The DWP's £10 Christmas "Bonus"

Among the most generous

By comparison to what or who Mollygo?

MissAdventure

It's £4 a week.

Yes, but to hear some talk it is the difference between starvation and plenty.

If people can be reduced to penury for the lack of £200 a year, that is a very good case for increasing pensions across the board. I know these cuts all add up, but it's a dreadful indictment of 14 years of Toryism that people are living so close to the bone.

Do RTWP PoliticsNerd.

The Conservative/LibDem government introduced the triple lock in 2010. Labour did not try to protect pensions during the Blair years, and in fact in 1999, Gordon Brown induced anger from both pensioners and others, after his derisory 75 pence per week pension increase. People do indeed have short memories, but not all of us do. Labour have never supported pensioners, probably regarding us as Tory voting and as expensive and unproductive. The triple lock has protected pensions since 2010, but nonetheless it is clearly insufficient, bearing in mind that those on full time minimum wage earn approximately £20,000, and it will have gone up as a result of the budget. Pensioners definitely cannot survive on the state pension, either the new or the basic, and many having realised this have made some sort of other provision for their retirement. Luckily.

We weren’t born yesterday petal53. Time for a fact check.
fullfact.org/economy/state-pension-labour-conservatives/

Mollygo

Do RTWP PoliticsNerd.

RTWP?

Google tells me it means Received Total Wideband Power, but whatever that is, it doesn't sound right in the context of the thread

No, I wasn’t born yesterday either Casdon.

Due to the high price of fuel, pensioners, and indeed the entire population, were given ‘energy payments’ of £400 by Sunak’s government. Cost of living payments were also made to pensioners and households with low incomes. The pensioner payment in 23/24 was £300. This was all in addition to the WFA.
I know which government tried to look after pensioners and I know which government removed the energy payment for pensioners.
People have very short memories.

I’ve got a good memory, and I know that the facts don’t lie though petal53.
ifs.org.uk/publications/how-have-pensioner-incomes-and-poverty-changed-recent-years

In Ireland everyone on any kind of social welfare payment, including pension, gets a double payment for the week in early December. This has been the case for a number of years.

? Sorry, Mollygo looked up RTWP but can't see anything relevant.

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.

It can be worth applying for pension credit if you qualify as there are so many other benefits that kick in such as the warm home discount, free TV licence and other help.

Before I retired I was on a low income which entitled me to working tax credit. I had to stop claiming when I received my NHS pension at 65 as that took me over the earnings limit so I stopped my claim at the April prior to my 65th birthday to prevent being overpaid and having to pay it back. During the last year of my claim my monthly payments were very small, however the warm home discount came on top, and when my boiler broke down I got a replacement fitted free of charge because I was on tax credits. These extra payments to benefit claimants mean that those on the benefit end up much better off than those on a slightly higher income who don't qualify for the benefits.

I feel most sorry for those who just miss out on pension credit as they will really struggle without the winter fuel allowance. I'm actually better off as a pensioner than when I was working as I have my state pension as well as 3 small private pensions. There should be some way to taper the eligibility for pension credit, but sadly it would probably be too expensive administratively.

I've tried to persuade an aquaintance to apply for pension credit as I think she would be eligible, but she can't face the application process. She doesn't have access to the internet, or even a phone or tv. I considered offering to help but thought it might seem intrusive as I'd need to know all her financial details. I have at least saved her some money as she had received a tax bill and from what she had said about her income etc I couldn't see how she would be liable for tax as she's on less than the full old pension. She made enquiries and it turned out the revenue had made an error. She nearly paid the bill out of her savings when it was for someone else! Needless to say she was very grateful, but she is still adamant she won't apply for pension credit. I'm sure the CAB would help if she asked them to.

They were very, very helpful to me.

The thing is, people on benefits don't all enjoy it one little bit.
I bitterly resent having to fill in forms and "justify" how and why I'm not working, and I'm constantly in fear that "they" may decide I'm not bad enough to be not working.

Needs must, though, because I can't work, and I need money to live on.

When I was claiming JSA they actually went through my purse, pulled out the coupons I'd been saving out of newspapers folks had finished with and gave me for fire kindling, in the hopes I might actually be able to use them to buy some nicer foodie bits, and they deducted the total value of those unused coupons, most of which were out of date anyways!

Mibsy

When I was claiming JSA they actually went through my purse, pulled out the coupons I'd been saving out of newspapers folks had finished with and gave me for fire kindling, in the hopes I might actually be able to use them to buy some nicer foodie bits, and they deducted the total value of those unused coupons, most of which were out of date anyways!

Was this in the UK Mibsy? And was it this century? …honestly!😏

Granmarderby10

Mibsy

When I was claiming JSA they actually went through my purse, pulled out the coupons I'd been saving out of newspapers folks had finished with and gave me for fire kindling, in the hopes I might actually be able to use them to buy some nicer foodie bits, and they deducted the total value of those unused coupons, most of which were out of date anyways!

Was this in the UK Mibsy? And was it this century? …honestly!😏

I can't believe that happened in the UK. Granmarderby10 I asked my nephew who was on JSA for a few months how often he had to hand his wallet over for inspection. His reply, accompanied by a laugh, was 'never'.

Just as I thought Rosie51 this sounded more akin to the attitudes of a pre-welfare state.

Granmarderby10

Just as I thought Rosie51 this sounded more akin to the attitudes of a pre-welfare state.

Or simply untrue

My husband applied for Job Seekers Allowance once. He was turned down because the form was filled in incorrectly.

What was most annoying is that it was the job centre staff member handling his case who'd filled the form in 🙄

Wasn't it his responsibility to check the form, V3ra? I keep saying this. It's an insurance. Wouldn't you check a form for a car insurance or household insurance claim?

I think the £10 bonus is like the extra 25p you get when reaching your 80th birthday. No government wants to be the one to stop it because of the storm in a tea cup it would cause. They're dammed if they do, dammed if they don't.
When the 25p was first awarded in 1971 it was worth something. My child benefit (for the 2nd child only) was about £1 then if I remember rightly.

It’s crazy though, these legacy payments just need to be assimilated into the pension - perhaps there should be a bit more braveness on behalf of government and just do it. There is no real gripe unless the additional money is removed altogether, although people always moan about any changes.

PoliticsNerd

Wasn't it his responsibility to check the form, V3ra? I keep saying this. It's an insurance. Wouldn't you check a form for a car insurance or household insurance claim?

If he was quite young he probably trusted the staff member to do it - he probably supplied the answers to questions. I trust very few people these days and double check everything, but I would have trusted people when I was younger.

I went with the sone of friend to a Job Centre once for moral support because she couldn't go. We never actually saw the form, it was just filled in as he answered questions.

My husband applied for pension credit but was refused as I earn 3 pence too much because I worked all my life.

Blimey! Three pence!!