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

Badbatch

Oh HattieTopperim so sorry puts a lot of things into perspective.

Thank you so much, it has been very hard.

Badbatch

I think its sad that some posters on here think its ok to say they dont need the money and think its a good idea and they gave thiers to charity blah blah blah well good luck to you. I feel for the people who havnt got enough and rely on this benefit. I hope it gets changed and RR gets the boot but she wont. How many posters on here I wonder who are financially well off voted labour.

Don’t know about on here but my old schoolfriend and husband are ardent Labour supporters. Even their front door is red! 🤣. They have a big house, 2 cars, several foreign holidays every year and go on all the Labour marches etc. They were both social workers and wangled very early retirement supposedly down to stress. they also holiday regularly at a relatives massive house on Millionaires Row In a wealthy seaside resort.

They spent hours posting stuff on FB every day about how rotten the Conservatives were and how we should all vote Labour. Really nasty stuff too. Since Labour got in and have cut WFP and Cost of Living payment they have gone very quiet. However, her name popped up on a pension site and she is claiming to be not very well off (absolute lie) and says she would rather it be given to someone worse off than her.
All a load ofBS. They are real champagne socialists. 😉

HattieTopper

Many of us on the forums had husbands who were ill for a few years so had to take early retirement and therefore did not receive their state pension at all as they died before they got to 65. Thanks to my wonderful husband he had a private pension whic h he claimed early of which I get a pro rata allowance each month. I also have a state pension in my own right but that means I pay tax on my income and am just above the threshold for claiming benefits.

We also had lots of savings when he took early retirement but we spent a lot of them on energy bills to keep him warm 24 hours a day, we bought all our own medical equipment, wheelchairs, stair lifts, nebulisers as they were on loan from the hospital but they asked for them back stating we were not on benefits so had to buy our own. We could not even have a ramp installed to get the wheelchair out as we were not on benefits, we could not afford the £6000 it would cost to dig up the front of the house and install a ramp as we had a steep drive. I had to carry the wheelchair outside and then help my husband with the oxygen tanks and get him in the wheelchair. We bought a mobility scooter and kept it in the garage to save me lifting the wheelchair. I applied for carers allowance and was told I could not claim it as I had a full state pension in my own right which is classed as a benefit. I tried to claim Attendance Allowance 6 times and was refused, as they said he was not ill enough, by the time I did get it, my husband died three months later. We did get it backdateed by the way. We used so much of our savings during the years my husband was ill, special foods etc . pillows, backrests, even urinals, luckily we got the oxygen tanks free but we had to buy our own nebulising machine for the medication to go into it so he could use the mask.

I must have saved the government hundreds of thousands of pounds caring for my husband myself for those years he was ill with no help from anyone.

I hope that this cruel government rot in hell

So sorry you have had to go through all that upset HattieTopper and then to lose your husband. 💐 Hope things get better for you, don't lose hope.

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I think you should do some maths HattieTopper and try to understand why the UK government gives foreign aid. We'd be in a worse place than we are now on the world stage, if we didn't give foreign aid.

They were told there was a 20 Billion deficit so the only bit she didn't know about was 2 Billion. That could have easily been covered by MPs not getting a wage rise and cutting what they could claim in expenses.

growstuff

I think you should do some maths HattieTopper and try to understand why the UK government gives foreign aid. We'd be in a worse place than we are now on the world stage, if we didn't give foreign aid.

We can give foreign aid when we get our own country out of this flaming mess and not before. Many countries receiving foreign aid are run by tyrants and the money never gets to where it should. Charity should begin at home.

HattieTopper

Many of us on the forums had husbands who were ill for a few years so had to take early retirement and therefore did not receive their state pension at all as they died before they got to 65. Thanks to my wonderful husband he had a private pension whic h he claimed early of which I get a pro rata allowance each month. I also have a state pension in my own right but that means I pay tax on my income and am just above the threshold for claiming benefits.

We also had lots of savings when he took early retirement but we spent a lot of them on energy bills to keep him warm 24 hours a day, we bought all our own medical equipment, wheelchairs, stair lifts, nebulisers as they were on loan from the hospital but they asked for them back stating we were not on benefits so had to buy our own. We could not even have a ramp installed to get the wheelchair out as we were not on benefits, we could not afford the £6000 it would cost to dig up the front of the house and install a ramp as we had a steep drive. I had to carry the wheelchair outside and then help my husband with the oxygen tanks and get him in the wheelchair. We bought a mobility scooter and kept it in the garage to save me lifting the wheelchair. I applied for carers allowance and was told I could not claim it as I had a full state pension in my own right which is classed as a benefit. I tried to claim Attendance Allowance 6 times and was refused, as they said he was not ill enough, by the time I did get it, my husband died three months later. We did get it backdateed by the way. We used so much of our savings during the years my husband was ill, special foods etc . pillows, backrests, even urinals, luckily we got the oxygen tanks free but we had to buy our own nebulising machine for the medication to go into it so he could use the mask.

I must have saved the government hundreds of thousands of pounds caring for my husband myself for those years he was ill with no help from anyone.

I hope that this cruel government rot in hell

I am so sorry to hear this. As I have said, I think that means testing things like help with adaptations for disability is very wrong, but surely these things happened to your husband under the Conservatives, not Labour?

Is it the Conservatives you are calling 'this cruel government'? If so, I fully agree, as they also cut benefits, made it more difficult for people to claim PIP, refused to give nurses a pay rise, ran down the NHS and education, and much more. The new government hasn't had time to get started on reforming the mess they've been left with, so let's give them a chance?

£6bn being sent abroad for net zero on top of foreign aid and the £80+ million going to countries to line the pockets of despots

£10bn in uk for wind farms and solar

£20bn black hole which of course lying labour and Reeves knew about, it was predicted by economists in november 2022

The uk is feeling like a tinderbox right now

growstuff

I think you should do some maths HattieTopper and try to understand why the UK government gives foreign aid. We'd be in a worse place than we are now on the world stage, if we didn't give foreign aid.

Im sorry growstuff,but can you explain this to me please.

I would like to reach out and give HATTIE TOPPER a big hug, my heart goes out to you. I was in a similar situation. My husband had just retired at 67 when he was taken ill and I nursed him for three and a half years without any support until five days before he died. I had worked for the NHS for 40 years and felt betrayed as I am sure you must have too. I send you my very best wishes for the future.

How quickly MP’s change their mind.

They will say anything to get elected…

Nicky7of7

I would like to reach out and give HATTIE TOPPER a big hug, my heart goes out to you. I was in a similar situation. My husband had just retired at 67 when he was taken ill and I nursed him for three and a half years without any support until five days before he died. I had worked for the NHS for 40 years and felt betrayed as I am sure you must have too. I send you my very best wishes for the future.

Yes so sad, I’m sorry you both experienced that.
I nursed my dying father with no NHS help, but that was in the 80s during the Thatcher Tory Government.
The Tories set about demolishing the NHS and have continued during the past 14 years. So cruel.

Nicky7of7

I would like to reach out and give HATTIE TOPPER a big hug, my heart goes out to you. I was in a similar situation. My husband had just retired at 67 when he was taken ill and I nursed him for three and a half years without any support until five days before he died. I had worked for the NHS for 40 years and felt betrayed as I am sure you must have too. I send you my very best wishes for the future.

a hug for you too Nicky7of7,nobody knows how hard life can be. I lost Darling Daughter to cancer when she was 24. It was a very scary and lonely and terribly sad time. My life has never been the same since.

I have often wondered why some benefits aren't graduated, cut offs are quite arbitary. There are many only just over the limit who are actually worse off than those in receipt of Pension Credit which is actually a gateway benefit for an awful lot more stuff.

I am a few years off getting my SP at the age of 67. I checked my NI contributions earlier this year and was a couple of years short. I claimed Specified Adult childcare credits for the years I looked after my DGS while DD worked. I will now receive the full new pension and won't be entitled to any benefits.

I think there should have been a tapering of the loss of WFP, so that those who got the Old SP at the age of 60 and so get less per week still receive the help.

The government doesn't seem to ever get these things right...thinking of WASPI and the child benefit unfairness.

The U.K. State Pension is about the lowest in Europe, not just in absolute value but also relative to the cost of living.
The WFA is/was part of the package.
Labour could have chosen to tax the energy companies to fund their spending plans but they chose to take from older people, many of whom don’t have private or occupational pensions & for whom the loss of the WFA will be significant.
There’s also an argument for making some benefits (like Child Benefit used to be) universal, to foster a feeling of inclusiveness & being part of society.
Instead, the Government has chosen to increase division between those who contribute to benefits & those who receive them.

paddyann54

Are MP,s going to refuse pay rises...then until they do why should the people who DIDN,T cause the mess the UK is in ,have to pay for it.Lets start at the top .I have friends who just about makeit through the month now ,come winter and massive bills ...they will really struggle It gets COLD here in winter.Get the money back the tories gave to all their mates for faulty PPE and non working track and trace theres a fair few tens of billions already !!

The Scottish Government have yet to decide whether they will continue the WFP. The system was changing in Scotland before RR's announcement.

I hope that this cruel government rot in hell

HattieTopper that will be the Conservative government you’re referring to, as they presided over all the awful things you had to go through.

I agree with you, I hope they rot in hell too!

You will see now what they are all about. Broken promises first week, I hope Jeremy Hunt orders an inquiry.

Doodledog

HattieTopper

Many of us on the forums had husbands who were ill for a few years so had to take early retirement and therefore did not receive their state pension at all as they died before they got to 65. Thanks to my wonderful husband he had a private pension whic h he claimed early of which I get a pro rata allowance each month. I also have a state pension in my own right but that means I pay tax on my income and am just above the threshold for claiming benefits.

We also had lots of savings when he took early retirement but we spent a lot of them on energy bills to keep him warm 24 hours a day, we bought all our own medical equipment, wheelchairs, stair lifts, nebulisers as they were on loan from the hospital but they asked for them back stating we were not on benefits so had to buy our own. We could not even have a ramp installed to get the wheelchair out as we were not on benefits, we could not afford the £6000 it would cost to dig up the front of the house and install a ramp as we had a steep drive. I had to carry the wheelchair outside and then help my husband with the oxygen tanks and get him in the wheelchair. We bought a mobility scooter and kept it in the garage to save me lifting the wheelchair. I applied for carers allowance and was told I could not claim it as I had a full state pension in my own right which is classed as a benefit. I tried to claim Attendance Allowance 6 times and was refused, as they said he was not ill enough, by the time I did get it, my husband died three months later. We did get it backdateed by the way. We used so much of our savings during the years my husband was ill, special foods etc . pillows, backrests, even urinals, luckily we got the oxygen tanks free but we had to buy our own nebulising machine for the medication to go into it so he could use the mask.

I must have saved the government hundreds of thousands of pounds caring for my husband myself for those years he was ill with no help from anyone.

I hope that this cruel government rot in hell

I am so sorry to hear this. As I have said, I think that means testing things like help with adaptations for disability is very wrong, but surely these things happened to your husband under the Conservatives, not Labour?

Is it the Conservatives you are calling 'this cruel government'? If so, I fully agree, as they also cut benefits, made it more difficult for people to claim PIP, refused to give nurses a pay rise, ran down the NHS and education, and much more. The new government hasn't had time to get started on reforming the mess they've been left with, so let's give them a chance?

I think HattieTopper has said that she is in her mid-80s, *Doodledog and that probably means her husband would be the same age or older now. If he died before retirement age that would be over 20 years ago so probably New Labour were in Government.

HattieTopper life can seem very unfair sometimes. I know two people in our extended family who died just two weeks before drawing their State Pension.

For future reference, if you need help with some aids yourself, the local Council should put you in touch with a charity called Care and Repair who will install rails, steps etc.

Allsorts

You will see now what they are all about. Broken promises first week, I hope Jeremy Hunt orders an inquiry.

I would be interested to see an inquiry too.

Which promises have been broken, though?

bear in mind that because this is unpopular with the people affected does not mean it is unpopular with the electorate.
yougov.co.uk/topics/overview/survey-results/daily/2024/07/30/65187/1

Of course not.
We're all Wealthy Boomers.
Even those who are older, we're all lumped together.

And they tell us not to stereotype younger generations!