'Freebies' should be for all OAPs
REGARDING Colin Beardmore's letter on winter fuel payments (Sentinel, January 7), he has hit the nail on the head.
As I suspected, if Nick Clegg had his way, only those receiving pension credit will get a winter fuel payment, so as usual, those who don't qualify for pension credit will lose out.
I've always thought how unfair our social security system is. The more you pay in, the less you get out, and the less you pay in, the more you get out.
If you've worked and paid National Insurance contributions you get a basic retirement pension of £107.35 and have to pay full council tax.
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But if you qualify for pension credit you get £142.70 a week, £35.35 more, and you don't have to pay a penny in council tax. Where is the fairness in that?
I wouldn't mind someone on pension credit getting all the 'freebies' going if the rates were the other way round, i.e. basic retirement pension £142.70, pension credit £107.35.
As it is, if Mr Clegg gets his way, not only will those on basic retirement pension have to continue paying council tax, they'll lose the winter fuel payments as well.
It wouldn't surprise me if, in the near future, free bus passes will only be available to those on pension credit.
Can't anyone stand up for people on basic retirement pension?
After all, people who've worked all their life have paid enough tax and National Insurance.
P A SINCLAIR
Stoke-on-Trent
Comments
by LongTallSarah
Monday, January 21 2013, 5:06PM
“Sorry to be a pedant, P A Sinclair, but if you've worked and paid National Insurance contributions and you only get a basic retirement pension of £107.35, you still qualify for £35.35 pension credit and full Council Tax Benefit. Savings of up to £10,000 don't affect entitlement to Pension Credit and, as a pensioner, you could still qualify for full Council Tax Benefit with up to £161.25 weekly income.
However, the calculations can be complicated and a lot of people are put off the idea of claiming 'means-tested' benefits due to the disgraceful 'scroungers' rhetoric that often accompanies talk of them these days. There is a strong case for retaining both Winter Fuel Allowance and Free Bus Passes for retired people and, I would argue, a good case for extending these universal non-means-tested benefits to other vulnerable groups too.”