Withdraw winter fuel payment to pay for elderly care

Graham_Devon

Couldn't agree more!

A lib dem MP is arguing for the removal of winter fuel allowance from those who least need it, in order to pay for the elderly care bill.

Linking Winter Fuel Payments to those receiving pension credit only will free up enough money to pay for the entire elderly care bill (apparently).

Also removes the cost of means testing.

Thoughts?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20887547

Out,_Vile_Jelly

I have one elderly nan living off a meagre pension for whom the extra cash is very welcome. My other nan is more comfortably off and wouldn't struggle if it were removed.

If there is an easy, inexpensive way (hard to believe) to ensure that the money is focussed on those who need most help with fuel bills, whilst diverting other money to the timebomb of elderly care, then it's clearly a sensible proposal. There are no easy, cheap/free universally popular policies though.

irishjohn

Just wondering how far the money saved would stretch in the minefield of elderly care?

grizzly1911

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

whilst diverting other money to the timebomb of elderly care, then it's clearly a sensible proposal. There are no easy, cheap/free universally popular policies though.

irishjohn wrote: »

Just wondering how far the money saved would stretch in the minefield of elderly care?

When they commented that the private sector thought this should be a good idea and that they should be involved it said it all really.

grizzly1911

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Couldn't agree more!

A lib dem MP is arguing for the removal of winter fuel allowance from those who least need it, in order to pay for the elderly care bill.

Linking Winter Fuel Payments to those receiving pension credit only will free up enough money to pay for the entire elderly care bill (apparently).

Also removes the cost of means testing.

Thoughts?



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20887547

Tax it at a persons highest applicable rate.

The allowance was introduced for a real reason, the disproportionately relative to CPI/RPI which is what pensions are uprated by. high increases in fuel


It is telling that a "pro idea" commentator, on 5L, hadn't got a clue how Pension Credits were calculated and what the various limits on savings /income were. The "finer detail" needed looking at he said. Suggests it macro policy ideas being thought out on the fly (again).

No I am not in receipt of said benefit, nor any benefits now or ever.

BertieUK

Could it not be controlled by your tax code, the one that we all have to fill in every year, then the problem would take care of itself and not create a high cost trying to control it.

penrhyn

All pigs are equal but some pigs in parliament are more equal than others, this man is a total c0ck.
How much money has been squandered by these crooks, pocketing thousands in expenses.
They have let fuel pices rise out of control so the WFA is worth a fraction of what it used to be, millions are squandered in foreign aide so that charities can buy new 4x4s, and dictators in bongo bongo land can built a new palaces.
FIT payments to the middle classes with their solar PV panels should be stopped retrospectively. If green is good then it should pay its own way.
Subsidies to windmills, a technology that reached its peak in the middle ages, and now we are told they not only produce damn all power to the grid but are wearing out in half the predicted time.
Why are we still fighting stupid foreign wars?
How many millions are spent on trying and failing to deport foreign criminals.

So Mr Liberal Democrat, get out of the trough and crawl back under your rock.

coastline

The government could reduce the amount of higher rate tax relief on pensions...save £7bn a year and cover the cost of care home fees easily....£2bn.
Time and time again we hear of means testing government hand outs...a reduction to the basic 20% for all pension plans is still a valuable contribution from the state...
Why do reasonably well off people need 40%...never mind the very wealthy.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/9701652/Scrap-pensions-higher-rate-tax-relief-says-expert.html

StevieJ

Am I missing something here? on the one hand we are saying that some old people don't need the winter fuel allowance, why then proposing a cap on healthcare costs, they don't need that either, as the residue is only going to be passed on to relatives who haven't exactly earned that windfall (in fact some don't even know their relatives)?

The Dilnot Commission, which was set up by the government, recommended that the cap on the amount individuals have to pay towards their social care be set at £35,000 over a lifetime.

wotsthat

Graham_Devon wrote: »

A lib dem MP is arguing for the removal of winter fuel allowance from those who least need it, in order to pay for the elderly care bill.

Gets my vote.

Faced with the usual problem though. Benefits which are easy to give are difficult to partly take away. I doubt that it can be done efficiently and that a fair chunk of the £1.7bn saved will be lost in admin costs.

There seem to be a couple of other issues. Firstly there's an assumption that the £1.7bn will be spent in a more worthwhile manner and secondly, aren't we running a large deficit? Why do politicians think that if they identify a 'saving' it automatically becomes available for spending?

Graham_Devon

wotsthat wrote: »

Gets my vote.

Faced with the usual problem though. Benefits which are easy to give are difficult to partly take away. I doubt that it can be done efficiently and that a fair chunk of the £1.7bn saved will be lost in admin costs.

There seem to be a couple of other issues. Firstly there's an assumption that the £1.7bn will be spent in a more worthwhile manner and secondly, aren't we running a large deficit? Why do politicians think that if they identify a 'saving' it automatically becomes available for spending?

The spending is already written in. They now have to find the money.

This is suggesting that the new spending is made up of the removal of the winter fuel payment. It's not like they have found some savings and instantly found a new way to spend it. It's more the fact that something needs paying for, and this can free up money to pay for it.

Basically, instead of handing it over to all and sundry, only those on pension credit will get it (i..e those deemed low income). Not much admin involved in that really. It also doesn't penalise the truly vulnerable.