In todays news...

[Count Steer]

The fuss about this winter heating supplement is all a bit bizarre. It was the daftest thing ever to hand it out to every pensioner, rich and poor alike*. If they'd given it only to those most in need they could have given more, but no, it was just another vote-catching bribe. The people that seem to want to bend my ear about it most are all, in relative terms, loaded. Maybe they struggle to heat the big houses they're rattling around in.

In an attempt to redistribute mine I always used it as a 'good causes fund' because it just felt like a political bung rather than a serious attempt to help the less well off.

To say that some people will miss out because they don't bother claiming pension credit just seems a bit 'Well, derr' (If the system is too difficult for old folk to navigate, how about simplifying it or making pension credit automatic? Can't be beyond the wit of man to do that surely).

* I may misremember but didn't it used to only kick in if there was a measured v cold period?

[DefTrap]

I dont think anyone needs to beat Labour with anything, they seem to be self flagellating quite well on their own!

Has anyone done "They won, get over it!" yet? That lets you play your get-out-of-jail-free card for at least a couple of years I reckon.

[cheb]

The fuss about this winter heating supplement is all a bit bizarre. It was the daftest thing ever to hand it out to every pensioner, rich and poor alike*. If they'd given it only to those most in need they could have given more, but no, it was just another vote-catching bribe. The people that seem to want to bend my ear about it most are all, in relative terms, loaded. Maybe they struggle to heat the big houses they're rattling around in.

In an attempt to redistribute mine I always used it as a 'good causes fund' because it just felt like a political bung rather than a serious attempt to help the less well off.

To say that some people will miss out because they don't bother claiming pension credit just seems a bit 'Well, derr' (If the system is too difficult for old folk to navigate, how about simplifying it or making pension credit automatic? Can't be beyond the wit of man to do that surely).

* I may misremember but didn't it used to only kick in if there was a measured v cold period?

I've read some bollocks on here but that's just plain ridiculous.

Have you read 'Office Life' by Keith Waterhouse?

[Saga Lout]

The fuss about this winter heating supplement is all a bit bizarre. It was the daftest thing ever to hand it out to every pensioner, rich and poor alike*. If they'd given it only to those most in need they could have given more, but no, it was just another vote-catching bribe. The people that seem to want to bend my ear about it most are all, in relative terms, loaded. Maybe they struggle to heat the big houses they're rattling around in.

In an attempt to redistribute mine I always used it as a 'good causes fund' because it just felt like a political bung rather than a serious attempt to help the less well off.

To say that some people will miss out because they don't bother claiming pension credit just seems a bit 'Well, derr' (If the system is too difficult for old folk to navigate, how about simplifying it or making pension credit automatic? Can't be beyond the wit of man to do that surely).

* I may misremember but didn't it used to only kick in if there was a measured v cold period?

I don't NEED that £300, but by the same token, those public sector workers don't NEED an above inflation pay rise. It feels like the new Chancer of the Exchequer has reached into my wallet and taken £300 that I don't really need to give it to people who really, really don't need it.

Thing is, there's more money in there that I don't really need just to survive. How long before she tries to take that away and leave me with just subsistence money? And don't tell me the slippery slope or the thin end of the wedge aren't real.

[Taipan]

I dont think anyone needs to beat Labour with anything, they seem to be self flagellating quite well on their own!

Has anyone done "They won, get over it!" yet? That lets you play your get-out-of-jail-free card for at least a couple of years I reckon.

A bit like Brexit you mean!

[Taipan]

I guess he did say "during the course of this campaign"!

During his 2020 leadership campaign, Mr Starmer claimed he would not to speak to The Sun newspaper during a hustings in Liverpool.

He said at the time: “I certainly won’t be giving any interviews to The Sun during the course of this campaign.”

2024; "I'm very happy to work with The Sun, to write for The Sun, to do interviews for The Sun..."

Labour voters today...

[Hoonercat]

The fuss about this winter heating supplement is all a bit bizarre. It was the daftest thing ever to hand it out to every pensioner, rich and poor alike*. If they'd given it only to those most in need they could have given more, but no, it was just another vote-catching bribe. The people that seem to want to bend my ear about it most are all, in relative terms, loaded. Maybe they struggle to heat the big houses they're rattling around in.

In an attempt to redistribute mine I always used it as a 'good causes fund' because it just felt like a political bung rather than a serious attempt to help the less well off.

To say that some people will miss out because they don't bother claiming pension credit just seems a bit 'Well, derr' (If the system is too difficult for old folk to navigate, how about simplifying it or making pension credit automatic? Can't be beyond the wit of man to do that surely).

* I may misremember but didn't it used to only kick in if there was a measured v cold period?

There's means-testing, and there's mean means-testing. From my understanding, if you've paid the full qualifying years you receive a pension of £221.20 per week. If you haven't paid enough to qualify for a full pension, you can claim pension credit which tops it up to £218.15 per week. So you're only £3 per week worse off, but get to keep the WFA while those who have paid in full lose it.
As for those expat pensioners in the EU, they can't claim pension credit so won't qualify for the WFA. Except they will (unless they live in France or Spain)

British expats living in the EU, or Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are guaranteed the allowance thanks to the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

If I was a UK-based pensioner who'd paid their full dues I think I'd be a bit pissed off as well. They're essentailly being told 'You're £150 per year better off because you paid in full, so we're going to penalise you by £200-300. But don't worry, the bloke who lives in that 8 bedroom mansion down the road is going to lose it as well'.

[Cousin Jack]

In an attempt to redistribute mine I always used it as a 'good causes fund' because it just felt like a political bung rather than a serious attempt to help the less well off.

It always arrived just before Xmas, so a charity got a sizeable Xmas prezzie from me too.

[Mr. Dazzle]

They're essentailly being told 'You're £150 per year better off because you paid in full, so we're going to penalise you by £200-300. But don't worry, the bloke who lives in that 8 bedroom mansion down the road is going to lose it as well'.

This is par for the course with benefits, tax and all the rest of it though.

You gotta draw the line somewhere (assuming you're gonna draw it at all, that is) and it's always gonna be a fairly crude tool unless you get into quite detailed means testing, which ends up being more expensive than the savings you make....

[DefTrap]

Except they will (unless they live in France or Spain)

My house in France i way colder in Winter than my house in the UK. Who do I complain to?

[Mr. Dazzle]

Except they will (unless they live in France or Spain)

My house in France i way colder in Winter than my house in the UK. Who do I complain to?

Greenpeace.

[cheb]

All this fuss could have been avoided if they'd just increased the basic pension by the same amount instead of a new benefit needing more civil servants and, it wouldn't be a surprise, a complete new computer system to administer it.

But it would only have been a small increase per week, not enough to buy a <cheap item>, and where's the vote gathering kudos in that.

And pensioners being so stupid they need to be told to put a jumper on when it gets cold probably can't budget either.

[Mr. Dazzle]

probably can't budget either.

Anyone who failed to meet their NI contributions for four decades probably falls into that category TBF

[DefTrap]

And pensioners being so stupid they need to be told to put a jumper on when it gets cold probably can't budget either.

I already do that because (a) I don't see the point of heating all parts of the house that I rarely go in (and no, my heating system isn't refined at all enough to allow any fine tuning) (b) I find central heating unhealthy and stifling.

I reserve the right to remove my jumper when I become I pensioner if it helps justify all the whinging and self-pity that I'm really looking forward to.

[cheb]

I'm fortunate enough to still have a living mother to tell me to put on a vest when she feels cold.

[Yorick]

What's heating?

[gremlin]

My mum was moaning about it on Sunday. She's going on her third overseas holiday of the year in a few days....

[Mr. Dazzle]

Poor dear, has to jet off to another country to escape the cold

[Yorick]

My mum was moaning about it on Sunday. She's going on her third overseas holiday of the year in a few days....

Buy her a jumper so she doesn't need to spend your inheritance.

[gremlin]

My mum was moaning about it on Sunday. She's going on her third overseas holiday of the year in a few days....

Buy her a jumper so she doesn't need to spend your inheritance.

I'll get her some balls of wool and a couple of knitting needles. That way she'll keep moving to stay warm plus I can flog her telly.