BBC licence fee update

I'm OK with this decision for the payment of TV licences, my husband will be 75 in October this year, so we will miss out. When we renew next month, what will happen to the few "free" months we would have got.?

I agree re the £10 bonus. We give ours to charity but for those who are really struggling, £10 would buy their Christmas dinner.

TV licences are way out of date.We started getting ours free last year,so have benefited once. Although we don't get pension credit,we get the savings part only.We have three pence too much to qualify for the proper benefit.The price of the licence is quite expensive,and we mainly watch other channels and commercial radio,so we object next to the fee.

Weren't the Tories supposed to be the party that protected the elderly? But in the 9 years of crucifying austerity we've become an easy target:

No cap on care home fees. Two successive election promises "forgotten" as regards that one.
No pension for an extra six years for 3.5 million women. (Just old biddy women who'll "get tired and go away" according to a certain Iain Duncan-Smith.)
Pension Tax credits for married couples take a huge hit with the rules being massively altered.
Now free TV Licences to be means-tested......

Why don't they just re-open the Workhouses and direct us there?

All other channels are funded by advertisers. If BBC went along that line the cost for a licence would reduce or be scrapped. But do you want to watch two minutes of drama with 4 mins of adverts. I know I am going to be crucified for this but there are a lot of people who receive pension credit and have large amounts in savings, only they do not declare them or have them banked in a family member's name. Also, not unknown for income from private/work pensions to go to separate bank accounts unknown to DWP. This has been going on since the introduction of the benefit. Of course those who do declare all and do not qualify due to being over by a few pence are the ones hardest hit. Such an unfair system. Current government in last election manifesto declared free tv for over 75s will continue!

Might be a good thing if the BBC was slimmed down a bit, a few good dramas (Line of Duty), documentaries etc, but don't watch much else on it, mainly watch/listen online to other channels.

Framilode - we always seem to be in this position too. I am a WASPI woman so have seen my pension age changed by six years. My husband will be 75 next January and lo and behold another benefit is removed.

Here’s the lowdown on when (and if) you need a TV licence.
www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/tv-licence/
Just for info.

I think it should be anyone over 75 perhaps should just pay half . That way it’s fair on everyone. Just because you don’t get pension credit doesn’t mean you are living well off.

Could be good idea if perhaps anyone over 75 just pays half. Seems fairer to me.

I am practically housebound and rarely see anyone apart from my daily help for an hour a day so TV means a lot to me. I am on pension credit with very little savings and lower end attendance allowance which pays my daily help. I think that pensioners with a good income should pay for the licence and also not get bus passes.
On the other hand I do not agree with the high salaries paid to presenters.

My daughter works for a charity for the elderly who are lonely - The Silver Line - and she talks to older people who only have the TV for company every day and never see anybody else. They don't need to be worrying about payment as well - reaching 75 often means they are less mobile. TV is another lifeline. Those who are better off financially should offer to pay to keep that part of the service free.

It appears that you only get pension credit if you are a single person with less than £167.25 per week income, or a couple with less than £255.25 household income.

That is £8697 per year for a single person, £13273 per year for a couple.

Anything more than that and you are considered "rich" enough to pay for your TV licence.

Or go back out to work, I guess.

Do not be surprised if these Tory types trying to be the next Prime Minister suddenly all start saying they will retain the free TV licence for over 75 year-olds. Anything to catch the attention and a few extra votes. Slippery swines, the lot of them. None of them could run the school tuckshop..... let alone the country.

The point about the BBC levying the licence, rather than public broadcasting being funded from general taxation, is the question of (supposed) impartiality.
There are already accusations of both left and right wing bias. If the government was funding the BBC those accusations would be harder to refute.

Here’s The email I received:
The future of television licences for over 75s
ABOUT THE BBC
A message from the BBC Chairman and Director General

We are writing to you today to let you know about some important changes to TV licences for older people. First, we want to explain why these changes need to be made. Since 2000, all households with people over 75 have been entitled to a free TV licence. This has been paid for by the Government, but in 2015 they announced that they would stop paying for it.

As a result, the current government scheme offering free TV licences for over 75s will come to an end next year. Instead, through an Act of Parliament, the Government gave the BBC the power to decide what happens next. Any new scheme would be decided on and funded, not by the Government, but by the BBC.

This means we have had to make a really important and difficult decision.

After June 2020, the cost of continuing with free licences for all over 75s would be £745 million a year and rising - which is around 20% of the BBC’s budget. That is a huge amount of money. Were we to meet these costs, it would in practice mean the closures of BBC Two, BBC Four, the BBC News Channel, the BBC Scotland Channel and Radio 5live – in addition to a number of local radio stations and other cuts and reductions. We know that audiences really value what we provide on TV, Radio and online – all of which are paid for by the licence fee. And these changes would profoundly damage the BBC’s ability to serve our audiences of all ages. On the other hand, we are fully aware that some older pensioners are in poverty and rely on their TV and the BBC for companionship.

We didn’t want simply to abolish free licences for all older pensioners. We didn’t think that would be fair on those who would find it hardest to pay. Nor did we think it right to continue with a scheme that mirrored the Government’s, given the severe impact that would have on BBC services that are valued by everyone - old and young. We have therefore decided to introduce a new scheme. It is one that we believe represents the fairest possible outcome.

From June 2020, anyone aged 75 or over who receives Pension Credit will also be entitled to a free TV licence funded by the BBC. This will help the poorest pensioners who will continue to enjoy a free TV licence. It’s important to stress that it is not the BBC who will make any judgements about poverty – that measure is set and controlled by Government. As well as being fairest for the poorest pensioners, this scheme is also the fairest for all licence fee payers as it means everyone will continue to receive the best programmes and services that the BBC can provide.

This new scheme will cost the BBC around £250 million a year. This will mean we have to continue to find significant savings, but we are confident that we will be able to protect the funding for services the public tell us that they enjoy.

We want to make claiming the free licence simple and straightforward. Individuals will simply need to demonstrate their receipt of Pension Credit in order to qualify. If you’re over 75 and currently get a free licence, you don’t need to do anything yet. You will carry on being able to get a free licence until June 2020. TV Licensing will be in touch before then to tell you what you need to do. If you want to find out about our decision in more detail you can read all our documents here.

Thank you for taking the time to read this email. We have thought long and hard to arrive at the fairest possible decision for everyone. We are committed to ensuring we continue to give you a world-class BBC, not just today, but for tomorrow.
Yours
Sir David Clementi, BBC Chairman
Tony Hall, Director General of the BBC

I too would like to opt out of the BBC. Their service is bias and appalling, certainly not worth the licence fee. I just find the BBC bosses are so hypercritical. Their pay is so high that all pensioners over 75 could live on it. Also after watching all last week the D day ceremonies and hearing how we must not forget what this generation did for our country and how we must honour them. Really, the country can't even give them a few hours comfort without charging them. It is disgusting. Sorry about the rant but it seems to typical of the BBC and Tory government these days, thinking of themselves first before other people.

Tony Hall's salary is £465,000 and the good news for him is if elected Boris will award him a tax cut!

Whilst Hall, Lineker, news readers etc are on such high salaries it's immoral to charge pensioners for a licence for channels many of them rarely watch. Yet as one poster has already pointed out, if you have a TV they will haunt you for the licence money although you may never watch BBC programmes.

Has it been announced at this time so that the contesting Tory candidates can use it to enhance their pitch with promises of safeguarding pensioners' licences? Cynical? Me?

I'm not sure if any of you are aware that when you claim Pension Credit if you have any other Pension coming in the rate of Pension Credit is reduced with any increase in Pension, my friend has a small Company Pension & every year when that increases her Pension Credit decreases.

I'm not State Pension age yet, another WASPI just over 2 years to go, so I don't expect I'll qualify for a free TV Licence at 75

I agree with you BlueBelle, I too am an inbetweener. I live on £8,800 a year. With no savings (due to bringing up two children on my own) when these cuts are made it matters.

Perhaps some of the people who are entitled to pension credit, but don't claim, will be spurred into applying? This could be a good campaign for charities to help with.
I suspect the savings from removing the Christmas bonus would be too small to justify the fuss it would cause.
I can't really see the point of the winter fuel allowance, as most people spread their payments over the year.
The answer surely is to remove the gimmicks, and add the money onto basic pensions, fairly taxed.

We've just applied as DH is 75 at Christmas... Maybe we'll get it for a a month or two. Not sure how that will work, tbh. It's not a big issue for us, but of course is bound to be more of an issue for those just above the pension credit amount.

I heard on tv this morning that around 40% of those who could qualify for Pension Credit don't claim it. This might push some to do so.

This 'charge' will be just a blip in the finances of the well off and famous OAP's who already have a 'no holds barred' lifestyle
That I was the age to get the BBC freebie ? allowed me to although still getting a winter allowance leave my heating on much longer on days when winter was at its worst.

X-posts, Allule.

I find it annoying, yet another drop in income for those of us on the borderline. We could just about afford it, but is it worth it?
We don't even have a tv. The only thing I watch online is BBC parliament, and husband watches a few programmes on his 'puter, mostly sport. We still need a license for those.