MSE News: State pension payout likely rise by £2.40 a week

gerryco

kindofagilr wrote: »

What gets to me more is when pensioners ring up in Nov/Dec asking where their WFP is, and we we unfortunatly tell them due to a error its delayed, they then complain because "they have christmas presents to buy with it" erm hello thats not what it is for.

Maybe they spent their Christmas present money on heating...

Let's have a realistic argument.

[Deleted User]

kindofagilr wrote: »

Yes £125 isnt a lot, but its a lot more than non-oap's get.

It amazes me how OAP's get WFP and people on certain benefits get cold weather payments if the temp drops below a certain level

What about normal working people, who can only just afford to pay their bills every month? what about them when the weather gets freezing cold and they can't afford to put heating on?

What about people will babies and small children who need the heating on but they can't afford to?

I am sorry I am not ranting about the WFP as I think it is a good thing, but it irks me that the 'normal' working person gets left out all the time.

Don`t worry. Your time will come

Dustangle

margaretclare wrote: »

...We were not asked whether the arrival of this money in November is convenient or not... There have been several of these little hand-outs over recent years, as Dustangle points out. I repeat, we did not ask for them, and some of us, at least, do recognise what they were - vote-catchers.

Pay it back if you don't want it.

It's timed to be paid in November to reassure people who might be tempted to do without heating that they will have some money set aside to pay the bill whatever happens. Despite the Pension Credit and all the other things designed to tackle pensioner poverty there are many older people who unnecessarily deprive themselves of heating in winter fearing getting into debt with their bills. Paying it up front is a practical way of helping people in that situation. If they spend it on Christmas pressies that's their business. But my point is that there's more to paying it in a oner than maybe occurred to you. See what I mean about grumpy people?

Dustangle

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

I agree that the heating allowance is merely a vote-catcher, however I will register to receive it once I am eligible.

You don't have to register - they will come chasing after you with your cheque.

Dustangle

kindofagilr wrote: »

Yes £125 isnt a lot, but its a lot more than non-oap's get.

It's not £125. It's a lot more than that. My parents get £400 because they're over 80.

The minimum any household gets is £250 even if there's only one qualifying person. The maximum is £400.

Read the full set of rates and conditions here.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Inretirement/DG_10018657

It's really pretty generous, especially the older you are, and people getting pension credit get the maximum straight away. Not that any of that information will stop the professional grumps who look back to the good old days under the Tories, when pensioners got hee-haw.

Dustangle

margaretclare wrote: »

And not all of us want, or use, free bus travel. 'God knows what else'...Indeed. I am not aware of anything else. Many of these things were, and are, vote-catchers.

I had to laugh at that. A relative just turned 60 and he gets the free bus 30 miles from his village in the Western Isles to the ferry terminal, then a concession on the ferry for 40 miles to the mainland, then a free bus for 225 miles to Glasgow. The Government looks after pensioners quite well these days.

And he gets £250 towards his heating bills now.

kindofagilr

Dustangle wrote: »

It's not £125. It's a lot more than that. My parents get £400 because they're over 80.

The minimum any household gets is £250 even if there's only one qualifying person. The maximum is £400.

Read the full set of rates and conditions here.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Inretirement/DG_10018657

It's really pretty generous, especially the older you are, and people getting pension credit get the maximum straight away. Not that any of that information will stop the professional grumps who look back to the good old days under the Tories, when pensioners got hee-haw.

I know

I was replying to the person who said £125 wasnt a lot of money, therefore that person must be receiving £125 and their partner will be getting £125 too.

And the maximum isnt £400 either.

If there are 4 people living in one house (brothers and sisters for example) who are under 80 as a household they will receive £500, if they were over 80 they would receive £800.

Its amazing isnt it that Labour bring this in and all they get is backlash from said pensionsers (not all of them I admit) saying it was brought in just for votes, even if it was, its been gratefully received every year by pensionsers.

I'd love to see what the Tories do to the benefit system (if they win the election), then we'll see if everyone regrets their decision to complain about Labour all the time

seven-day-weekend

I thought the maximum (unless you are over 80) was £250 per household????? It's not per person, is it?

(From this link: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandretirementplanning/Benefits/BenefitsInRetirement/DG_10018657 editing mine )

How much you can get

The amount of Winter Fuel Payment that you can get varies according to your personal situation.
Circumstances Aged 60 to 79 on or before 27 September 2009 /Aged 80 or over on or before 27 September 2009

You live alone or are the only person in the household who qualifies
£250 / £400

You get Pension Credit or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
£250/ £400

You live with another qualifying individual £125
£275 if you are the only person in the household who's aged 80 or over

£200 if you and at least one other person are aged 80 or over

If your partner or civil partner gets Pension Credit or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance for you both
The payment will be made to the person who gets Pension Credit or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

You live in a care home, an independent hospital or Ilford Park Polish Resettlement Home and don't get Pension Credit or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance £125/ £200

You live in a care home and get Pension credit or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance You don't qualify for Winter Fuel Payment You don't qualify for Winter Fuel Payment

During the qualifying week, you did not get Pension Credit or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and there were other people in your household who were entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment £125/ £200

roddydogs

kittie wrote: »

Don`t worry. Your time will come

Only if your lucky, seriously would you swap places with someone 65+, we never had colour telly, widescrceeen, VCRS PVRs, mobile phones, central heating, foreign holidays, cars, etc at least not till fairly late in life, all the thing you younger people now take for granted but we did suffer Rationing, and an incredible low standard of living till well into the 60s, , and your Life expectancy is now several years longer.
PS what all the yellow anti DM rant about?

Jennifer_Jane

Dustangle wrote: »

Pay it back if you don't want it.

It's timed to be paid in November to reassure people who might be tempted to do without heating that they will have some money set aside to pay the bill whatever happens. Despite the Pension Credit and all the other things designed to tackle pensioner poverty there are many older people who unnecessarily deprive themselves of heating in winter fearing getting into debt with their bills. Paying it up front is a practical way of helping people in that situation. If they spend it on Christmas pressies that's their business. But my point is that there's more to paying it in a oner than maybe occurred to you. See what I mean about grumpy people?

Well, exactly. The heating bills have to be paid, to me it's irrelevant whether the heating bonus is spent on something else - although I do have a problem with people phoning to complain about the timing because they need the money for Christmas presents. That is just not polite. Heating is a very large part of a retired person's bills - they are at home/get colder than others in general, and so on.

It's also irrelevant about when the money arrives if most people are paying by direct debit (although I don't think a lot of older people are - my mother, for instance, did not have a bank account (nor did she have central heating or double-glazed windows in her Housing Association flat - just my sample of 1!).

But I would certainly not be churlish enough to complain about timing/which bank account. It's easy enough to switch monies between accounts surely?

If anything, I think that it could be deferred until the Basic State Pension is actually claimed, so that might save a bit for the Country. I did receive the WFP from 60 even though I worked until 62.


Jen
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