Universal benefits survey

The thing that always seemed wrong to me was that I was able to carry on working after the age of 60, yet still claim my pension and all the benefits that went with it. I presume that, with the raising of the retirement age, this will no longer happen. Actually as I gave up work six months later to look after my GS I didn't benefit from it for long.

According to the Scottish Government abolishing charges for all prescriptions has been virtually cost neutral because of the savings made on administration, collection & monitoring of charges, etc. The added bonus is that people most in need are now collecting all of their prescribed medication, instead of having to ration what they could afford each month, which in turn improves general health. It has also speeded up a visit to the pharmacy .

Think of the savings that could be made if Heating Allowance were abolished and replaced by an across the board increase of £2 a week on basic pension. The cost of a whole department, forms and postage would be saved. As someone else has said the bus passes are really a subsidy to otherwise underused bus services and I cannot imagine that many people in the higher income brackets even bother to obtain them. It makes economic sense to just give ALL pensioners a decent basic pension and then claw back from the better off via the tax system.

I think our family must have got it wrong somehow Pentillie we have found just how closely benefits were monitored to the point of almost making my daughter homeless. They have been proved wrong but it has made me realise that it does not pay to be honest!

Agree with you there LizG - too many people know how to play the various systems to their advantage!
Honesty is not always the best policy, but it still makes you a better person.