The DWP's £10 Christmas "Bonus"

You must be so disappointed it hasn’t been stopped

Winter fuel allowance has not been axed.

mae13

It was introduced in 1972 and has remained firmly fixed at £10 all these years.

I suppose Rachel Reeves considers it a token kindness that makes up for the Winter Fuel Allowance being axed. Maybe we should doff our caps and curtsey in grateful thanks.......

Don't be too quick with your doffing and curtsying. That might be next year’s disappearance.
Maybe she thought cutting that without any notice would be a step too far.

I don't understand why the 25p a week state pension allowance when one is 80 is not removed or increased. What could Rachel do with the money?

Wow, well mine is going to our Mayor's local charity picks, a fiver to each.

It should now be over £100 if it kept up with inflation. Various goverments over the years have kept it at £10. They should either increase it, or abolish it altogether.

I don’t think that the £10 bonus should continue in its present form. It would be much less administratively burdensome for DWP if it was just absorbed into the pension rather than being a one off annual payment. The simpler the system the better in my view.

That would be an extra 50p per week for 50 weeks of the year, minus the management fee for setting up and running the system.

argymargy

Winter fuel allowance has not been axed.

I must correct you - it certainly has for the majority, unless you can fill in the 223 question application form and convince the powers that be that you are a "special case".

Good luck with that.

‘The majority’ of pensioners are not on pension credit.

The WFP has been means-tested - something that, when it applies to other benefits (eg child benefit and universal credit) doesn’t raise an eyebrow as a rule. We’ve had threads saying that even birthday presents to benefit claimants should be declared as income and deductions to benefits made accordingly, not to mention the outrage when claimants have ‘the latest phone’ or a flat screen tv.

I am no fan of means-testing, but where is the consistency? We also get countless threads about how people should be grateful for everything they get, specially Christmas presents, so again, the consistency is missing.

I get neither WFP nor the Christmas bonus, as I am still waiting for my state pension, but wouldn’t be doffing my cap or curtsying in any case - you go ahead if you think it necessary though. How will the logistics work? Do you have to go to the HofC to doff and curtsey, or can you do it from home via Zoom or FaceTime?

I thought there was a maximum amount that a person could have in income and if you have more (not that much more) it is hardly worthwhile applying for. It is crystal clear to me that they don’t want to make this benefit any easier because more would apply even if unsuccessful. And so it remains an obstacle for a reason.

Just yesterday I went on a merry go round online trying to establish if there is any help with paying nhs dental charges if on a low income- (England) but in the end I’m still not certain if the answer is yes or no🤔 literally does my head in.

argymargy

Winter fuel allowance has not been axed.

No, it hasn't. It is still being paid to those on Pension Credit.

To balance that those receiving Pension Credit - those rcognised as the poorest retirees - lost around £1,000 Cost of Living payment they had been getting annually for the last couple of years.

mae13

argymargy

Winter fuel allowance has not been axed.

I must correct you - it certainly has for the majority, unless you can fill in the 223 question application form and convince the powers that be that you are a "special case".

Good luck with that.

Very, very few people would have to answer 223 questions to apply for Pension Credit. Many of the questions tell the applicant to skip the next section, unless X or Y applies. Most official forms are like that.

Essentially, the form wants to know about income, which isn't unreasonable for a means-tested benefit.

PoliticsNerd

argymargy

Winter fuel allowance has not been axed.

No, it hasn't. It is still being paid to those on Pension Credit.

To balance that those receiving Pension Credit - those rcognised as the poorest retirees - lost around £1,000 Cost of Living payment they had been getting annually for the last couple of years.

On the other hand, fuel costs have dropped (although they're creeping up again). Even with the loss of WFA, my income is higher than it was this time last year because my direct debit for fuel has gone down.

PS. I don't qualify for Pension Credit, but I'm not very far above the threshold.

So that’s what the mystery £10 in my bank account from the DWP was! How quaint…

I wasn't aware of it? I have now had my pension 2 years never noticed.

Granmarderby10

I thought there was a maximum amount that a person could have in income and if you have more (not that much more) it is hardly worthwhile applying for. It is crystal clear to me that they don’t want to make this benefit any easier because more would apply even if unsuccessful. And so it remains an obstacle for a reason.

Just yesterday I went on a merry go round online trying to establish if there is any help with paying nhs dental charges if on a low income- (England) but in the end I’m still not certain if the answer is yes or no🤔 literally does my head in.

Yes, there is help available, if you're on a low income (depends how you define low income) and don't have more than a few thousand in savings (sorry, can't remember the actual figure).

You need to apply for an HC2 certificate. I have one. As a very general rule of thumb, your income needs to be less than about £14,000. They take rent into account.

PS. You still need to find an NHS dentist, which is probably more difficult than finding out if you are eligible for free dental care.

Who on earth suggested declaring birthday presents if you are in receipt of a benefit Doodledog ?

Sadly for some people, it seems people will never be equal enough in there “less well off-ness”.

Eg. I could have a top of the range washing machine that I bought when I was working 15 or 20 years ago that still functions today but tomorrow it could conk out and I’d be as much in need as the next.
Or another example would be really well made pair of winter boots as apposed to cheap pair that lets in water.

I received a Cost of Living one-off payment last Christmas in addition to my State Pension. I suppose there was no way Reeves was going to continue with that.

PoliticsNerd

argymargy

Winter fuel allowance has not been axed.

No, it hasn't. It is still being paid to those on Pension Credit.

To balance that those receiving Pension Credit - those rcognised as the poorest retirees - lost around £1,000 Cost of Living payment they had been getting annually for the last couple of years.

It is also still being paid to very well off MPs. Lets not forget that.
Wonder if they have to fill in a 233 page document to claim it.
Of course not, don't be silly!!!

On the other hand, fuel costs have dropped (although they're creeping up again). Even with the loss of WFA, my income is higher than it was this time last year because my direct debit for fuel has gone down.
I wish!
Mine has just gone up by around £18 pm.

growstuff

PoliticsNerd

argymargy

Winter fuel allowance has not been axed.

No, it hasn't. It is still being paid to those on Pension Credit.

To balance that those receiving Pension Credit - those rcognised as the poorest retirees - lost around £1,000 Cost of Living payment they had been getting annually for the last couple of years.

On the other hand, fuel costs have dropped (although they're creeping up again). Even with the loss of WFA, my income is higher than it was this time last year because my direct debit for fuel has gone down.

PS. I don't qualify for Pension Credit, but I'm not very far above the threshold.

Exactly. Crisis payments should only ever last for the shortest time possible growstuff. After that it is either going back to the old normal or there is a new normal and the benefit should be increased appropriately.

It's no good the government telling us this has happened and quoting 2025/26 deferred years pension. The Basic is the one that drives all pension payments and we need to see that Pension Credit is at least adding these amounts.

LaCrepescule Anything you receive from the DWP will have your NI number followed by letters in the description column. In this case it will be XB - for Xmas Bonus.