Restoration of Age related allowances - government petition - all please read

Randvegeta

Yes I meant waste. Sorry. Us young people are so careless, what with out spell checkers and all LOL.

And although I used the word 'most', it was preceded by the word 'guess'.

Perhaps the solution to devaluing currency is a special, government backed savings account, intended ONLY for pensioners, that would be linked to inflation. It may also be a nice place to pump all that printed money! After all, it will just filter it's way down into retails shops etc.

But other than the above, I feel little sympathy for the lost benefits. It is not like pensioners are being singled out. And by that, I mean it's not like they are the only ones suffering. Everyone is suffering!

Also, personally, I do not think pensioners should receive additional benefits if they are in rented accommodation. My grandparents own their own home and saved a life time for what the have. However, because they saved, because they were careful with their money, it seems that means they are entitled to few benefits than their neighbours.

If two people make the same money and pay the same taxes their whole lives, should the one who spent more get more benefits when they retire?

ticktack_2

le_loup wrote: »

Not true. The pensioners that it will affect are those getting between £10k and £27k.
Ten thousand pound may fit your description of better off. It don't fit mine.

But working-age taxpayers with an income of £10,000 also have to pay tax. So why shouldn't pensioners? In both cases, the tax at £10,000 is negligible. By the time you reach £27,000 of course more tax is being paid. That's the way the tax system works. Those who get more, pay more tax.

I don't see the logic of making those who are working, pay more tax than those who are not, at the same income levels.

ticktack_2

Jennifer_Jane wrote: »

'Better off' being those getting over £10,500 per annum, but under £24,500 (??) when you are penalised £1 for every £2 over that figure.

I think you may have misunderstood. Here's what it says on the HMRC site at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/personal-allow.htm:

"If you are 65 or over and your income is between £25,400 and £100,000

If your 'adjusted net income' ... is over £25,400 (the income limit for age-related allowances) but not more than £100,000, your age-related Personal Allowance is reduced by half of the amount - £1 for every £2 - you have over the £25,400 limit, until the basic allowance is reached. So if, for example, you're 66 and have income of £25,900 - £500 over the limit - your age-related Personal Allowance is reduced by £250 to £10,250."

That certainly doesn't equate to "being penalised £1 for every £2 earned". You just lose the age-related tax-free allowance at that rate. Big difference. By the time your income reaches £29,000, your tax-free allowance is the same as for working-age taxpayers of the same income.

John_Pierpoint

Yes the claw back rate is not 50% (it used to be 55% until the government realised how embarrassing that looked, when compared with the then maximum rate for under 65s of 40%.)
If you do the sums, the claw back rate is currently 30% ie pensioners have an income band where earning an extra pound pays 30p in tax.

On the subject of heating costs, pensioners are at home most of the time (or saving on heating costs by riding about the place on their bus passes) The elderly or unhealthy pensioners need higher indoor temperatures all the time as their sluggish blood is much more likely to "clot" and create heart attacks and strokes - being parked all day watching the TV, especially in the cold, is a disastrous health choice.

molerat

What about the other 12% "tax" that workers pay and pensioners, including working ones, do not ? The frothing at the mouth brigade seem to have forgotten that one.

le_loup

molerat wrote: »

The frothing at the mouth brigade seem to have forgotten that one.

Do you honestly think that such comments help the argument?
Unless you are one of that brigade, then clearly you can't help it.

molerat

Obviously hit a nerve.

What about the factual part of my post, the truth too much to stomach ?

Mrs_Arcanum

Lets see. Those of non working age (the pension age is variable but currently anyone over 61 is classed as non working age) will NOT be affected by the bedroom tax when UC comes in. So where will all these much needed family homes come from in Social Housing.

zygurat789

le_loup wrote: »

Do you honestly think that such comments help the argument?
Unless you are one of that brigade, then clearly you can't help it.

Since the tax rate is considerably less than 100% it is always better to earn more and pay the tax (or NI). Increase my pension to the same as average earnings and I will have no complaint

margaretclare

On the subject of heating costs, pensioners are at home most of the time (or saving on heating costs by riding about the place on their bus passes) The elderly or unhealthy pensioners need higher indoor temperatures all the time as their sluggish blood is much more likely to "clot" and create heart attacks and strokes - being parked all day watching the TV, especially in the cold, is a disastrous health choice.

Oh, thanks a lot for the stereotyping! We're obviously more at home than we used to be when we were out at work, but we do go places, and that doesn't mean using a bus pass. We keep our car going because it gives us a lot more freedom than using the bus. Just been down to Tilbury, for instance, to watch HMS Ocean pass by on her way up to Greenwich. Bit more excitement than anything you'll see on the telly.

No one, but no one, should be 'parked all day watching TV' and I agree that is an absolutely disastrous health choice. No one should sit still for more than an hour at a time, get up and move around, even if you need walking aids.

We don't need the heating turned up high all the time - the name for that is 'insulation'. Once this little house is warm it stays warm because it has always been well-insulated and we spent some money on having the insulation upgraded a couple of years ago. Worth every penny.

Older people need better-quality food, they don't need all the energy-giving foods they used up while running around doing a job at work. They need quality rather than quantity. This might be where some of the food costs appear higher.