindless defense of turning on Pensioners. Welcome to austerity Britain. Labour going to break their fantasy land promises and it going to be amazing to watch.
This sub is brilliant.
God if the tories were the ones doing this, there would be riots in here, saying how evil the tories are for attacking the elderly. And
Now all I can see is “yeah it’s a good idea “
Wow look at all the faux socialists welcoming this. Wonder how many welcoming this want the two-child child benefit cap removed – i.e. benefits they might benefit from?
Wealthy pensioners are paying income tax on their pension anyway so are more than paying for the measly £300.
The usual divide and conquer tactic of the governing party, and I can see here, we are all falling for it… who is deserving and who isn’t. A few points to note:
(1) Universal benefits are key to underpinning an adequate system of support for all citizens. Once they become discretionary, they become a political football, as you see here. The idea of targeted benefits is code for cost reductions in the long term, where they are continually eroded.
(2) those that have sufficient provision should get taxed as is the case for most but not all benefits.
(3) In practice, we are discussing relatively small amounts of cash. Changes in tax or more aggressive regimes to counter tax avoidance/fraud would be more beneficial.
Anyone who doesn’t like this policy because it directly affects them should try to not be such a whiney snowflake who expects the state to solve all their problems. I’m sure if they pull themselves up by their bootstraps and eat less avocado toast then they’ll be fine.
Why on earth do Boomers feel entitled to so much generosity and compassion when they’ve never shown any themselves?
Plenty of money for foreign aid and Ukraine, not so much for British pensioners. Buyers remorse will soon set in when Labour’s austerity agenda is clear for all to see.
As a pensioner with a reasonably good occupational pension, I approve 100%. I don’t need the extra £200 and I have always said I would happily pay more in order to live in a better/happier society.
A sensible idea. We’ve received it the past two years, and while it’s nice, it’s a benefit we don’t need, and would be better targeted elsewhere.
The people complaining about this are the same people who were apoplectic that wealthy parents’ kids might be given food in school from taxpayer funds.
Good, I don’t see why I as someone who will likely never be able to retire have to bail out rich boomers who own their own homes and got to retire at early ages. If someone is genuinely impoverished that’s one thing but why should the wealthiest demographic in our society get free handouts.
This is a brave yet reasonable and well targeted measure. Bravo for taking the tough decision.
pensioner getting shafted is a good thing for once, they gave us 14 years of Tories and Brexit, time they got a kicking also. Next stop, cut the “triple lock” pension largesse. Let them survive on tins of beans for a few years.
Reality is older people tend not to vote Labour. No doubt pensions will be hit next.
We give the pensioners £350 million a week. Let’s fund our NHS instead
Any pensioner complaining about this should cut back on the Werthers Originals and pull themselves up by the bootstraps.
This is fair. Wealthy pensioners shouldn’t be handed winter fuel payments when they don’t need them.
I’m all for supporting the most vulnerable people in society, in fact i claimed in work benefits for several years when I became a single parent unexpectedly. Now I earn more, I’m no longer entitled to them – which is perfectly reasonable.
My ex co worker gets her NHS pension and her state pension and jets around the world having a great time she doesn’t need this payment. As long as it’s focused and the needy still get it I’m ok with this.
Jesus Christ – they are going where even the Tories wouldn’t go; by the end of their first term, these neoliberal ghouls are going to be the most hated regime in British political history
Many pensioners rely on Winter Fuel Payments. Many do not. A means testing will go very far in being much more efficient with this benefit.
I’d like to see the numbers on how this will save money. Means testing with all of its appeals and exceptions is typically just as expensive as paying people.
In principle though it’s a good idea. If you are retired independently with no use at all of income based benefits, just state, work and private pensions I doubt missing out on £300 will break you. After a few years they may even be able to increase the rate of the allowance as it is going to fewer people.
BBC comments are having a melt down. All complaining they are paying for the doctors increase.. well yeah.
A huge chunk of that money goes to people who don’t need it. Pensioners are some of the most well off in this country. Taking a £400 heating bill to keep warm over winter while sat in a 3-bed mortgage free house 😂
I’m generalising, but this is the first time in a very long time the older generation takes a loss for the younger generation.
Read this sub, then read the comment on BBC article. Night and day
By the way they found 11 billion for Ed Miliband to spaff on OVERSEAS net zero unicorns…..still think it’s all fair dos?
A labour government running on public spending cuts is fucking bold and by bold I mean they’re literally sitting to the right of Tory economic policy right now.
Sensible move. Now let’s stop giving £2k a year to high earning couples earning £100k+ a year, just because they have 2 children and they ultimately use the money to pay for luxuries.