MSE News: Winter fuel payments cut in secret Budget measure

iris

dark_lady wrote: »

What a crying shame is isnt Iris or Poohsticks living underneath me because if either of them were and then showing me this attitude i wouldnt have bothered with hurrying up the repair by engaging the help of Environmental Health. I would have just let the GIVING WAY OF THE BATHROOM FLOOR IN MY UPSTAIRS FLAT WITH THE TOILET FALLING THROUGH into the flat underneath just take its natural course. How on earth can you wait two weeks for a repair like this when it could possibly kill someone. The jealousy and bitterness really shines through on some of the posts on here.

Calm down dear it's just a discussion;)

margaretclare

sardine wrote: »

My wife worked full time up until her mid twenties. Then we had the children. Her job was at home to look after them. When they had reached 18, she did a considerable amount of voluntary work - sometimes in excess of 40hrs pw. This carried on until she reached 60 and started to receive the pittance of an OAP. Limited because there she had a full time job with the children which carried no rights to a pension and voluntary work gave her no rights to a pension either.

If she had gone to work, she would have received a bigger pension, but has been penalised for working for nothing for 15 years!!

I assume that at some point your wife opted to pay the 'married woman's smaller contribution' while still at work? If she hadn't done this, the years she spent at home looking after the children would have counted for Home Responsibilities Protection and would therefore have counted towards her pension.

margaretclare

KimYeovil wrote: »

But the point you (and they) are missing is that if means-testing worked every pensioner would receive the current credit. That is, £575 for a single person or £880 for a couple (plus rent paid plus council tax paid). Apparently, not everyone receives this - those who do not receive this now will now receive even less because 'the majority here' don't want them to receive the winter payment.

No, every pensioner would NOT receive the 'current credit'. For a start DH and I wouldn't receive it because we have other pensions income from previous careers. You can't assume that every pensioner is on just the basic.

KimYeovil

margaretclare wrote: »

No, every pensioner would NOT receive the 'current credit'. For a start DH and I wouldn't receive it because we have other pensions income from previous careers. You can't assume that every pensioner is on just the basic.

What are you talking about? Are you stating that if your pensions are less than £132/202 per week you do not receive the guarantee credit top-up?

KimYeovil

thorsoak wrote: »

You fail to grasp my point : because we used our (taxed) savings/earnings to pay off our mortgage I now have very little savings - and because I have no mortgage, I receive no benefit - NOT THAT I WOULD BE LOOKING FOR IT - and the only council tax relief I receive is the 25% sole resident rebate.

NOT EVERY PENSIONER IS IN RECEIPT OF HOUSING BENEFIT!

Why do you not receive council tax benefit?

thorsoak

KimYeovil wrote: »

Why do you not receive council tax benefit?

Because my private pension (of £8.79 per week) takes me over the threshold!

sardine

margaretclare wrote: »

I assume that at some point your wife opted to pay the 'married woman's smaller contribution' while still at work? If she hadn't done this, the years she spent at home looking after the children would have counted for Home Responsibilities Protection and would therefore have counted towards her pension.

No my wife always paid the full stamp until 1968 when she stopped working to have the children (4) - 1968, 1971, 1981(2). And the HRP was not available in those days. It was accepted as the norm that wives stay at home to look after the family and the home, whilst the husband went out to work.
What my argument is not that she didn't get any appreciation for staying at home to bring up the family - that was how it was, but that from 1990, when she started volunteering for a few hours a week, which increased to 40hrs pw in 1996 et seq, once again she had no rights to an increase in her pension. If she had have worked for a wage her pension would be greater. But because she believed in what she was doing, and was prepared to do it for nothing, she is penalised.

I have no argument about her staying at home with the family, that is what happens and it does affect the OAP, but volunteer work should also carry the right to 'credit's' for the OAP.

Her pension is based on her full stamps only paid from 1959 to 1968, currently £20.45pw.

Marisco

KimYeovil wrote: »

But the point you (and they) are missing is that if means-testing worked every pensioner would receive the current credit. That is, £575 for a single person or £880 for a couple (plus rent paid plus council tax paid). Apparently, not everyone receives this - those who do not receive this now will now receive even less because 'the majority here' don't want them to receive the winter payment.

No they wouldn't! It goes on household income, not individual income. I get £460 (and a few pence) pm. Because my oh has a small "works" pension, we don't qualify for any benefits at all. I didn't qualify for WTC either, despite being on MNW, for the same reason. Yet my work mate got it, because she lived with her mother, and they didn't take her mam's income into consideration. There are many such anomalies in the system, one size does not fit all!!!!

margaretclare

KimYeovil wrote: »

What are you talking about? Are you stating that if your pensions are less than £132/202 per week you do not receive the guarantee credit top-up?

No, I'm not saying any such thing. Our pensions, DH's and mine, are a fair bit more than those figures, not less.

BigTallMan

Costs go up everywhere and it usually the 'vulnerable' that are highlighted. Whilst I can sympathise with people who don't want to change with the times for reasons of - fear, 'old-school' thinking and lack of knowledge, it is up to families and support networks to assist these people. There are so many resources available for getting advice in reducing bills in general, as well as other ways to save money in the home and be 'environmentally friendly' at the same time that nowadays fear or lack of knowledge should not really become an issue. Just my thoughts - so please don't lambast me with objections - just think about this - if you know of someone struggling technologically, why not offer to help them? I helped an elderly neighbour and saved them loads just by making a few small changes.
Where is the great British Spirit? Come on, let's not let the hard times drive us apart any more, re-build the community spirit that made Britain great!!!