Will you be returning your universal benefits .....

Re our Christmas bonus of £10, it must cost as much or more to administer this amount. It would be easier to tag it on to the winter fuel allowance or remove it but I do realise that some people do rely on it, small as the amount is.

Winter Fuel Payments and bus passes are a right, not a gift from the government. We have paid income tax, council tax and NI contributions all our working lives and are entitled to our pensions.

I feel very concerned about pensioners on relatively modest incomes who feel that because there are some people worse off than they are, they should give back money to which they are entitled. They could end up denying themselves adequate heating in winter.

Bus passes are there to be used. Without the support of pensioners using their passes many of our bus routes would go out of business. This would be bad for everyone, not just pensioners.

If anyone still feels they don't deserve a winter fuel allowance, can I suggest giving an equivalent sum to Age Concern or some other charity that will make better use of the money than our present government.

The SA pressure group of pensioners with frozen pensions joined up with other groups and it went all the way to The Hague and the UK High Court ruling was upheld. I know this because my MIL's UK pension is frozen and she lives in SA (although she has advanced Alzheimers and doesn't really know what goes on these days, her care is expensive as she has 24 hour nursing care).

In response to the original question, my answer is no. I am 3 months short of qualifying for statutory pension not having worked for 10 years before the age of 60 and therefore my statutory pension will be about £30 a week. So I'm going to accept whatever other benefit I am offered with gratitude. I'm 64 this year and am still working full time so am not claiming pension.

There is a article about this very subject in today's Telegraph. I thought this paragraph was interesting:

'Independent research from Oxford Economics found that emigrating pensioners save the UK Government £2.3 billion a year in social care costs. Studies also suggest that if pension parity were introduced, increased numbers of emigrating pensioners could save the Government a further £7.2 billion. '

There is a pressure group of pensioners with frozen pensions and Oliver Letwin is supporting them.

The argument about pensions for ex-pats is that there are no reciprocal agreements with countries such as Australia and Canada, but there are with EU countries. This may make a lot of sense if you are talking about ex-pats of working age. For those of us already drawing our pensions, it is irrelevant. We have already qualified with our NI contributions and we are now being defrauded by the government not living up to the promises made.

I think emigrants to some Commonwealth countries, as well as EU countries, also still get annual pension increases. What happens to emigrants to the USA, does anyone know?

I don't receive those benefits yet but when I do I certainly wouldn't give money back to the government. I doubt they'd use it wisely or pass it to pensioners in need. But I'd willingly send it to a charity.

It is absurd and unfair that emigrants to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa have their state pensions frozen while those who choose to live in EU countries have theirs annually up-dated as we do. I think this case was taken to the European Court which upheld Government policy. Why?

Like absent, my State Retirement Pension will be frozen when I emigrate, in spite of the fact that I have paid nearly 40 years contributions and my two government service pensions will still be taxable in the UK
Luckily, they will continue to be index-linked as they are occupational pensions. I won't be receiving any benefits from the UK and will have to pay for private medical insurance in NZ
I have been surprised sometimes at the venom directed at expats but I put it down to jealousy!

absent I think it's so wrong that British people emigrating to certain countries do not get any increases at all in their British pension. An elderly friend of mine moved to Canada to be near her sons and I'm fairly sure she said that she won't get any increases either.

This government throws an idea into the public arena and sees what sort of reaction they get. By inferring that one section of the population is being treated with disproportionate favour, they create a simmering resentment in other sections of the population. This divide and rule tactic appears to have been quite successful so far and I'm sad to see people falling for it.

I see Ganga so when I leave Manchester to go to Hope Hospital in Salford to see my neurosurgeon, that's gallivanting, is it?

I've written to George Osborne to suggest that the bus pass goes back to being for the local area only, as it was originally. It is very important that pensioners can get about, but if we want to go off gallivanting elsewhere then we should pay. Is the £10 "Christmas present" really of such value to people that it justifies the administration cost? I wonder.

In Manchester, you can use your bus pass on local trains and also on the Metro.

As my state pension will be frozen at this year's rate no matter how long I may live, I have no intention of voluntarily giving up my winter fuel allowance. Even so, it will not compensate for the pension increases I would have got had I stayed in the UK, where, I may add, I shall still be paying income tax for a few years more at least. (Obviously neither the bus pass nor the TV licence apply abroad.)

Harriet Harperson was just on Today explaining that we need to maintain the principle of contributory benefits; you've paid in all your working life and you then have a guarantee of being able to draw out, even though there is no real connection between the two. I didn't ask for a bus pass, winter fuel allowance or Christmas present - I don't get the TV licence yet - but I'm glad to get them. And I'll decide whether I should give the cash to charity.

NfK I think it's only the London Freedom pass that works on both buses and trains. The National Concession – which applies to the rest of the country – doesn't.

Frank Will you be able to use your pass on the train? I thought that only applied in London. (No good to me anyway - most of our railway lines are now long distance footpaths)

I think "wealthy" should mean anyone paying high rate of tax. I wonder how many pensioners come into this category?

cherry I think wealthy means having much more money than you need to survive.

Yes - Frank and his bowels....

I think we posted at the same time, Ana - I am assuming your 'again'refers to our dear friend's little irrelevance!

My post was of course in response to Frank's!

(again!)

My sister lives on a housing estate in the suburbs of Manchester. She doesn't drive and can walk for only a limited distance. If she could not use her bus pass on the little local bus she would be housebound, as she could not afford a taxi (£3 each way) to her local shopping precinct. The bus is used almost exclusively during the day by pensioners - in fact, it does not run in the evening because the bus company found it uneconomic. I am sure most of the pensioners rely on their pass for their social life.
She uses the bus to get to the shops, the doctor's and chemists's, and to her two women's groups which meet in the library. She manages to get out nearly every week day and I fear her mental health would deteriorate if she could not do this. She has been treated for depression and one of the groups she attends was set up specifically for people who have suffered this awful illness.
It would cost a lot more to the 'taxpayer' if her physical and mental health got worse because she became isolated.
More 'back of the envelope' thinking?

NfkDumpling

When I qualify for a free bus pass I will probably take Andie on the train to Selly Oak and walk back to Birmingham along the canal path.
At present he gets frequent walks in Sutton Park and he is happy with them.
I am not sure why but he seems to be extra happy when we get off the train in Selly Oak probably because he knows he will get a free biscuit and bowel of tea at a café we visit in Birmingham.

Frank