Winter Fuel Payment

Patience ladies.

We are all waiting. And hopefully it won’t be too long now.

It usually does.

So your a B are you?
Wouldn’t admit that out loud if I was you says me, giggling

I have just received mine, £500 I am 79 and live alone.
My surname is in the middle the alphabet

We've not had ours yet, but live in our fluffy 'onesies', we both have two so one can be in the wash and we go to bed with an electric blanket on for a while before we get in, wearing our thermal vests and socks with our jimjams, who said romance is dead! ? Hoping to make it to Christmas before we put the heating on!

I'm V and I always get it quite late

This horrid rise in fuel costs is one reason why I'm hoping to go into sheltered housing. There are other reasons too. But the thought of walking into a building which has radiators in all communal areas and corridors is very appealing, plus of course only having to heat a one bed flat instead of a large, chilly 3 bed house......watch this space.

In summer I wfh quite often...Nice to sit in my garden or summer house and enjoy the outdoirs....now it winter I quite often choose to go into office as its so warm there....26 degrees the other day ....the thermostat just does its own thing ....but lovely to be warm all day and not think about the cosy

travelsafar

This horrid rise in fuel costs is one reason why I'm hoping to go into sheltered housing. There are other reasons too. But the thought of walking into a building which has radiators in all communal areas and corridors is very appealing, plus of course only having to heat a one bed flat instead of a large, chilly 3 bed house......watch this space.

I friend is doing that. Her management charge will be £7000 pa. that amount will provide a huge amount of heating and the charge is not fixed, it can go up year on year

Just what I was thinking karmalady. All that heating will come at a cost travelsafar.

If you are in a single person household and over 80 you should receive £600 Winter Fuel Allowance. On you bank statement it will have WFA at the end of you NI number to identify it.

People on various benefits will receive £300 Cost of Living payment. This is the autumn tranche of this benefit. The will be another in spring 2024 (dates not yet released) although it will be £299 so the payments are easy to identify. These payments go to prople on eligible means tested benefits but also to people on some disability benefits -always worth checking if you think you may be eligible.

That explains it very clearly, DAR. Thank you.

I wonder if they start with the first people receiving their eligible benefit on the start date - in our case mainly pensions - and just set the computer programme to send each days out on they day they normally get paid. It could be a proportion of that day, perhaps by age, alphabet or benefit.

They aim to pay them in November/December.

I shall be very relieved when I get mine. Having to put the heating on now and it is a worry.

karmalady

travelsafar

This horrid rise in fuel costs is one reason why I'm hoping to go into sheltered housing. There are other reasons too. But the thought of walking into a building which has radiators in all communal areas and corridors is very appealing, plus of course only having to heat a one bed flat instead of a large, chilly 3 bed house......watch this space.

I friend is doing that. Her management charge will be £7000 pa. that amount will provide a huge amount of heating and the charge is not fixed, it can go up year on year

Are the flats where your friend is "extra-care", travelsofar, they are very expensive because 24-hour care is available. You pay even more if you use it. There are lots of facilities available and it's a half-way house that means a care-home can be put off for a while, if not completely.

Sheltered housing may have a manager (or warden), 24-hour emergency help through an alarm system, communal areas, such as gardens/lounges and social activities for residents.

Independant living will have similar services that take care of communal areas and alarm system but they may not have lounges, social activities or any on-site support.

As these names can overlap it's important to understand what you will get.

Most can be bought or rented from 55, but I have seen some new extra-care ones going up, in our nearby town, with an over 70 policy.

I agree DAR. And these flats can take a long while to sell - and until then the charges continue to be payable even if the flat is unoccupied because the resident has gone into a care home or died. It may be a comfortable and convenient way to live but cheap it isn’t.

DH got his I am still waiting .

DaisyAnneReturns... you are right it is independent living not sheltered housing I'm hoping to go to. It is run by a local HA so no issues with trying to sell further down the line.

Mines arrived today along with my state pension.

I am A but nothing yet

travelsafar - I'm just coming to the end of my second year in Independent Living, and am a big fan.

The rent bit of the rent is quite reasonable but the service charge bit is huge, making for an eye watering total. Heating;lighting;water;lunch;common room;24 hour emergency line;support worker 08:00-16:00 24/7; manager and deputy manager Mon-Fri; handyman ditto; stunning gardens that I don't have to take care of.

My income is roughly £200 pm more than my overall rent, so I get Housing Benefit for the first time ever. The manager did the application for me.

I get a bit anxious around pension increase time:
my SP and Occupational P go up
so the HB comes down, as I have more "surplus" income
but the rent bit goes up the same amount as the SP
and my Income Tax goes up
so it all takes a while to jiggle into place

It's not an extravagant lifestyle but certainly comfortable. And warm (tho I don't have the heat on in the flat often). And if the heating or any other system fails, someone fixes it pdq.

Floradora9

DH got his I am still waiting .

Do you get your pensions on different dates in the month? I would assume you would do. Did your OH get his WF on the same day as his pension payment?

Obviously you have no need to answer this - it's reasonable to think it's too intrusive but it's a mystery I would love to solve.

Germanshepherdsmum

Just what I was thinking karmalady. All that heating will come at a cost travelsafar.

And most of those communal areas are empty all day.
I visit 2 such places and the only time they’re used is if there’s an evening function.

Germanshepherdsmum

I agree DAR. And these flats can take a long while to sell - and until then the charges continue to be payable even if the flat is unoccupied because the resident has gone into a care home or died. It may be a comfortable and convenient way to live but cheap it isn’t.

Sorry to go of topic but this is sort of relevant to the costs of retirement.

Germanshepherdsmum The long-awaited Leasehold and Freehold Bill is set to be unveiled in Parliament today. The Bill aims to make it cheaper and easier for existing leaseholders in houses and flats to extend their lease or buy their freehold. It is also hoped that reforms will make these types of properties easier to sell.

Source: Estate Agent Today (but it looks as if it could be straight from a government press release).

The bill, which would ban leaseholds for new houses but not flats, is due to be introduced in Parliament later.

It would also make it easier and cheaper for homeowners to extend their lease or buy their freehold.

Source BBC, who also mention the possibility of a 999 year lease as the norm with cheaper opportunities to buy years.

Instant thoughts are that "cheap" may still be expensive for some/many and that the idea of having to to run your own services and maintenance would be too much for many who would still have to buy these in.

Oh for an edit button. off not of

I had my pension last Friday, but no WFP yet DAR.