Peace of Mind

The other thing that hasn't been mentioned here is the tax threshold. It's alright talking about pensioners getting the rise in April but if the tax threshold doesn't change we will be paying more tax! Another debit for us!

Pensioners have the same tax threshold as everyone else.

I agree that it should be higher (for everyone) as inflation has eaten into its value, but I don't think it sitting where it is is an attack on pensioners.

I've recently read online that Labour are considering:-
Abolishing single occupancy 25% discount council tax
Abolishing tax free pension lump sum and taxing it
Changing car road tax to Pay per mile
Charging everyone for prescriptions
Abolishing bus passes
I hope it isn't true but we will see in the October budget

I only voted conservative this time because we have a good local MP and I didn't want to lose him. That said, I agree that the country needed a new govt but probably not one with a huge majority. I am getting tired of hearing about the 22 bn black hole and how Starmer is thinking about 'working people'. We retired people were workers once and current WP will be retired one day. DH and I both still pay taxes on our pensions and are fortunate enough to be comfortably off but I feel we are being blamed for all the country's problems. Maybe the next step will be making euthanasia freely available!

I didn't say not raising the tax threshold was targeting pensioners but as we don't get actual pay rises like the working population, or a chance to earn more money, we will lose out on paying extra tax every time the state pension goes up which it obviously does each year.

The labour party definitely seem to be picking on pensioners we are an easy target we are hardly going to go out on the streets protesting. Low paid workers get universal credits and we are expected to live on much less a week, our savings are dwindling on everyday essentials. There is no fun in getting old.😓

A 2% wealth tax on assets over 10 million could raise 24 billion.

Feel more worried now that Labour seem set on killing of pensioners by taking as much away from us as they can! After being sneered at for getting Pension credit thanks to early medical retirement now more older people are being encouraged to try for it. Would encourage them too try but dont expect a miraculous amount of money as it only brings those on the lower pension or who like me could no longer afford the ‘small’ stamp so on a very small amount of pension level with the existing older pension if you are as old as me (80 soon)! Do wonder if much else is stopped how we all will manage to stay warm & eat! Guess it is a good way to get rid of us old uns & make way for the young ones who need our space as I was told by a very arrogant young man who told me also that I should get a job or kill myself! Wont tell you what I told him to do as I would be banned from GN for life! Keep on going everyone! We are worth more!

keepingquiet

Personally I felt far more vulnerable under the previous government who had stripped the country's coffers to line their own pockets.
I think we now have to face up to the reality of what happened when people ignored project 'fear' and voted for Brexit. Most of the voters who said they didn't mind the bit of hardship that Brexit would bring are now beginning to experience that hardship.
All I can say is this is what people voted for and it is now going to be a very bumpy ride indeed.
When you are feeling sorry for yourself think about the young people who cannot afford to leave home due to ridiculous rents, poor wages and working conditions, and even if they move out they cannot afford to save for a mortgage deposit or even dream of owning their own home. The idea that they might ever be able to retire with a state pension is laughable.
Yes, we are all feeling vulnerable but at least we can say as David Cameron did before he gave into the pressure of holding a referendum; 'we're all in it together.'

completely agree...

Marg75

I didn't say not raising the tax threshold was targeting pensioners but as we don't get actual pay rises like the working population, or a chance to earn more money, we will lose out on paying extra tax every time the state pension goes up which it obviously does each year.

But pensions go up in line with the rises gained by the working population, with the added protections of the triple lock. Pensioners are being treated the same as everyone else.

That doesn't mean that the personal allowance shouldn't rise - I think it definitely should - but IMO the argument is weakened when it implies that pensioners are being targeted, or even 'attacked'.

heavenlyheath

The labour party definitely seem to be picking on pensioners we are an easy target we are hardly going to go out on the streets protesting. Low paid workers get universal credits and we are expected to live on much less a week, our savings are dwindling on everyday essentials. There is no fun in getting old.😓

There is no fun in getting old, I agree. But how are pensioners being picked on or targeted? Younger people can apply for UC, and pensioners can apply for Pension Credit.

Doodledog

What has happened with this Labour government is easy to understand. They have to make up for years of corruption and incompetence, and this will not be easy for anyone.

I agree that there will be some older people who will struggle with the WFP withdrawal, and the timing and delivery were atrocious, but KS is governing the whole country - not just pensioners - and it is not just pensioners who are poor. Money that would have gone to older people who can afford cruises and champagne can (and should) be diverted to children who are going to school hungry. I don’t understand how anyone can argue otherwise.

Means-testing is always iniquitous. Always. But there may be announcements of measures in the budget that will help those who needed the payment but won’t get it - I hope so.

I’m going to argue with your middle paragraph.

Firstly, I know very few pensioners who could afford cruises and champagne. I do though know loads of young families who are now expecting their kids to be fed by anyone but themselves. Kids are all well dressed, posh buggies, phones, cars etc but they say they can’t afford to feed their kids! Sorry, not buying that one.

Young people can usually take on extra shifts or an extra job to earn more money. Pensioners usually can’t due to age and poor health.

We all brought up our kids with no breakfast clubs, no food banks, no free school meals (except the very poorest) no free nursery places and no benefits other than family allowance/child benefit.

So I definitely think pensioners are more deserving.

I have far more peace of mind now the corrupt tories with their gradual demolition of public services aren’t in power. How anyone can think the country was better off with them in power beats me( unless you were one of their well off cronies).

Firstly, I know very few pensioners who could afford cruises and champagne
Really?
Look at the various threads here- quite a few cruises, and second/holiday homes for starters.

Young people can usually take on extra shifts or an extra job to earn more money. Pensioners usually can’t due to age and poor health

Only partly true (the second part) - you omit that GPS are often committed to help out with childcare often several days a week.
You seem to argue against holiday clubs and presumably by extension after school clubs, breakfast clubs and (expensive) nurseries.
Who’s going to be responsible for the childcare when mum or dad does those extra shifts or an evening or the extra weekend job?
I’m not arguing that poverty doesn’t exist at all strata in society or that we pensioners are either well off or not- individual circumstances vary.

I'm extremely wary of Starmer's declaration that the NHS must be 'reformed'......whenever politicians start throwing words like that around (and 'review' and 'overhaul') I just know it means something is going to be taken away!

So it's OK to give train drivers on already high salaries an enormous amount of more money whilst people like Marg, and me, elderly and living on our own , but probably having just enough not to get Pension Credit, have to decide whether to be warm or well fed.
And if , like me, you've just had a torrent of water coming through your kitchen ceiling, (faulty valve in upstairs loo cistern) , and although I'm insured, will have to pay £600 excess - thought it was £300, but because I had to call out the emergency service, and then make a claim for the damage, it's double that apparently, then I will have to cut down on many things. I've cancelled some Direct debits so will no longer be visiting National Trust places, and other subscriptions,such as my local choir, have been stopped.
I was hoping that i would therefore manage, but the possibility of having to pay a lot more Council tax, if I lose my single person discount, is worrying me a lot.
Oh and then someone mentioned prescriptions. I have 8 items prescribed each month, from eye drops to blood thinners with a variety of drugs in between> If they expect me to pay for those each month I might as well just give up and let Nature take its course.
I really cannot understand how anyone can defend the attack on pensioners, because that is what it is. I am absolutely certain if Labour had told us what they intended doing before the election they wouldn't have the majority they got.

Also why should you have to give up your NT visits and your choir?

rowynSome of my answer was missed out. We've just had a large bill for a roof repair which will come out of our savings. All the more reason to get a little help with our heating bills.

The loss of the Winter Fuel Allowance was a blow but I've just read that Kier Starmer has not ruled out stopping the 25% single person council tax reduction. If that goes through, it will be a tough pill to swallow.

Rowyn and Marg You have my sympathy, I am going to pay the WFA to my Mum, even tho hard to afford as she was so upset about it and I don’t want her turning the thermostat down.None of us can understand a Labour government doing this.If they take away the single person’s discount for council tax it will be the last straw.🤬

pascal30

keepingquiet

Personally I felt far more vulnerable under the previous government who had stripped the country's coffers to line their own pockets.
I think we now have to face up to the reality of what happened when people ignored project 'fear' and voted for Brexit. Most of the voters who said they didn't mind the bit of hardship that Brexit would bring are now beginning to experience that hardship.
All I can say is this is what people voted for and it is now going to be a very bumpy ride indeed.
When you are feeling sorry for yourself think about the young people who cannot afford to leave home due to ridiculous rents, poor wages and working conditions, and even if they move out they cannot afford to save for a mortgage deposit or even dream of owning their own home. The idea that they might ever be able to retire with a state pension is laughable.
Yes, we are all feeling vulnerable but at least we can say as David Cameron did before he gave into the pressure of holding a referendum; 'we're all in it together.'

completely agree...

Thank you- I thought I was a lone voice crying in the wilderness, now there are two of us.

Talk about ostriches burying their heads; 'it's all Labour all Labour nothing to do with Brexit all that was years ago don't you know...?'

RosiesMaw2

^Firstly, I know very few pensioners who could afford cruises and champagne^
Really?
Look at the various threads here- quite a few cruises, and second/holiday homes for starters.

Proportionally though, I would imagine pensioners (on GN and in real life) who go on cruises and / or have second homes etc are in the minority? Who knows? I am not at all well off and neither are most people I know. If you’re mostly sitting alone at home feeling the cold or if you are on a cruise, you’re more likely to post about the latter?

keepingquiet

pascal30

keepingquiet

Personally I felt far more vulnerable under the previous government who had stripped the country's coffers to line their own pockets.
I think we now have to face up to the reality of what happened when people ignored project 'fear' and voted for Brexit. Most of the voters who said they didn't mind the bit of hardship that Brexit would bring are now beginning to experience that hardship.
All I can say is this is what people voted for and it is now going to be a very bumpy ride indeed.
When you are feeling sorry for yourself think about the young people who cannot afford to leave home due to ridiculous rents, poor wages and working conditions, and even if they move out they cannot afford to save for a mortgage deposit or even dream of owning their own home. The idea that they might ever be able to retire with a state pension is laughable.
Yes, we are all feeling vulnerable but at least we can say as David Cameron did before he gave into the pressure of holding a referendum; 'we're all in it together.'

completely agree...

Thank you- I thought I was a lone voice crying in the wilderness, now there are two of us.

Talk about ostriches burying their heads; 'it's all Labour all Labour nothing to do with Brexit all that was years ago don't you know...?'

I live in hope that we could rejoin but I suspect they won't want us...

Lisaangel10

Doodledog

What has happened with this Labour government is easy to understand. They have to make up for years of corruption and incompetence, and this will not be easy for anyone.

I agree that there will be some older people who will struggle with the WFP withdrawal, and the timing and delivery were atrocious, but KS is governing the whole country - not just pensioners - and it is not just pensioners who are poor. Money that would have gone to older people who can afford cruises and champagne can (and should) be diverted to children who are going to school hungry. I don’t understand how anyone can argue otherwise.

Means-testing is always iniquitous. Always. But there may be announcements of measures in the budget that will help those who needed the payment but won’t get it - I hope so.

I’m going to argue with your middle paragraph.

Firstly, I know very few pensioners who could afford cruises and champagne. I do though know loads of young families who are now expecting their kids to be fed by anyone but themselves. Kids are all well dressed, posh buggies, phones, cars etc but they say they can’t afford to feed their kids! Sorry, not buying that one.

Young people can usually take on extra shifts or an extra job to earn more money. Pensioners usually can’t due to age and poor health.

We all brought up our kids with no breakfast clubs, no food banks, no free school meals (except the very poorest) no free nursery places and no benefits other than family allowance/child benefit.

So I definitely think pensioners are more deserving.

Fair enough, but who you, or I, or anyone else knows is neither here nor there. some people know lots of champagne-drinking cruisers and others know lots of neglectful parents. I would say that the vast majority of parents do the best they can for their children, but I'm not saying you don't know some with posh buggies and cars who don't feed theirs. I'm sure many have phones, too - the same as everyone who posts on here, in fact.

The point, though, is that some of the WFP was going to the well-off (you just have to look at threads on here to see that, whether you know that 'in real life' or not), and some children are going without a hot meal, particularly in school holidays when they don't get a free meal at school. Does that make sense to you?

Dividing people into different groups just creates resentment, and can be very unfair. Why not give fuel payments to everyone under a certain income bracket, instead of basing them on age? To do that, there has to be a cut-off. I am not in favour of means-testing at all, and think that choosing the PC threshold was wrong, but wherever a means-test is set there will be those who just miss out.

It is true that in the past there were no breakfast clubs, food banks etc, but then there were council houses with lifetime tenancies and reasonable rents, and those who wanted to buy a house could do so on one average salary per family - they even got tax relief on the mortgage. House prices have risen enormously - great for those who bought when they were cheap, and great for those who will inherit, but not so great for those at the start of their mortgages. Similarly, council houses have been sold, and private rents are at very high levels - often for the same house that used to bring money into the council but now is a cash cow for the tenant who bought it at a discount.

It's not always possible to 'take on extra shifts'. People on salaries (as opposed to wages) can't do that, and many employers prefer to keep people on limited hours to avoid having to pay NI contributions. Also, childcare is so expensive that it can cost more than people earn to get children looked after out of school hours.

Nobody should have to give up their NT membership or their choir, but nobody should have to worry about sending their child to school hungry either. I think keepingquiet is right.