Bus passes etc.

Well, I am suspicious that this is being floated now, about a year before the next General Election. It's a well-known political ploy to say that something is in danger and then, hey presto! A rabbit comes out of the hat saying, 'Look, we've saved your bus passes from the dastardly Treasury'. I've seen it done on a local level with varying degrees of success.

I see that the bus pass issue is headline news this morning so it would appear that the argument is reaching the stage where the decision (which was probably made months or years ago) will slowly be sold to the public prior to implementation day.

I have to agree with FlicketyB when she says that tax rates and thresholds for working and retired should be the same. The other side of the coin is that we should have a "living pension" in the same way that working people have a minimum wage. This is obviously the direction they are moving in with the taxes but there doesn't seem much hope of ridding ourselves of the need for additional benefits.

Surely it would save huge amounts of administration costs if money benefits such as WFA were rolled into the pension. The one area that I think is different is the bus pass. It is self-selective in that, if you are not going to use it you don't apply for it and it has a very big effect on keeping older people as part of the community. Certainly, until the basic pension is a "living" one I think bus passes should be retained.

I shouldn't think so dollie will probably be higher tax bands and those with over a reasonable amount in savings,and I'm sure that these people can manage without bus passes and WFA as previously stated.

will be interesting to see who they class as 'richest' ....will those who arent on benefits be put in that category do you think...

Labours Rachael Reeves confirmed today at an interview with Dermot Murnaghan. that Labour will do as the conservatives say and keep the pension triple lock but Labour will seriously be looking at wealthy pensioners and WFA. Also I have heard Chuka Umuna say the same.

She actually stated 'Richest should not get WFA'

They will all look at it after the next election..

thanks mollie i wondered why the link wouldnt work...

ps - the link works if you remove the 's' in https'
interesting read - not sure whether they are taking net immigration/emigration into account but the numbers of pensioners by 2050 onwards looks very alarming
not a worry to me personally but more for my grandchild.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/long-term-projections-of-pensioner-benefits

i cant see many if any of us havent paid into the coffers over the years..

Absent

Fair point. On that basis should you not be entitled to those benefits that are paid out of that 'coffer' if you have not paid into it ??

Everyone is a tax payer (think VAT, petrol duty, etc.) but not everyone is an income tax payer.

FlicketyB

I agree. If you have under £16.000 I believe in your savings there is help if required. At least that was the sum when my father had help. I know he was over 80 but I know he was very well looked after by the state.

As I posted too why do pensioners consider they are not tax payers the same as their children or anybody else earning above a certain level of income.

I have never quite understood the WFA, other than as a one season vote getter. Most people, of all ages pay their fuel bills by monthly direct debit so spread the cost over the whole year and if you are on Pension Credit there is a cold weather supplement that is paid out when the temperature drops below freezing for more than a few days.

I pay tax on my pension and I can see no reason why I shouldn't. I may be retired but I still benefit from having roads to travel on, police to protect me, free health care, and all the other things the state funds that we really do not notice.

erm sorry ladies i think ive made a booboo...ooops....i dont get anywhere near that amount!! wish i did!! i was never any good with maths and understanding tax is a nightmare!!!!

Higher rate tax band, £41,451 - £150,000 taxable income. So yes, I'd say you were lucky, dollie!

i agree about it wasnt worth making provisions for retirement...

your comment ''but I fail to see how £200 would make much difference to someone who is paying higher rate tax.'' of course it will make a difference ....perhaps i have more out goings than you have not everyones circumstances are the same....

BTW - I am not on pension credit as I made provision for my retirement. - not such a good move after all.

dollie - I doubt that you are worse off.
my income after tax is £12k per year - made up of state pension, SERPs and a small annuity. As a single pensioner I am allowed 10.5K personal allowance (as you would be). If you are saying that you have income above that amount to pay some higher rate tax then I don't see how you are worse off. I have to pay full whack for everything - no warm home discount, council tax benefit, etc. (25% off council tax is a bit of a help.) All my income above 10.5k is taxed at 20% including the measly interest I get on savings.
not complaining or getting at you personally - but I fail to see how £200 would make much difference to someone who is paying higher rate tax.

I thought one of the reasons for allowing the price of petrol to creep up was because of the environment, so surely everyone should be encouraged to not use the car if possible. We've spent over £10 in car parking this week, and one of the hospitals in Nottingham is putting it's car parking charge up to £4 for 2 hours. When the S.O. has a bus pass in a few months we'll be going into town on the bus to shop and go to the cinema etc; the money we save in petrol and parking will be spent on something else.It isn't as if we're lighting a bonfire and burning it..it's still going back into the economy one way or another.

im far from being lucky nellie im worse off than some pensioners who are on pension credit!!!

What the local authorities pay the bus companies is based on estimates of how much they lose by accepting the passes. That is calculated from a combination of how many passes are issued and the number of times they have been registered as used in a previous survey, plus other considerstions. So not having a bus pass at all would not cost anything, having one and not using it might.

Surely if you do not claim your bus pass, or very rarely use it, it does not cost the state very much any way?

dollie Lucky you!

im a higher tax payer!!!!