Valued members of society ?

But there is no inheritance tax in Australia I believe so nice for the haves

Oh, goody goody, is this what I'll have to look forward to in a couple of months time ? Yippee .

Mind you, I shouldn't really grumble as I had an unusually " large " increase in my state pension in April ? I didn't question it in case they'd made a mistake so I'll keep my mouth shut.

paddyanne

LEMONGROVE according to the letter its what shes entitled to as she reached her 80Th birthday .I'm sorry what the "lords" get as opposed to what pensioners get is highly relevant .Both are paid by the taxpayer ,yet the Lord will get his gold plated pension with huge sums added at regular intervals.isn't it £5o,ooo they mentioned recently and a woman who worked her socks off until well past retirement age while raising a family gets less than A pound every 28 days or 13pounds a YEAR ,There is something very wrong with the way WM is run ,they certainly aren't behaving like the public servants they should be .

I don't understand what you mean, paddyanne about the woman who worked her socks off getting a pound every 28 days etc.
That is not her total pension, nor is it her pension rise. It's just an anachronism which has never been adjusted in nearly 50 years.

If she is a taxpayer then in a few months time she may get a letter saying she owes a small amount of tax.
Then she may get another letter saying that she is owed a tiny amount of tax back.

This 25p a week causes more bother than it's worth.
But is it worth getting so upset about?

It'll make up for the half-stamp ( married women's ) of which I had no choice at the time and also my late H's Merchant Navy pension which he hadn't filled in because he'd been too ill.
Anything else that comes my way---I'm saying nothing.

suziewoozie

Call just as I posted.

Yes, I should rtft!!

Save it up for something really special, EllanVannin
Start planning

suziewoozie

But there is no inheritance tax in Australia I believe so nice for the haves

For their heirs, yes, but it doesn't help them

Most of us here in the UK wouldn't be in that bracket anyway.

My DH is 80 in a months time so is also due the extra 25 p!!! I agree with Lemon it is an anachronism, like the £10 Christmas bonus! Both need to be binned imo! DH is careful with money so he won't be frittering it away which is a relief!!!!!?

They can't do away with it without incorporating those amounts into the State Pension for everyone which would then be subject to the rises in the State Pension.
Like the Fuel Allowance introduced by Gordon Brown, a set amount.

They're not daft, are they.

I have been getting this 25p for nearly 3 years now.
I pondered when I first received it as to what to do so decided to buy a bottle of own brand gin (it won’t run to decent stuff) each year end.
I shall be buying my third one next month.
Just a suggestion?

No inheritance tax in Australia well RF don't pay inheritance tax either, how do they get away with it.

In some ways these two issues require separate threads. The 25 pence per week and the ten pound Christmas bonus are indeed an anachronism. They could be abolished for all the use they are, but that would probably cause an outrage, or they could be incorporated into everyone’s pension, and I’ve no idea why that couldn’t quite easily be achieved.
The HofLs is a separate issue. I have long thought that it should be abolished and I still think that. It seems to me that it serves little useful purpose, although others may think differently. It’s expensive, it’s unfair, it’s a reward for cronies to keep them in the style to which they have become accustomed. I’ve no time for it and would abolish it tomorrow. Of course, others may think differently. I’m happy to be educated about how it’s essential.

If the rationale for the extra on the pension after age 80 and the Christmas bonus still exists then they should be updated to reflect their real value and continue to be paid. If the rationale no longer exists they should be abolished. We can easily afford to do the former; the only limit to government spending is if it contributes to inflation.

Updating payments to reflect their real value isn't going to cause roaring inflation (or any at all, really)

Agree 100% with both your points maddyone.

My only issue would be how to replace the HoLs. The country does need a second chamber, but how would it be appointed? We've already seen cronyism on a massive scale and that's what happens in too many public appointments.

maddy I think there are some good arguments for a second chamber and it would be interesting to have a discussion on that. I think how you then decide on its members would flow at least partly from that. I think there are lots of models - elected ( most common) appointed , a mixture of both. I do think the H of L gets s bad press though - there are some excellent cross bench working peers who are very knowledgable on specific areas that get neglected in the H of C or get mired in party politics.

The cronyism annoys me too growstuff. It’s seems to be prevalent throughout the public sector. The annoying thing is that we, the general public, can’t really do anything about it.

Good points suzie.

the House of so called Lords, must have the meanest and greediest bunch in the UK.

How dare they accept £325 to NOT turn up at the moment.

How did anyone justify this?
can we do anything to take the money away?
Some of these people used to be "ordinary" people......how do they live with themselves? when it was hereditary I figured they had been brought up to be entitled rather like Harry, and think they deserve everything for nothing back.

Isn't it time the H of L was put back under scrutiny and there are far too many of them.

Oooo, I will Callistemon----ever the forward thinking person.

I think cronyism exists throughout society especially at the higher levels -particularly the revolving door. The same names pop up heading or having directorships across the private and public sector. People pass apparently effortlessly between parliament, boardrooms across the board. Often leaving one organisation because of abject failure only to pop up with a plum role elsewhere . If you want a recent example, read the CV of Dido Harding.

George Osborne is another - I’m sure there’s examples across the political spectrum but these two are quite relevant at the moment especially DH

Dido Harding was the first name which came to my mind too, as did the names of the people associated with the Spectator, Spiked, Cummings, etc.

Another two names are Zac Goldsmith and Nicky Morgan.

However, there are thousands of others. Do some research into your local council. I was horrified to find out how many outsourced contracts have been awarded to cronies/relatives of councillors and senior council staff. They really do have snouts eating from the same trough.

And how come the current government has so many ministers who have previously been sacked?

As for the 25p for 80 year olds - sorry, it should be abolished completely. It's an anachronism. Maybe it will be when pensions are "reformed" (reduced), as it's looking highly likely the triple lock guarantee will be abolished.

Well a Brexit government is hardly going to have fervent remainers in senior positions! Equally a remain government like D.C or T.M was unlikely to have brexiteers in pole position, ones that were were replaced. They are now back in position again reflecting the governments changed policy!