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[regiment]

goverment is thinking of cutting cold weather payments  but why is is being paid to people who are 60 and still working  i thought it was for retired  people only my mate owns a caravan site not 65 and he gets it told the dhss did not want it got to have it your right gives it away to a charity now

[gingyer]

According to the radio ex-pats living in austalia and Spain are
Getting the payments also  

[Circlip]

Yep, cos they paid into the "System" while here

  Good screw from Civil (?) Servants, "You give us a pound and when you retire, we give you back 2 1/2 p ??" Pension.

  Much cheaper than giving EVERY new born £250 and increasing it by the same amount TWICE by the time they're 18.

  Regards  Ian

[tugmad]

well what about all those who have not paid into the system,they get more than those that have paid all their life, it makes me mad

[Circlip]

One of the "Advantages" of having had an Empire. 

  Regards  Ian.

[regiment]

i have to pay for my glasses and dentist why.. because i get a RAF pension also my ss pension should have been a scroungier then i would have got them free

[sweeper]

Perhaps someone could provide an answer to this aspect of winter fuel payments.

Why do residents in care homes (who have no fuel bills) get the allowance?
I know it happens because my late Mother used to receive it - much to her amusement.
Just thinking of the large numbers of such residents, the outlay must be sizeable.
Nice little Christmas bonus for them though, and the powers that be claim they are trying to save money?
 

[Youngat65]

Sweeper i think you will find that the winter fuel payment is per house-hold so if one person in the house-hold is over 60 then the payment is £250 if there are two or more persons in the house-hold the payment is still £250 it therefor follows that care homes etc only get one payment of £250 i could be wrong and I am sure that the barrack room lawyers here will soon put me right

[gingyer]

when you look at the amount of money that is being paid out by the government
they keep saying that they need to cut the amount of money being spent

easiest way put somebody with a brain cell into the treasury.

Circlip is right about the £250 payment when a child is born....I think it was to encourage kids to save their money by having a bank account a £5 does the same
I never knew about the money for 18 year olds the majority have 2 legs let them stand on them!
there is a scary amount of kids these day know exactly what they a "due" from the government before the leave school into the real world.

[Colin Bishop]

The principle behind every household with a qualifying person (usually over 60) getting the payment is that it is cheaper to do this than to introduce means testing. Whether this is true I don't know.

Quote from Citizens Advice Bureau:

If you live in a care home, you get a reduced rate of Winter Fuel Payment. In 2009/10, this is £125 or £200 if you are 80 or over. However, if you live in a care home and get Pension Credit, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), you will not get a Winter Fuel Payment at all.

Incidentally, I also have a free bus pass but I virtually never use it, and then only for non essential journeys on half empty buses which are already scheduled so it isn't actually costing the taxpayer anything.

Colin

[dodgy geezer]

Joined-up government.....

One department decides to cut winter fuel payments to the elderly to save money

Another department is busy raising the price of fuel in order to cut 'carbon emissions' in line with EU mandates

And I suspect a third group have just cut staffing for the mortuaries by 50%

This is one way to lower the population. Roll on another winter like the last.....   

[funtimefrankie]

The ConDems will be wanting to cut the Old Age Pension, next, if they think you have a private pension

[Bryan Young]

This "winter fuel payment" really is a can of worms, isn't it. Come on now. Everyone of whatever political allegiance must agree that leaving "elderly" people to freeze in their own homes is not a good idea. But where do you put the dividing line between "deserving" and "not deserving"? Methinks that it would be an expensive nightmare to administrate, and so the present system is probably the cheapest option. Having said that, a friend of mine (expat English) who lives in Barcelona is also grateful for it. His house like most of those in warmer climes are built to be cool in summer....but can be bloody freezing in winter. I also don't really think that "fraud" plays much of a part here, unlike some other aspects of "benefits". If it ain't broke then don't try to fix it. BY.

[Bryan Young]

This "winter fuel payment" really is a can of worms, isn't it. Come on now. Everyone of whatever political allegiance must agree that leaving "elderly" people to freeze in their own homes is not a good idea. But where do you put the dividing line between "deserving" and "not deserving"? Methinks that it would be an expensive nightmare to administrate, and so the present system is probably the cheapest option. Having said that, a friend of mine (expat English) who lives in Barcelona is also grateful for it. His house like most of those in warmer climes are built to be cool in summer....but can be bloody freezing in winter. I also don't really think that "fraud" plays much of a part here, unlike some other aspects of "benefits". If it ain't broke then don't try to fix it. BY.

[DickyD]

Got you the first time Bryan and I agree with you, pay it to everyone and save on the administration.

I would also like to say thanks for mine.

[Bee]

Last time this came up I suggested it should take account of the relative weather in different areas. It is after all for heating and it does not take many brain cells to know that Scotland and the north are colder than the south east and Parliament. Phase one could adjust based on mean temperatures by county. Then with a little further data processing it can be further refined by post code, to take into account that a hill farm in Yorkshire is rather cooler than a seaside town in Kent using the ordnance survey data to understand altitude, aspect etc. There are lots of websites that tell you insolation and windspeed by location so the information is already there.

[Colin Bishop]

Then you just need somebody to write a few million letters with the appropriate amounts...

[dodgy geezer]

Then you just need somebody to write a few million letters with the appropriate amounts...

Don't knock it!  Bee has just created a whole new government department - the Department of Weather! Staffed with 3000 civil servants and costing 2p in the pound on income tax.....

[malcolmfrary]

i get a RAF pension also my ss pension

Didn't know you could be in both.........

[funtimefrankie]

"Cold weather payment " and "winter fuel payment" are two different things

[Colin Bishop]

Very good point! The diescussion has been about Winter Fuel Payments so the topic needs to be renamed.

[regiment]

yes 22 years service raf pension then at age 65 state pension

[Patternmaker]

Very good point! The diescussion has been about Winter Fuel Payments so the topic needs to be renamed.

I started the topic of WINTER FUEL PAYMENTS in February this year with 41 replies

[sweeper]

Younger at 70,

You may well be correct with the figures for households but the payment for people in care homes is made direct to their personal bank accounts.
This, I can assure you of as I handled my Mothers affairs until her demise.
Unless, a nice line of thought, she was selected from the list of residents to receive the amount on their behalf! Talk about winning the lottery.

I don't begrudge the elderly their various payments, I'm cracking on a bit myself! But there are genuine needy cases and some fantastic wastes in this system. Why should I worry, it's only our tax money that's being P**d up against the wall.

 

[DickyD]

I don't begrudge the elderly their various payments, I'm cracking on a bit myself! But there are genuine needy cases and some fantastic wastes in this system. Why should I worry, it's only our tax money that's being P**d up against the wall.

 

Mr Sweeper I am 62 years old and receive various payments including the winter fuel payment and I would like to say I dont p**s it up the wall and I AM NOT ELDERLY.