Pension Credits rip off

[Deleted User]

My oldest friend gets some pension credits and has just had a letter from the dept to say her PC will reduce by £4.22 in April when I rang them for her (she does get a bit confused on the phone) they told me that her pension credit will be reduced as the state pension is going up.It seems she will be very little better off as a result.So when the politicians start going on about how 'generous' they are in increasing pensions for the OAPs it seems they forget to tell us about how what they give with one hand they take away with the other :mad: I wonder why they bother. Oh yes its a good 'soundbite' for the media;)Still I supose they have to grab the cash from everywhere they can at the moment

hugheskevi

My oldest friend gets some pension credits and has just had a letter from the dept to say her PC will reduce by £4.22 in April when I rang them for her (she does get a bit confused on the phone) they told me that her pension credit will be reduced as the state pension is going up.It seems she will be very little better off as a result.

Your friend probably receives some combination of Basic State Pension, Graduated Retirement Benefit, State Earnings Related Pension (SERPS), State Second Pension, Guarantee Credit, Savings Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

Looking at any one component in isolation doesn't mean much, especially as they all interact with each other. It's better to look at the bottom line and what the change in total amount is.

So when the politicians start going on about how 'generous' they are in increasing pensions for the OAPs it seems they forget to tell us about how what they give with one hand they take away with the other :mad: I wonder why they bother.

In 2011/12, forecast expenditure on pensioners by the Dept for Work and Pensions is £104.6bn. In 2012/13 it is forecast to be £109.7bn, an increase of about 5%. (Source here)

Still I supose they have to grab the cash from everywhere they can at the moment

Personally I wish they would grab rather more from pensioners - the one group who have been protected from the cuts despite being the area of largest welfare expenditure by quite some margin, being about two-thirds of all benefit expenditure.

custardy

JackieO wrote: »

My oldest friend gets some pension credits and has just had a letter from the dept to say her PC will reduce by £4.22 in April when I rang them for her (she does get a bit confused on the phone) they told me that her pension credit will be reduced as the state pension is going up.It seems she will be very little better off as a result.So when the politicians start going on about how 'generous' they are in increasing pensions for the OAPs it seems they forget to tell us about how what they give with one hand they take away with the other :mad: I wonder why they bother. Oh yes its a good 'soundbite' for the media;)Still I supose they have to grab the cash from everywhere they can at the moment

is the whole point of pension credits not ot make up the pension to a set limit
so in increase in state pension means they would be exceeding that?

dunstonh

It seems she will be very little better off as a result.

The point of benefits is not to make you better off. Its to keep you at or just above the breadline.

So when the politicians start going on about how 'generous' they are in increasing pensions for the OAPs it seems they forget to tell us about how what they give with one hand they take away with the other

For most people, there will be an increase. For those that failed to plan for their retirement, then there will not be.

Still I supose they have to grab the cash from everywhere they can at the moment

And people on benefits are as good as place as any. Many people in this country need to be weaned off benefits and learn to look after themselves. Pension credit is a failure of planning. Often by living a lifestyle in working life that they could not afford. So, why should the taxpayer fund that?

Benefits should be for the unfortunate who cant help themselves. Not those that cant be bothered.

McKneff

I do get a bit cross sometimes.

Pension credit is given to people on a plate.

For us pensioners who have saved and planned for our retirement get absolutely nothing, My OH gets a full state pension, I get 60% but because we have savings, we have we dont get a thing, I'm 62, worked all my life apart from 2 years when I had my babies in the 60s.

The pension credit opens doors to other benefits, these doors to other benefits are slammed in our faces.

RenovationMan

Pensioners on Pensions Credit are history's greatest monsters!

McKneff

RenovationMan wrote: »

Pensioners on Pensions Credit are history's greatest monsters!

Aw come on RM, that's not very nice now, is it;)

Errata

Guess which one is me !

jamesd

JackieO wrote: »

My oldest friend gets some pension credits and has just had a letter from the dept to say her PC will reduce by £4.22 in April when I rang them for her (she does get a bit confused on the phone) they told me that her pension credit will be reduced as the state pension is going up.It seems she will be very little better off as a result.

That's exactly how Pension Credit is supposed to work. It's a safety net above minimum needs, not intended to make people well off.

The state pensions are for people who have put money away in that for their working lives and is in part to make people who paid in better off than they would be on means tested benefits.

Pollycat

And yet again - a thread with "rip-off" in the title is nothing of the sort.

seven-day-weekend

custardy wrote: »

is the whole point of pension credits not ot make up the pension to a set limit
so in increase in state pension means they would be exceeding that?

Yes it is, so if the Pension goes up, the Pension Credit will go down.

The purpose of PC is to make your total income up to

• £137.35 if you are single
• £209.70 if you have a partner

and if you get ANY amount of PC, you will not have to pay any rent or Council Tax. Did the OP's friend mention that bit?


Doesn't sound like a bad deal to me.