Politics

[Not in Crawley]

10 minutes ago, Sweep said:

My Father-in-law is very wealthy, he's never needed it. Always makes a joke when he gets it. And he gives it to us 😊

They've been using it in recent years to give to the kids for days out in summer etc

[Ani]

As with all means tested benefits there will be extremes of very wealthy who get it that people use to make the case 

My mother in law is one of those on the cusp, I think she will miss out, but if she spends  a few quid of her savings she will qualify and also get her rent paid. 
 

Does she need it ? Maybe, she gets by but spends very little, no car, no holidays, eats fine but tends to be of the mentality , extra layers rather than putting heating on. 
 

For her the money is a comfort blanket, she has saved it last couple of years which ironically has tipped her into the too much savings to get her rent paid but has no money to spend in the house. It is a Housing Association one bedroom flat, but it is nice enough. 

[Casino]

15 minutes ago, Ani said:

As with all means tested benefits there will be extremes of very wealthy who get it that people use to make the case 

My mother in law is one of those on the cusp, I think she will miss out, but if she spends  a few quid of her savings she will qualify and also get her rent paid. 
 

Does she need it ? Maybe, she gets by but spends very little, no car, no holidays, eats fine but tends to be of the mentality , extra layers rather than putting heating on. 
 

For her the money is a comfort blanket, she has saved it last couple of years which ironically has tipped her into the too much savings to get her rent paid but has no money to spend in the house. It is a Housing Association one bedroom flat, but it is nice enough. 

Am i right its going to be just folk who claim pension credit that qualify and that its probably only folk living on just stare pension with less than 10k savings who can get that?

[Ani]

6 minutes ago, Casino said:

Am i right its going to be just folk who claim pension credit that qualify and that its probably only folk living on just stare pension with less than 10k savings who can get that?

That is my understanding. My MIL is in that group her savings are just over the limit. So currently her credits and rent payments are blocked. If she plays the game and buys a new telly for £1000 or so she would qualify.

Her savings have gone above the cut off as she has saved money, which arguably means she does not need it, but she ain't living a crazy life. Kids get £20 for bdays and Xmas. 

[BobyBrno]

26 minutes ago, Ani said:

As with all means tested benefits there will be extremes of very wealthy who get it that people use to make the case 

My mother in law is one of those on the cusp, I think she will miss out, but if she spends  a few quid of her savings she will qualify and also get her rent paid. 
 

Does she need it ? Maybe, she gets by but spends very little, no car, no holidays, eats fine but tends to be of the mentality , extra layers rather than putting heating on. 
 

For her the money is a comfort blanket, she has saved it last couple of years which ironically has tipped her into the too much savings to get her rent paid but has no money to spend in the house. It is a Housing Association one bedroom flat, but it is nice enough. 

My MIL is the same. With a state pension and small co. pension, she has just gone over the Pa tax threshold so about 13k a year. The government has just nicked £300 quid of her. I thought they were taxing the rich? 

[Ani]

1 minute ago, BobyBrno said:

My MIL is the same. With a state pension and small co. pension, she has just gone over the Pa tax threshold so about 13k a year. The government has just nicked £300 quid of her. I thought they were taxing the rich? 

The current tax rules as you know are those set by the Tory Govt, they froze the tax allowance at £12700 despite inflation pushing more people into tax . 

[Sweep]

2 minutes ago, BobyBrno said:

My MIL is the same. With a state pension and small co. pension, she has just gone over the Pa tax threshold so about 13k a year. The government has just nicked £300 quid of her. I thought they were taxing the rich? 

I think the rich are getting taxed as well, don't worry. 

[BobyBrno]

5 minutes ago, Ani said:

The current tax rules as you know are those set by the Tory Govt, they froze the tax allowance at £12700 despite inflation pushing more people into tax . 

I know. The £300 is the winter fuel allowance that she won’t now get. 
 

[Ani]

1 minute ago, BobyBrno said:

I know. The £300 is the winter fuel allowance that she won’t now get. 
 

Ah fair enough, you threw me with £13000 being £300 different from the £12700 limit.

out of interest does your MIL need it ? Mine is in a decent but small housing association flat so easy to heat, if she was in her previous house which was bigger and older it would be different 

If we could identify 'need' and 'not need' easily it would be a no brainer but for those on the margins like our respective MILs I am not sure it is so cut and dried and needy people will get dragged in. 

[BobyBrno]

3 minutes ago, Ani said:

Ah fair enough, you threw me with £13000 being £300 different from the £12700 limit.

out of interest does your MIL need it ? Mine is in a decent but small housing association flat so easy to heat, if she was in her previous house which was bigger and older it would be different 

If we could identify 'need' and 'not need' easily it would be a no brainer but for those on the margins like our respective MILs I am not sure it is so cut and dried and needy people will get dragged in. 

She’s in a similar situation to your MIL. After paying her rent, she has enough to live on. She won’t go without because we will look after her. 
Martin Lewis gives a good appraisal of the decision.

 

[Casino]

Fair points

Not an easy one

Im still happy to accept i shouldnt get it...when its due....but those on the edges, its a shitter

Prob us, its always been like this

As far  ba k as i can remember my mum always moaned we, as a family, got the shitty end of every stick as it was always those in the middle that lost out

[Ani]

I read the Lewis article earlier, maybe the biggest flaw in the plan is 800k people who could qualify for Pension Credits all claimed that would cost £2.1bn 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/pension-credit/#:~:text=it's spam-free!-,How much can I get%3F,year – according to government figures.

 

Plus the 800k also now qualify for the heating allowance so nearly £2.5bn of the saving disappears. Clearly not everyone will claim it but the savings would be much less than projected. 

[tomski]

Could the conservatives find six bigger helmets. Bravo😂

[Casino]

8 minutes ago, tomski said:

Could the conservatives find six bigger helmets. Bravo😂

Whats braverman up to

[tomski]

14 minutes ago, Casino said:

Whats braverman up to

It must of been a close call. Like being a United fan from Bolton backing them

[bolty58]

5 hours ago, Sweep said:

Cobblers, you loved Johnson, and he was in charge less than two years ago, so that's hardly "a long time ago" - your switch to Reform has only come about as soon as it was apparent that the Conservative Party had totally fucked everything up and would lose power. You'd never mentioned them more than 12/18 months ago, when you were still getting overly excited at the thought of Mordaunt getting the top job

So pathetic pictures like that are your method of insult now? Well done, you must be very proud of yourself particularly when you excite the likes of immature Cheese and Jol the troll. All the pathetic sarcasm and ridicule in the world will not stop the march. Open your eyes to what is happening all over Europe. If you think this will subside rather than grow you are as mad as some of the others on here with their head in the sand.

Fuck all to do with the Conservative Party fucking things up unless you are referring to their move to be a cigarette papers thickness away from Starmers Labour? If this then I will agree to an extent.

All to do with a party promoting small government, low taxation, genuine border controls, a realignment of the education system and looking at alternatives to the monolithically inefficient NHS. I am hoping they will be working hard to establish a slick operation across the country ready for 2029. Now they have data to work with as to where the support lies, a much better election result in prospect.

[1969]

10 hours ago, Chadderton said:

Not all pensions on pension credits have "spunked their money" !

I know this from my mums experience. 

That's why I said probably 

[Spider]

14 years.

 

[Guest]

The root cause of this is the £8Bn in year overspend the Tories have allowed to occur because they lost control of the asylum system and the fact that public sector workers have spent 14 years being screwed. Junior doctors have faced a 26% real terms pay cut over the last decade and in some cases are paid less than non medically qualified assistants.

Pensioners have been protected and shielded from the last 14 years (the only group who were) and whilst it is not what anyone would want to do - hard choices have to be made. Prioritising public services is the right thing to do. But in all honesty there is no choice such is the terrible mess they are in. 

[Sweep]

apparently nothing that is wrong with this country, is anythign at all to do with those who have been running the country for the lat 14 years - wow!

[Casino]

21 minutes ago, bwfcfan5 said:

 

Pensioners have been protected and shielded from the last 14 years (the only group who were) 

Mentioned this at the time of the interest rate rises that battered younger folk

Shit if you cant afford to keep warm but it cant be right that 40% tax payers get a bung

[BobyBrno]

Ever since it was introduced, it has been criticised because of its universal nature. We’ve actually discussed it many times and used Mick Jagger as an example of its unfairness. There are many in the low income bracket though who were grateful for it, especially in recent times. They will now miss out. Abolish it for the well off by all means, no one is saying otherwise. A fairer method could have been applied. 

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, BobyBrno said:

Ever since it was introduced, it has been criticised because of its universal nature. We’ve actually discussed it many times and used Mick Jagger as an example of its unfairness. There are many in the low income bracket though who were grateful for it, especially in recent times. They will now miss out. Abolish it for the well off by all means, no one is saying otherwise. A fairer method could have been applied. 

They should take a look at what Martin Lewis suggests. But suspect that’s for future years probably not practical for this year as would need some background working up and research. 
 

 

[Mounts Kipper]

2 hours ago, bwfcfan5 said:

The root cause of this is the £8Bn in year overspend the Tories have allowed to occur because they lost control of the asylum system and the fact that public sector workers have spent 14 years being screwed. Junior doctors have faced a 26% real terms pay cut over the last decade and in some cases are paid less than non medically qualified assistants.

Pensioners have been protected and shielded from the last 14 years (the only group who were) and whilst it is not what anyone would want to do - hard choices have to be made. Prioritising public services is the right thing to do. But in all honesty there is no choice such is the terrible mess they are in. 

Pensioners many who are living on less than half the minimum wage need protecting  (while NHS staff get a nice pension paid by the state plus their state pension)

As casino says if pensioners are well off with private pension/ public sector pension then they shouldn’t be getting fuel allowance. 

Edited July 30, 2024 by Mounts Kipper

[Ani]

The challenge with a benefit that is so small (£300 tops) is that you need a simple way to measure and asses it. For instance if said 'here is the criteria' please apply. You end up with as much cost on the processing as the benefit itself.

I think the change has merit, but the rules have to be applied at just right level, whatever that is. As mention my MIL living in a small but well maintained Housing Association flat has different needs that someone in an older house that costs more to heat.