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Better-off Pensioners 'encouraged' to give fuel allowance to charity
Comments
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I would guess that many pensioners, myself included, would be too proud to just spend their savings, down to rock bottom in order to claim rent/Council Tax paid.
Only my opinion as a pensioner of course.
I too am a Pensioner with savings and we also pay our own heating and Council Tax bill.
I don't quite know what you are implying?(AKA HRH_MUngo)
Member #10 of £2 savers club
Imagine someone holding forth on biology whose only knowledge of the subject is the Book of British Birds, and you have a rough idea of what it feels like to read Richard Dawkins on theology: Terry Eagleton0 -
I would guess that many pensioners, myself included, would be too proud to just spend their savings, down to rock bottom in order to claim rent/Council Tax paid.
Only my opinion as a pensioner of course.
Why not spend it? You can't take it with you. Don't know, but personally, I intend to keep a little aside for inheritance and spend the rest. The state can pay for the rest.0 -
Why not spend it? You can't take it with you. Don't know, but personally, I intend to keep a little aside for inheritance and spend the rest. The state can pay for the rest.
You have a very good point there but I have always been rather frugle with money and always tried not to over indulge in anything because I did not want to become reliant upon the state to pay my way, only a personal choice and I will not condem, even though I am not in favour of it, those that chose to go down that road. I enjoy my can of beer before bed, I am easily pleased.0 -
seven-day-weekend wrote: »TBH I don't know why pensioners can't afford their heating. A single pensioner will have a minimum weekly income of £142.70, (as of 2012, and it rises in line with inflation or 2,5% pr year) and if they are on this income they will have rent/Council Tax paid. They should be able to afford heating out of this. If they chose not to put the heating on and/or not claim everything they are entitled to, then these are different problems to not being able to afford it.
If they have modest savings and own their own home? Entitled to diddly squat. That 2.5% or £3.50 doesn't actually spread very far, especially when energy is going up at 10% + a year, and water is going up at 10% a year, council tax will soon start increasing once more, food isn't going down. £200 WFA isn't exactly a kings ransom in the scheme of things. If 15 million don't need it as a PP suggests, which I find a little wide of the mark, then simply tax it.."If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop... Being uneducated, you have no fear of the future.".....
"big business is parasitic, like a mosquito, whereas I prefer the lighter touch, like that of a butterfly. "A butterfly can suck honey from the flower without damaging it," "Arunachalam Muruganantham0 -
GeorgeHowell wrote: »In many cases it might be the same problem as with some of the can't work/won't work contingent on welfare -- ie tobacco, alcohol, and gambling are the spending priorities such that things like fuel and food are allegedly unaffordable. The leftie, do-gooder brigade believe of course that help must be given regardless of the reasons and the degree of personal irresponsibility, and that things like tobacco, alcohol, and gambling are anyway to some individuals essential components of not being 'socially excluded'. Apart from being grossly unfair to the taxpayer such unlimited and indiscriminate welfare is of course a recipe for national bankruptcy, as more and more climb onto the gravy train. That's where we were heading under Labour.
Having said that I don't blame Cameron for continuing to honour his election promise to retain WFA, but I hope and expect to see it abolished after 2015.
100% of the pensioners I know, closely, do none of what you suggest above.
Of those 70 % rely on WFA to balance the books and not worry too much about heating. Many of those are living in sparsely heated properties trying to keep usage to a minimum. As far as I know they have been insulated /double glazed.
None of them are eligible for any supplemental benefits as far as I am aware.
You may be comfortable, a good many aren't,. I don't see energy bills stabilising any time soon and it isn't going to get any easier going forward.
Of course if you feel you don't need it, don't claim it and take the moral high ground.
There are lots of things that are unfair on the tax payer but this one is less unappetising than many others."If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop... Being uneducated, you have no fear of the future.".....
"big business is parasitic, like a mosquito, whereas I prefer the lighter touch, like that of a butterfly. "A butterfly can suck honey from the flower without damaging it," "Arunachalam Muruganantham0 -
grizzly1911 wrote: »If they have modest savings and own their own home? Entitled to diddly squat. That 2.5% or £3.50 doesn't actually spread very far, especially when energy is going up at 10% + a year, and water is going up at 10% a year, council tax will soon start increasing once more, food isn't going down. £200 WFA isn't exactly a kings ransom in the scheme of things. If 15 million don't need it as a PP suggests, which I find a little wide of the mark, then simply tax it..
grizzly1911 You have just posted what I would like to have posted, your a Gent. In respect of seven_day_weekend...unless you are in this situation of leading a very modest lifestyle it is almost impossible to understand what it is all about, they really dont know what it is like at all.
When the day comes that their outputs are greater than their incomings they will certainly know then.0 -
If you had a choice of how all the money currently spent on WFA was allocated are you saying that you would keep it just as it is?
No. I would pay it as now but tax it so non-taxpayers get it all and others get 80/60% of it. I would prefer it if there was an easy way of stopping those with incomes over say £50K from getting any of it.
I think means testing is wasteful in resources and degrading.Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are incapable of forming such opinions.0 -
to avoid this means testing then, would you avocate that ALL pensioners should have their rent and council tax paid by the working taxpayers?
I would not go that far. In setting the pension , Parliament is is able to make a fairly good judgement on rent and council tax. Energy prices vary a lot through the year and while many of us can plan budgets over a year, not everyone is capable of doing this. Even if it were added tp the pension there would be people who have come to rely on it who still fail to plan. Its not a problem for wealthier pensisoners but is an issue for theless affluent.Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are incapable of forming such opinions.0 -
grizzly1911 wrote: »If they have modest savings and own their own home? Entitled to diddly squat. That 2.5% or £3.50 doesn't actually spread very far, especially when energy is going up at 10% + a year, and water is going up at 10% a year, council tax will soon start increasing once more, food isn't going down. £200 WFA isn't exactly a kings ransom in the scheme of things. If 15 million don't need it as a PP suggests, which I find a little wide of the mark, then simply tax it..
Home owners can still claim Pension Credit, even with savings of up to £10k, if their income is low enough, and that will entitle them to full Council Tax Benefit.(AKA HRH_MUngo)
Member #10 of £2 savers club
Imagine someone holding forth on biology whose only knowledge of the subject is the Book of British Birds, and you have a rough idea of what it feels like to read Richard Dawkins on theology: Terry Eagleton0 -
grizzly1911 You have just posted what I would like to have posted, your a Gent. In respect of seven_day_weekend...unless you are in this situation of leading a very modest lifestyle it is almost impossible to understand what it is all about, they really dont know what it is like at all.
When the day comes that their outputs are greater than their incomings they will certainly know then.
I am a Pensioner myself. As a couple we have occupational pensions too, so do not claim Pension Credit.
I do know a couple on Pension Credit, I know how much money they have to live on, there should be no reason why they can''t pay their heating bill, especially with the £200. Even if you are not on PC, but have a low income, you can still claim for your Council Tax, and rent if you are renting. You can have £10k worth of savings too.(AKA HRH_MUngo)
Member #10 of £2 savers club
Imagine someone holding forth on biology whose only knowledge of the subject is the Book of British Birds, and you have a rough idea of what it feels like to read Richard Dawkins on theology: Terry Eagleton0
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