Cameron protects OAP benefits till 2015

seven-day-weekend

I don't understand this 'I have my car so I don't need the bus pass' (unless of course it is not possible for whatever reason for you to go by bus) - use the bus anyway, it's much greener and far less trouble than parking the car! I use the bus as often as I can, even though we have a car and I can and do, drive.

And keeps the buses running, as someone else has said.

Be_Happy

My concern about this is in the definition of 'RICH' pensioners.

Everyone thinks of the millionaires, perhaps even those who pay higher rate income tax, but the easy way for the government is usually to set the means testing point at 'those in receipt of guaranteed Pension Credit'.

We are talking here of someone earning less than £8000 a year.

I feel sure that if these OAP benefits become means tested they are going to use the easy admin way of setting Pension Credit as the guideline.

teajug

Be_Happy wrote: »

My concern about this is in the definition of 'RICH' pensioners.

Everyone thinks of the millionaires, perhaps even those who pay higher rate income tax, but the easy way for the government is usually to set the means testing point at 'those in receipt of guaranteed Pension Credit'.

We are talking here of someone earning less than £8000 a year.

I feel sure that if these OAP benefits become means tested they are going to use the easy admin way of setting Pension Credit as the guideline.

How can anyone live on £8k a year, not all OAP's have paid up mortgages they may be renting and just above the limit for getting means tested benefit. if they are going to means test it then it should be at the national average wage. OAP's living in the capital and paying rent they would not be able to get out and about at all if it was means tested at the £8k. :mad:

Dunroamin

teajug wrote: »

How can anyone live on £8k a year, not all OAP's have paid up mortgages they may be renting and just above the limit for getting means tested benefit. if they are going to means test it then it should be at the national average wage. OAP's living in the capital and paying rent they would not be able to get out and about at all if it was means tested at the £8k. :mad:

Anyone, not just pensioners, renting in London on an income of £8k is likely to receive a large amount of LHA.

margaretclare

Dunroamin wrote: »

Anyone, not just pensioners, renting in London on an income of £8k is likely to receive a large amount of LHA.

I know nothing at all about living in London, the costs etc. Does LHA cover council tax, or is it just rent?

For most people not on means-tested benefits, housing costs are usually the largest slice out of income even if you have no rent/mortgage costs. We pay £113 a month for our council tax. This would reduce to £84.75 if/when there is only one of us. When that day arrives our household income will be cut in half, except for SERPS which can be inherited. It follows that the worst-off people in the land are those who live alone and therefore have only one income and not two. This applies to younger people working and living alone as much as it does to older people.

If there was one of us rather than two - the survivor couldn't reduce costs by much. The place would still have to be kept warm, meals would still have to be cooked even if not as much food needed to be bought or water used.

At the time that these various concessions were introduced I was cynical about them, and I remain so. I started to get involved on the fringes of politics about that time, a few years ago now, and I've listened to various wannabe politicians of all colours and all political persuasions expounding their views. All of them without exception give out high-sounding phrases about 'we will protect our retired people because they put so much into the country in the past'. Until they actually get into power and have seen the books, they can't be any more specific than that.

What I thought at the time that winter fuel payments, free TV, free transport etc were introduced was that the government of the day could have used that money to increase basic state pension rather than making assumptions about what retired people would like - a stereotype of the retired lifestyle, in fact. They did not do so, and the reason may be that those concessions placed constraints on any future government of whatever political colour or persuasion. Try to take away the winter fuel payment - even if it is used for grandchildren's Christmas presents and not for what it was intended for - or God save us, take away bus passes! It would be political suicide and not a risk that any government dare take. So the government at the time effectively hamstrung all its successors.

The title of this thread is 'Cameron pledges to leave OAP benefits until 2015'. That's the time of the next election and is as far into the future as he is able to commit himself. It's really saying nothing. David Cameron, whatever you may think of him, is no fool and is a consummate politician. He wouldn't be in the position that he's in if he wasn't. I've been involved in local elections over the past few years in which one-third of the eligible electorate bothered to turn out and vote. Young people are largely disillusioned and disenfranchised. Of the third of eligible voters a large proportion are older people. Even the residents in sheltered housing, who mainly have a postal vote, actually do vote! They vote from habit, and if they're used to voting Conservative then that's what they do. David Cameron knows which side his bread is buttered.

My view at the time, which hasn't changed, was that the basic pension should have been increased rather than other introductions like pension credit, WFA, bus passes, TV licences etc. That way, people could exercise choice in what they spent their money on rather than being stereotyped. But no future government of any colour is going to be able to make those necessary changes.

BTW I do give my half of the WFP to charity. I don't know what DH does with his - that's his business.

I think almost everything useful to be said on this thread has been said, so that's my last word on this particular topic.

retiredin2011

Its not helpful when you have some goby pensioners shouting to all and sundry they use their £200 WFA for Christmas presents.

I used mine to heat my greenhouse and have been eating tomatoes from it since the beginning of July

Last year, without heating, there were none ready until the middle of August.

The £100 odd that I have spent on heating the greenhouse has saved me £10 so far that I would have spent on tomatoes.

teajug

Dunroamin wrote: »

Anyone, not just pensioners, renting in London on an income of £8k is likely to receive a large amount of LHA.

I live in London and I do not know what LHA is?

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seven-day-weekend

Attendance Allowance is to do with needing help arising from disability, it is not a free handout like WFA, nor is it Universal. The two are not similar in any way.

Dunroamin

teajug wrote: »

I live in London and I do not know what LHA is?



The mind boggles both OAP's collecting AA and then giving half of WFP to charity.

LHA = Local Housing Allowance = Housing Benefit in the private sector.

This is available nationwide, not just in London, but will be more relevant when rents are high.

Dunroamin

margaretclare wrote: »

I know nothing at all about living in London, the costs etc. Does LHA cover council tax, or is it just rent?

.

No, council tax is separate from rent; if on a low income, someone would claim council tax benefit.

My take on offering "freebies" rather than increasing the basic pension is that a, it sounds more generous than £4 per week and b, it doesn't then have to be increased regularly in line with the cost of living.