Winter fuel allowance for pensioners re-instated 🤗

ali_bear

SouthCoastBoy said:

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

Haven't yet seen the Telegraph screaming about this so probably not? 

Albermarle

Cobbler_tone said:

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. 

They will not get £600. They would get £150 each according to the answers and links sent in response to one of my previous posts/questions.

confusedcoconut

My parent moved in with me and my family due to ill health. Will they be able to receive the winter fuel allowance? Or is our income blocking that for them?

starving_artist

Are elderly folks living in care homes entitled to it (if their income is below the threshold) ?

Cobbler_tone

Albermarle said:

Cobbler_tone said:

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. 

They will not get £600. They would get £150 each according to the answers and links sent in response to one of my previous posts/questions.

Sorry. I forgot my parents get £300 each due to an admin issue which they have attempted to address on multiple occasions. Apologies on a subject complex enough.
Last time I recall they thought my dad was in a care home in Leicester, which must’ve been totally mistaken identity. Perhaps with the reset it’ll be right this time. 

diveunderthebonnet

Will the pensioners living abroad , ie The Canary Islands ,Mainland Spain etc still get the winter heating allowance ,i am sure they will need it if only to run their air conditioning systems 

Albermarle

diveunderthebonnet said:

Will the pensioners living abroad , ie The Canary Islands ,Mainland Spain etc still get the winter heating allowance ,i am sure they will need it if only to run their air conditioning systems 

Or buy a few more cocktails !

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Sterlingtimes said:

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?

I don't think anyone knows that level of detail yet.

Child Benefit isn't taxable income yet there is a system to claw that back.  Using adjusted net income, not taxable income, as the decisive factor.

No doubt more will become clear in due course.

eltisley98

What Paul Johnson described as "messy" today is exactly the same as in the scenario where a single-income family earning more than £60,000 loses child benefit while another family with two incomes each of £50,000 gets to keep it. It would be interesting to see what pensioners say to that scenario now. 

Does anyone realistically believe that the government cannot do better than this?

phlebas192

SouthCoastBoy said:

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

Given that it expands a benefit beyond the current situation, the very obvious answer is "no". Looking more deeply, prior to the announcement the WFA was entirely means tested being based on the ability to claim pension credit which is based on a mixture of income and assets. Under the new scenario, it would be possible for a pensioner with huge assets but little income to be paid WFA whereas one with reasonable income but no assets to not get it. So clearly not any form of "means testing" in any reasonable understanding of the term.