Pensioner's Winter Heating Allowence

Edinburghlass_2

Mine paid for my daughter's 21st, next year will be for me

PennyForThem_2

Husband died in November. Today got informed that would get his winter fuel allowance payment as he was alive in September - sorry, but I laughed!

I will use it to buy logs for my woodburner for next year. As I was not due state pension until November think I will have to wait til next year to receive mine.

(Has anybody noticed that HMRC and DWP using really, really recycled (brownish) paper???) Good on them I say as long as it really is cheap

pollypenny

MC, do you suggest that we stop paying by D/debit so that we can actually hand the £200 over to npower?

We'd have to pay10% more and it would mess up my budgetting.

jennifernil

We too have a decent pension from OH's former employer,for which he contributed for 32 years, but reduced state pensions as OH only has 37 years of NI contributions. Had he retired 3 years later he would only have needed 30 years.

His state pension is only 87% of the full amount, and my 60% of his is therefore also reduced. Under the terms of his company scheme, a full state pension is deducted from his company pension.

Luckily he is also entitled to a small pension from Norway, where he worked for a few years.

Our fuel bills are over £160 per month, even though we spend about 4 months per year away in our caravan, so we have no hesitation in accepting our £200.

giraffe69

I'm sure everyone who wants to should not only accept it but also spend it on precisely what they want. It is absurd to pretend there are conditions or some sort of moral duty.

It doesn't get away from the fact though that this benefit is going not only to those who have a need but also to the idle rich and those living in a nice warm clime. Whether they paid their stamp or not is, IMO, irrelevant. The usual excuse trotted out in such circumstances it that it is too expensive to try to restrict the benefit by doing some sort of means test. Well, after all this time, it ought not to be and I'd give the money saved to those who actually do need it.

zygurat789

The winter fuel allowance was increased because of GBs [STRIKE]cockup[/STRIKE]miscalculation when he reduced the standard rate of tax to 20% and abolished the 10% rate band all of which adversly affected those on lower incomes of whom many are pensioners. Darling attempted to give some of this back to pensioners by way of an increased winter fuel allowance.
So it is NOT entirely to offset the increased cost of winter fuel, despite its name, and if the government insist on handing out free money to all and sundry then pensioners are entitled to their wack, they've probably done more than most to earn it.
So it's yours spend it how you like.