Rachel Reeves has announced that winter fuel payments will only be paid to those on Pension Credit.nsion Credit

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15:43Whitewavemark2

Yes but Sunak helped with heating costs last year as well as WFA. Labour the supposedly party for the underprivileged targeting vulnerable pensioners, Rachel Reeves should be ashamed of herself. I don't qualify for any benefits and I don't need the WFA but I'm upset for the poor pensioners who do. Labour The Nasty Party.

Callistemon213

^Although Reeves maintains that it is is essential to begin to plug the so called black hole^

That's an excuse.

Perhaps - call it an opportunity -

Whitewavemark2

Callistemon213

I wonder if she will backtrack or at least amend this when she realises the anger she has unleashed.

Remember last winter's diary of power cuts? We were all told to expect them on scheduled days. That was scaremongering too, we had none here.

Yes quite possible - most governments do. It supposed to be called “listening”😄.

My interest as far as the elderly and the medically unfit are concerned is to see a real change to social services and properly funded care for those who need it.

I would be prepared to give up WFA for that. Although Reeves maintains that it is is essential to begin to plug the so called black hole. But we shall see.

What about the money they claw back from LAs and devolved governments so they are unable to set money aside for future plans?

Mind you, there are some idiots in charge of local Government, a lot of Hindsighters who invested in commercial property after that boat had sailed etc.

Callistemon213

Whitewavemark2

Callistemon213

I wonder if she will backtrack or at least amend this when she realises the anger she has unleashed.

Remember last winter's diary of power cuts? We were all told to expect them on scheduled days. That was scaremongering too, we had none here.

Yes quite possible - most governments do. It supposed to be called “listening”😄.

My interest as far as the elderly and the medically unfit are concerned is to see a real change to social services and properly funded care for those who need it.

I would be prepared to give up WFA for that. Although Reeves maintains that it is is essential to begin to plug the so called black hole. But we shall see.

What about the money they claw back from LAs and devolved governments so they are unable to set money aside for future plans?

Mind you, there are some idiots in charge of local Government, a lot of Hindsighters who invested in commercial property after that boat had sailed etc.

That I think she began to address in her statement. It was only a one liner, but I think that we can expect to see changes in the autumn.

HattieTopper

MayBee70. I do blame it on the illegal immigrants, until the borders were opened we didn't have a problem as big as this, or the violence on the streets. Many of these illegals have no idea how to live in society, they are used to fighting, stealing etc.

I blame Brexit

keepingquiet

HattieTopper

MayBee70. I do blame it on the illegal immigrants, until the borders were opened we didn't have a problem as big as this, or the violence on the streets. Many of these illegals have no idea how to live in society, they are used to fighting, stealing etc.

I blame Brexit

👍👍👍

Whitewavemark2

Callistemon213

Whitewavemark2

Callistemon213

I wonder if she will backtrack or at least amend this when she realises the anger she has unleashed.

Remember last winter's diary of power cuts? We were all told to expect them on scheduled days. That was scaremongering too, we had none here.

Yes quite possible - most governments do. It supposed to be called “listening”😄.

My interest as far as the elderly and the medically unfit are concerned is to see a real change to social services and properly funded care for those who need it.

I would be prepared to give up WFA for that. Although Reeves maintains that it is is essential to begin to plug the so called black hole. But we shall see.

What about the money they claw back from LAs and devolved governments so they are unable to set money aside for future plans?

Mind you, there are some idiots in charge of local Government, a lot of Hindsighters who invested in commercial property after that boat had sailed etc.

That I think she began to address in her statement. It was only a one liner, but I think that we can expect to see changes in the autumn.

Oh good.
We await with interest.

keepingquiet

HattieTopper

MayBee70. I do blame it on the illegal immigrants, until the borders were opened we didn't have a problem as big as this, or the violence on the streets. Many of these illegals have no idea how to live in society, they are used to fighting, stealing etc.

I blame Brexit

I doubt many of those thugs fighting on the streets know what Brexit is if they are thick as mince.

OMG
Brexit being blamed now, you couldn’t make it up.
Brexit or no Brexit, the world today, eight years on from that is still seeing immigrants reaching our shores by illegal entry just as they’re doing in all EU countries who face the same as us.
Being in the EU doesn’t save them from floods of people from all over the world does it!

Whitewavemark2

Callistemon213

Although Reeves maintains that it is is essential to begin to plug the so called black hole

That's an excuse.

Perhaps - call it an opportunity -

You mean an opportunity to stick it to the just about managing pensioners like my Mum.

I think it would have been simpler to let the universal payments go ahead this year but legislate in the Autumn Statement to make WFP taxable (one of the options in the research paper) from 2025/26 and claw it back in tax adjustments starting from 6 April 2025. A coding adjustment of £1,000 will clawback £200 from a basic rate taypayer. Higher rate taxpayers can negotiate a smaller adjustment or just bank the overcharge against other income they have to pay tax on at year end.

That could bring some people into the tax net just as Sunak and Hunt's fiscal drag was intended to do. At the moment, Reeves seems wedded to her predecessors’ fiscal rules but she has the power to change them. She could reinstate the Rooker-Wise amendment (which is still on the statute book) so that personal allowances are, once again, linked to inflation which would help keep those on lower incomes out of the tax net or give a blanket uplift to the personal allowance to say £12,800 which would help low earners too.

I think it would have been simpler to let the universal payments go ahead this year but legislate in the Autumn Statement to make WFP taxable (one of the options in the research paper) from 2025/26 and claw it back in tax adjustments starting from 6 April 2025

Tell her, will you! 😃

Actually, would that be counter-productive, ie cost more in administration?

Yes but none of this - if any of it - will/can be announced until the budget.

Perhaps she is reading GN😄 - not.

Best outcome:
RR reads comments on forums and backtracks on the whole thing, or resigns and lets a better Chancellor do the job.

For a start stop
Paying winter fuel allowance to those Brit’s who live abroad but still
Get it

It’s making me so angry. I worked an extra two years to boost my pension and paid into a private one which gives small returns especially after tax.

ruthiek

For a start stop
Paying winter fuel allowance to those Brit’s who live abroad but still
Get it

I thought it had been stopped?

ronib

More chillingly is the prospect of State approved euthanasia….

If Rachel Reeves gets her way it will be mandatory and state funded as the payoff will be terrific for the Treasury.

Callistemon213

^I think it would have been simpler to let the universal payments go ahead this year but legislate in the Autumn Statement to make WFP taxable (one of the options in the research paper) from 2025/26 and claw it back in tax adjustments starting from 6 April 2025^

Tell her, will you! 😃

Actually, would that be counter-productive, ie cost more in administration?

I don't think it would. My guess is that HMRC have our details anyway. Their computers are set up to work out tax codes and send demands to people who owe tax anyway. It wouldn't be difficult to assume that everybody over SPA has received the WFA and add that to taxable income.

Oreo

Best outcome:
RR reads comments on forums and backtracks on the whole thing, or resigns and lets a better Chancellor do the job.

Who do you suggest? At least she has a background in finance and Mark Carney seems to rate her.

Callistemon213

^I think it would have been simpler to let the universal payments go ahead this year but legislate in the Autumn Statement to make WFP taxable (one of the options in the research paper) from 2025/26 and claw it back in tax adjustments starting from 6 April 2025^

Tell her, will you! 😃

Actually, would that be counter-productive, ie cost more in administration?

There’s some paper admin goes on, isn't there e.g. sending out the letters notifying us of the WFP - which I’m not sure is strictly necessary beyond the first year so long as we receive the payment. Without digging into my papers, I think the letter only gives a general idea of when WFP might be paid - November to January?

DWP and HMRC communicate. One tells the other what taxable benefits the person is going to receive and HMRC makes the tax code adjustment. It’s the way SP is dealt with so dealing with WFP in the same way would be straightforward.

Reeves really needs to address the issue of people with only state pension (and WFP if it’s taxed) being brought into the tax net because, as I said way upthread, there is no mechanism to deal with this beyond self assessment which would be a burden for many people. Far simpler and cheaper to keep people in receipt of state pension only out of the net by increasing personal allowances.

WFP to overseas residents - Europe only:

www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/if-you-live-abroad

That's been another consideration over the years, discussed in the research paper Section 5.1 the "temperature link". IDS getting very hot under the collar!

There is a clip on X dated May 24 when Starmer was having a go at the Tories for considering removing the winter fuel allowance. He was asking for reassurance that this was not the case. Just two months later, guess what.

I suspect there is going to be a lot of push back on this from the more vocal charities and internet pressure groups. The advice to write to ones MP was a good one.

I foresee there will be some adjustment on this come the autun statement. Either the measures will be delayed until 2025 or the scope of recipients will be broadened to take account of those on the cusp. Possibly both.

There some pretty nauseous attitudes from some of the the "Im comfortable" bunch on this thread.

I agree with this policy, many older people can easily afford their heating without Government help. I am not yet of an age to benefit from the payment but would feel the same if I were. The Government are keeping the 3 lock guarantee on pensions so older people are not being abandoned. The focus now must be on the huge number of children living in poverty and on the housing crisis!