Thoughts please ...

Elvis58, you cannot give it back to the government , how would you do that ? What department ? Think of the cost to administer it. Better to just donate it to a charity you have a leaning towards. I remember a few years ago Rod Stewart when he first got the Winter Fuel Allowance saying that he obviously didn’t need it and wanted to give it back. He made a programme or wrote an article I am not sure but he tried very hard to return it with no success.

And another thing, I've been known to acvost a young family maybe struggling at checkout and say " scuse me I think you've dropped something" and give them 10/20 of our English pounds, then make a quick escape, never had it refused yet and always raises a smile!

Can't think how the Govt could sort out those pensioners who really need the fuel allowance from those who do not. The departments in charge of paying out sums of money for any reason, can't seem to stop the huge frauds being carried out now, costing the economy £1000s.

CoCo51- the winter fuel allowance that pensioners receive is a DIFFERENT benefit to the Warm Home Discount- of only £140- everyone on any other benefits can get WHD- But they MUST apply for it, and not all fuel providers have this- and you may not even end up getting it- there's only so much to go round, and its 'first come first served'- pensioners AUTOMATICALLY receive this, AS WELL- on top of the winter fuel payments from Gov't- And cold weather payment of £25!- And i KNOW some (MOST) pensioners DO need the extra heating money-(on just state pension) I'm not saying that they dont- BUT a few do not- as a few have even admitted on here, so they donate the money- BUT what I'm saying is- 1) GIVE IT TO ALL on the other benefits too- the disabled who are under pension age, or on PIP, or DLA, or with children under 5, or child tax credits- and 2) add it automatically to the fuel meters or give a fuel only voucher to take to shop to buy fuel.MAKE IT FAIR TO ALL WHO ARE STRUGGLING TO HEAT THEIR HOMES- or who have to choose between eating or heating- thats not just pensioners- its ALL on other low incomes!!! I never got extra £20 a wk payments either, as I'm not on UC- legacy benefits not 'entitled') but if i had, i would have paid it straight to my fuel smart meter, ready for winter, as i know I'm not guaranteed to get WHD- and I'm not going to get extra fuel allowances as I'm under pension age! I AM disabled though, as many thousands are, but clearly when it comes to heating allowances, only getting a pension counts!??

It’s a slippery slope to talk about taking away the winter fuel allowance for pensioners. If people want to donate the money to a charity of their choice, let them do that as many donate parts of their incomes anyway. Remove that allowance then watch the bus passes go and prescriptions go etc. If you’ve reached that age of retirement (and ‘remember many women have already been shafted on their pensions) you will have paid in one hell of a lot to the system of allowances.

Well maybe govt could 'sort it' by giving it to those who are on STATE PENSION ONLY, the ones who dont have any 'private' pension to claim or 'top up' their state pension?? Clearly they would be the ones struggling most? Or a person on a single person's pension, so not got a couples money but yet still got same bills to pay? And also theres a con too by the gov't that says if you get paid child benefit then you accrue ' guaranteed pension credit' for those years as you're bringing up children (a bit like married womens stamp back in the day) BUT YET THIS DOES NOT COUNT AS A 'GUARANTEED PENSION CREDIT' FOR AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVING THE WARM HOME DISCOUNT!! which of course, it really should!

And good on Sir Rod Stewart for at least trying to do that- i wonder how many other 'stars' or celebs have done so? Yes of course the system needs sorting- how could the DWP not have known that the famous rich Rod stewart really did not need that payment but yet another poor old bloke who actually lives in Britain will be desperate for it? My God, do all those who work for DWP have no common sense?!!!

If you don’t need your winter fuel allowance you’re one of the fortunate ones. We need ours.

Why not donate the money to a local food bank? That way someone who needs immediate help will get it.

Winter fuel PAYMENT is the £100 and is payable if born before 26 Sept 1955 - I have recently recv'd my letter telling me this. It has nothing to do with receiving any other benefit. DH has had the same letter and payments are expected in the next few weeks.
I agree that it could be better spent on helping those in need but would cost too much to make it means tested. Most people I know give their payments to charity if not needed.

This payment is called a winter bonus, but since most people pay fuel bills by direct debit, which is equalled over the year, it ward be more sensible to increase the basic pension to cover this, without these annual arguments.

I have long since been saying that the freedom bus passes and hearing allowances should only be for the needy, regardless of age. It’s beyond belief that we subsidise people who can afford to pay for things themselves when there are families on low income that aren’t entitled to these concessions.

I don't agree that it 'would cost too much' to change the way its consigned/paid out to everyone born in those dates- the saving alone to gov't would be more than worth the original outlay of doing so- and worth much more in proper payouts to those who do ACTUALLY need that money- why not make it so that the people from 'those qualifying dates' actually have to APPLY for it paying then-? So that those who really dont need it, and consider themselves 'well off' enough simply dont need to apply?-leaving more cash in govt coffers to enable them to pay an AUTOMATIC winter fuel payment to those most in need- which could include those on STATE PENSION ONLY- but also those under pension age, who receive disability benefits or tax credits, child tax credits, DLA, ESA, PIP, or other low incomes who have so little that they can't even claim other benefits.IN OTHER WORDS MAKE IT FAIR to all those of us who ARE struggling- not just go "oh they were born in such & such, so they need this payment, let's send them it"! Its absolutely ridiculous!
I make no wonder the British gov't always have a huge debt- seemingly they can't stop sending money to those who don't necessarily need or want it in the first place! Gov't idiots! ?

Why can't it be given to all who are on a low income and those who are of a certain age?
That makes the most sense to me.

Cost of doing the means testing would be enormous.

allule

This payment is called a winter bonus, but since most people pay fuel bills by direct debit, which is equalled over the year, it ward be more sensible to increase the basic pension to cover this, without these annual arguments.

Best idea yet, allule

That would mean increasing the combined pension and winter fuel payment each year. And dividing it by 52 and adding a portion to each week’s pension as a separate supplement would be much less useful to those who rely on the lump sum each winter, quite apart from the administrative costs involved and the fact that not every year has 52 weeks.

Nannan2

CoCo51- the winter fuel allowance that pensioners receive is a DIFFERENT benefit to the Warm Home Discount- of only £140- everyone on any other benefits can get WHD- But they MUST apply for it, and not all fuel providers have this- and you may not even end up getting it- there's only so much to go round, and its 'first come first served'- pensioners AUTOMATICALLY receive this, AS WELL- on top of the winter fuel payments from Gov't- And cold weather payment of £25!- And i KNOW some (MOST) pensioners DO need the extra heating money-(on just state pension) I'm not saying that they dont- BUT a few do not- as a few have even admitted on here, so they donate the money- BUT what I'm saying is- 1) GIVE IT TO ALL on the other benefits too- the disabled who are under pension age, or on PIP, or DLA, or with children under 5, or child tax credits- and 2) add it automatically to the fuel meters or give a fuel only voucher to take to shop to buy fuel.MAKE IT FAIR TO ALL WHO ARE STRUGGLING TO HEAT THEIR HOMES- or who have to choose between eating or heating- thats not just pensioners- its ALL on other low incomes!!! I never got extra £20 a wk payments either, as I'm not on UC- legacy benefits not 'entitled') but if i had, i would have paid it straight to my fuel smart meter, ready for winter, as i know I'm not guaranteed to get WHD- and I'm not going to get extra fuel allowances as I'm under pension age! I AM disabled though, as many thousands are, but clearly when it comes to heating allowances, only getting a pension counts!??

Not sure if this is correct - you seem to be saying that pensioners automatically qualify for the WHD and this is not the case. For a pensioner to qualify they must be in receipt of pension guarantee element or the pension element of income related employment and support allowance. If you are a pensioner and either you or your partner are in receipt of these allowance you don’t need to apply for it, as the government will write to you to confirm your eligibility. Your name must also be on the energy account. As an example, my mum, who qualifies, lives with me in my home. As her name is not on the account, the provider will not apply the discount.

Well I’m not wealthy neither am I poor but my gas and electric bills have increased by £50 per month so I’m grateful for my £100 thank you very much.

How does it work? does each pensioner get £100 each? or do couples get £200
I am really confused by it

People on PIP do get a payment if it goes below a certain temperature I think but iirc it's about £10!

Why did OP not return? Weird.

Born between 27 September 1941 and 26 September 1955Born on or before 26 September 1941
You qualify and live alone (or none of the people you live with qualify)£200£300
You qualify and live with someone under 80 who also qualifies£100£200
You qualify and live with someone 80 or over who also qualifies£100£150
You qualify, live in a care home and do not get certain benefits£100£150

this is from the gov uk website

i get a payment of £140 each year because i am on certain benefits, i use a key card meter and it is paid onto the key, when i put the key in the meter it comes up with the money from the goverment, mine is always paid around march which seems silly as we will have past the coldest time of the year. i have radiators in my house that are to expensive for me to run so i try to keep a bit each month from march to put extra on my key for later on in the year.

JaneJudge,
My husband got his State Pension before I did, in the interim he received £200 for a couple of years for the Winter payment, but as soon as I reached State Pension age, it miraculously went down to £200 split between us.... £100 each !! I think this is ridiculous.....I do know that when you reach 80 you get £300 if you are living on your own ( not sure if you are still a couple, probably halves to £150 each)
We all like to think we can manage, but with prices for everything going up it is increasingly difficult to keep up with bills especially during the winter months when heating is really needed.
We as a couple really appreciate this money, but would welcome more if the government wanted to increase it!!

@JaneJudge. It depends on when you were born and how many other people in the household qualify. There are two rates - £200 for those born between 1941 and 1955 and £300 for those born before 1941. If you qualify and live alone you will get the full payment for your age group and if you live with someone else who qualifies, payment will be split between you according to your circumstances. Some people who are in full time care also qualify according to circumstances. However, your point about PIP/DLA is incorrect - I think you may be thinking of the Christmas bonus of £10. In Scotland there is a child winter heating payment of £202 available to people who claim the enhanced daily living rate of either PIP or DLA. They’re looking to introduce legislation to expand this to help more families, but not sure how it works. Currently in England PIP/DLA alone does not qualify you for the winter fuel payment.