Winter fuel allowance for pensioners re-instated 🤗

Cobbler_tone

They could have made it simple and set the bar at the 'comfortable' level, i.e. £60,600 

Aretnap

born_again said:

The payment, worth up to £300, will still be given to pensioners with income above the £35,000 threshold, but will then be reclaimed from them

Nice logic there.

It's perfectly logical. Setting up an entirely new means test is horrendously complex and costly in terms of administration. So if you're going to means test it at a level which doesn't align with an existing means test (like pension credit), paying it and then clawing it back through the tax system is by far the easiest way of doing it, even if it does look a bit clunky from the outside. 

That's why they did the same thing with they means tested child benefit. Presumably as with child benefit there'll be an option to opt out of receiving it if you're clearly going to be over the threshold and don't want to receive it then pay it back. Though I suppose MSE types could always treat it as an 0% loan from the government and stooze a few quid of interest from it.

Albermarle

Cobbler_tone said:

They could have made it simple and set the bar at the 'comfortable' level, i.e. £60,600 

That £60,600 is household income after tax.
So if two partners earn £34k each, they should manage that and still get the £200 Winter Fuel Payments.

Cobbler_tone

Albermarle said:

Cobbler_tone said:

They could have made it simple and set the bar at the 'comfortable' level, i.e. £60,600 

That £60,600 is household income after tax.
So if two partners earn £34k each, they should manage that and still get the £200 Winter Fuel Payments.

Yeah, mild satire based on the arbitrary figure from the other thread. Unless they have some serious outgoings, an 80 something couple pulling in £30-40k+ a year between them aren't going to need £600 towards their energy bill but I know my folks are up on the news and happy. 
Like with any blanket payment (for the majority anyway) some will need it far, far more than others. 

ali_bear

MTB1986 said:

ali_bear said:

What is the situation for those that have a measly 34k of pension income but large savings? 

I wouldn’t call 34k income measly…

Sorry I forgot that irony/sarcasm doesn't carry on interwebs

Freecall

The Government press release refers to 'income' but on the radio the Government spokesperson referred to pensioners who have a 'pension income' in excess of £35k.

It is not clear to me which it will be.

I have heard no specific mention of Interest, dividend income, capital gains or any other form of personal income.

Moonwolf

Freecall said:

The Government press release refers to 'income' but on the radio the Government spokesperson referred to pensioners who have a 'pension income' in excess of £35k.

It is not clear to me which it will be.

I have heard no specific mention of Interest, dividend income, capital gains or any other form of personal income.

Reading between the lines, it will be based on your taxable income reported to HMRC via PAYE and banks or through your tax return and if you don’t opt out they will adjust your tax code the following year unless you do tax returns and make payments that way.

Sterlingtimes

I contrive to keep my pension income below £50,270 so that I do not lose the Marriage Allowance that my wife transferred to me. If I fail to opt out, does the Winter Fuel Allowance increase my income? Is this a situation where opting out may be preferable?

SouthCoastBoy

Has this, ever so slightly, opened the door to means testing the state pension?

MeteredOut

SouthCoastBoy said:

Has this, ever so slightly, opened the door to means testing the state pension?

I'd say not any more than it was previously, but this is the same as asking "do you trust any government in future not to means test the state pension".