So now Pensioners are on "Benefits"

I thought I'd start this thread so we can see what's happening.
I asked Eric the question. "Hi Eric, I'm a bit concerned about your comments about the Government helping themselves to public money. I have a small amount of rainy day money in my Barclays account, there's never much movement although my sister uses it from time to time. Can you elaborate?"
He replied,I'm concerned too - but there is nothing official yet. But two-tier two-faced stalin Scarmer doesn't tell anything in advance, he just does it, like cancelling the £300 heating allowance for all pensioners. Bam - gone.
He goes on about the 'black hole' he has inherited from the prevous conservative government that he has to fill, so he takes the allowance with one hand, then gives billions to 'foreign aid' with the other.
So far, raiding our savings is just talk - but.
The other political parties are too busy fighting each other to do anything about it and all the time more and more illegal immigrants are streaming in, costing 8 million a DAY to keep them in hotels!
Someone claimed that one in 100 of UK residents were illegals - and that's just the ones we know about.
He's been releasing real criminals to make space for all the protesters he's had arrested without trial. The Beeb carefully doesn't broadcast ANY of this!
And he's only been in power a month!
The UK is going to be like East Germany was before the wall came down.

Eric then said,If you have enough broadband - here's a three minute vid of the situation -
And he closed with,Comments by Labour’s work and pensions secretary have confirmed that “farcical” and “prejudicial” plans for a new fraud bill – ordering banks to “spy” on the bank accounts of benefit claimants – will be based on draft laws prepared by the last government.
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What that remark does NOT say is that the government are now calling Old Age Pension is a benefit!!
As an aside, my sister is staying here in South Africa on a Relatives Visa, which she has to renew every 2 years, it could be refused at any time. Except for the Covid years she returns to the UK every year to check on her house which is rented out, and she pays Income Tax on that income.
2 years ago her Pension failed to arrive in her UK bank account. After several months she contacted the department who then, over a period of more than a month, asked searching questions about her life, how often she returned to the UK and a bunch of other stuff which was none of their business. The net result was that her Pension was halved and she no longer receives any increases. Remember that this was the old government, also remember that it's the Civil Service that runs the UK and it can take up to 5 years for a Government to change general Civil Service policy.

I would like all readers to please contribute.

Google search,
However, use of the word “benefit” for retirement pension (latterly known as State Pension) has always been classified in law from the time of the1946 National Insurance Act, which applied from the inception of the National Insurance scheme.

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This is funded from Current Tax. It is not an Accrued Individual person's fund.
UK Pensioners living in some countries can be denied Any, or all participation payment.

The governments have always used "public money" to pay for public sevices. What certain "newspapers" are touting is that the government is going to raid private savings - which is a load of tosh - its just a way of selling newspapers.

All pensioners do not get £300 heating allowance. A pensioner living alone would get £200 if they were born before 1958 & £300 if they were born before 1944.
A couple would only get the £200 or £300 to share between them.

We won't get the Allowance this winter because we are not on pension credit or other low-income support & I couldn't honestly justify that we should.
Why should people get benefits if they don't need them, there are plenty of people who do?

My wife has mobility issues & gets an allowance to pay for extra help with things she cannot do. This amounts to about two cleaners (apparently they go around in pairs) for two hours a week which is why I have to do any lifting (laundry etc) and the exciting weekly shopping at Aldi.
She is effectively housebound unless someone is with her, she can drive & has a blue badge but unless there is a parking space next to where she is going she needs me to accompany her. For example the doctors or dentists, I usually have to drop her off & park somewhere until she is finished..
She doesn't get any help with the extra cost of needing the heating on all day.

Up here in the frozen north, especially as Consett is almost 1000ft above sea level we should get more - in effect a "Not-London" allowance!

I do rather agree the "universal" winter fuel payment was a bit unusual and from what I remember was a reaction to a sudden hike in fuel bills.
In principle the state pension has always been proportional to the individuals National Insurance contribution and has always had additional benefits for those who by circumstance had contributed less.
In reality we are no longer a truly "rich" country whether from exploiting our own or others resources as we did in the past. It never ceases to amaze me when you look at Victorian council buildings all over the UK. They are pure statements of civic wealth and were funded by?
My own view is we now have to accept a rather prescriptive and unwieldly pension system that at least tries to even out some the worst anomalies. 

As an OAP that needs regular medication to contain a minor heart condition I really do appreciate the "benefit" of free prescriptions.  

Geordie to thor Lass
"Am gannin to the club are yer gannin ti put yor coat on?"
Thor Lass
"Why - Are yi takkin is?
Geordie
"No Am torning the heating off."

Some of you on here know that I have health issues as well - and if I had been ill before retiring, I'd be able to claim PIP. But not now. I get no help from anywhere except that £300 heating allowance and the basic OAP.
If I had been a spend-thrift living in a council house, I could claim for all sorts, but because I live in my paid-for house, and have saved every spare penny all my life, I have too much to qualify.
And now Starmer wants to take some of it back - money I have already paid tax on!

Get it out and under the bed Eric he cannot touch it there, theres no interest on it in the bank only for the bank themselves, then you go and plead poverty, if you live near an Indian street go talk to them, i used to fit kitchens for an english company in Leicester and it was nearly always Indian customers, they used to tell me about all the things they get up to with claiming money or avoiding paying , one man lived in a very sumptus house that the government used to pay his mortgage , 4 years i spent working for him and i hated them with a vengance

I detect a certain amount of sensitivity among those who, by right, claim additional benefits. I had not wanted to know 'chapter and verse'. I've told you all about my sisters suffering at the hands of the Pensions department. Prior to coming out here she was spending 3 of the winter months in Hospital, the first year she came out for 3 months over Christmas, guess what? No illness, and she didn't have to use her inhaler once. When she got back to the UK she immediately applied for a Relatives visa and got it, she's now on her 4th. She is no longer a burden on the health care system and actually pays Tax on her rental earnings. Was it fair that her Old Age Pension should be slashed by more than half because she was out of the country during Covid and is otherwise non resident for 11 months of the year?
There was a time when Eric had nothing, he's turned that around and now has a small nest egg.
I lived and worked in the UK from age 17 to 30, I therefore qualify for a small pension, fixed because I'm non resident. As a result of the passing of my Mother and an Aunt, Ernie pays me between 50 and 150 Quid, in addition to my pension of 200. Provided I don't spend on my hobbies my account grows every month. Like Eric I'm now very worried about the security of my savings, it's the only money I have.
We wrinklies are a very small section of the community and no threat to the Politicians, however, like most first world countries, 60% of the spending power is in the hands of the older generations, making up 10% of the population.
Sorry, rant over

You still think we are a first world country ? we are %"£&! with a capital F

We have just received our letter about the winter fuel payment.
It appears very few people will qualify. According to it you have to live in England and Wales.......not just England or Wales!

Pause for thought.
I won't post any more of this chap's vlogs, but if you are interested, you can follow him yourself (as an aside, he's an ex R.N. submariner) -

A few posts back, Tony put - We wrinklies are a very small section of the community  -
and if we were to go on strike in protest - who would notice?

Exactly, it's the way Leftist politics work, marginalize a group, take what you want and look for another group to marginalize. Thin end of the wedge! Make sure that you don't annoy your voters. Ultimately you have so much power it's essentially a one party state. Stalin wrote the play book and Putin has taken it to a whole new level.Less than a month from now Trump will win in the US and cut off all foreign aid. Ukraine will fall to Putin, closely followed by all the Baltic states that used to be part of the CCCP, he (Putin) might even take East Germany.

To say that old folk are not an issue for political folk is stretching it a bit.  They believe old folk vote, younger folk not so much, that has their attention. Newspapers push what they hope will sell dead trees and what tends to sell is stories which keep folk worried.  Small grains of truth along with lashings of horror.  And almost no one discussing our hobby.

How many not-old-folk are members of the Conservative Party who are the ones who will choose who is the next leader of that party....