Latest news with #winterfuelallowance
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How your MP voted in Wales on Keir Starmer's cut to winter fuel allowance for pensioners
MPs have today voted on controversial cuts to the winter fuel allowance. Under the plans, the winter fuel allowance for pensioners will be limited to only those claiming pension credit or other means-tested benefits. It is expected to cut the number of people receiving the payment of up to £300 from 11.4 million to 1.5 million. The Labour administration says it will save about £1.4 billion this year. Ahead of the vote, Cabinet minister Jonathan Reynolds said the UK Government had "no choice" but to make the change. He rejected suggestions that the Government's decision to strip all but the country's poorest pensioners of the allowance could see some die of cold this winter. Asked whether ministers accepted this was a possibility, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "No. We are making sure that we can reassure people by saying the state pension is higher than last winter and energy bills are lower than last winter." READ MORE: Woman dies after family of four's car collides with two lorries in horror crash READ MORE: 'Grotesque' man secretly filmed woman performing sex act then showed people Pressed on why the Government was pursuing the policy, he told Sky News: "We have no choice." The Tories accused Labour of having failed to "properly examine" the implications of the policy. For the latest politics news in Wales sign up to our newsletter here. "This has been completely rushed. There's no need to do this as quickly as the Government has done, other than for purely political reasons," shadow work and pensions secretary and Conservative leadership candidate Mel Stride told Times Radio. "And it means that the implications of this, of course, have not been properly examined in the normal way that they would be, and which is why even trade unions such as Unite has described this as picking the pockets of pensioners." MPs voted on a bid to block the government's cut to winter fuel allowance in the House of Commons today. 23 Labour MPs supported the cut by voting against the amendment Four Labour MPs did not vote All four Plaid MPs tried to block the change Wales' sole Lib Dem MP also tried to block the cut Opposition MPs have failed to block government plans with 348 MPs backing the government and 228 supporting the opposition motion. Wales has 32 MPs with 27 representing Labour, four for Plaid Cymru and one Lib Dem. Stephen Kinnock - Labour Against Mark Tami - Labour Against Claire Hughes - Labour Against Nick Smith - Labour Against David Chadwick - Liberal Democrat For Chris Elmore - Labour Against Chris Evans - Labour Against Jo Stevens - Labour Against Anna McMorrin - Labour Did not vote (teller) Stephen Doughty - Labour Did not vote Alex Barros-Curtis - Labour Against Ann Davies - Plaid Cymru For Ben Lake - Plaid Cymru For Becky Gittins - Labour Against Gill German - Labour Against Liz Savile Roberts - Plaid Cymru For Tonia Antoniazzi - Labour Did not vote Nia Griffith - Labour Against Gerald Jones - Labour Against Catherine Fookes - Labour Against Steve Witherden - Labour Against Carolyn Harris - Labour Against Jessica Morden - Labour Against Ruth Jones - Labour Against Henry Tufnell - Labour Against Alex Davies-Jones - Labour Against Chris Bryant - Labour Against Torsten Bell - Labour Against Nick Thomas-Symonds: Labour Did not vote Kanishka Narayan - Labour Against Andrew Ranger - Labour Against Llinos Medi - Plaid Cymru For
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
This under-claimed benefit could help boost your pension
Last week, the long-awaited announcement on the winter fuel allowance finally happened. After months of speculation, the government hiked the eligibility threshold to £35,000. This means millions more pensioners will get a payment of up to £300 in time for the colder months. It's an announcement that will be greeted with a sigh of relief by pensioners up and down the country. Restricting the payment to those on pension credit and other means-tested benefits was hugely unpopular and meant many low-income pensioners faced a nasty threshold, where those just a few pounds off from qualifying received nothing. These pensioners faced a difficult time as they tried to make their already strained budgets stretch even further over the winter months. Read more: What the winter fuel allowance U-turn means for your finances Details of when the winter fuel allowance will be paid will be available soon, but pensioners will receive the payment automatically — you don't need to claim it. Those with an income of more than £35,000 per year will need to repay it either through PAYE or self-assessment. It's not a flawless system by any means, but it does mean millions more pensioners will get this much needed payment. There were also hopes that the move to restrict the winter fuel allowance would prompt more people to check if they are eligible for pension credit. This is a benefit targeted towards boosting the incomes of the poorest pensioners, which remains chronically under-claimed, despite government attempts to boost awareness. The data shows that the move did prompt more people to check their eligibility, but the fact remains that hundreds of thousands of people who could be claiming it still aren't. The issue of under-claimed pension credit remains unresolved. This benefit not only tops up your income but acts as a valuable bridge to further support. This can include help with council tax and NHS costs. There's also the free TV licence for the over 75s. More work needs to be done to understand why more people don't come forward with a claim. If you or a loved one is over state pension age, then pension credit will top up your weekly income to £227.10 if single or up to £346.60 if you have a partner. If your income is higher, you might still be eligible for pension credit if you have a disability, you care for someone, you have savings or you have housing costs, so it's well worth putting in a claim to see if you qualify for this important benefit. Read more: What is pension credit and are you eligible to claim? How far will your pension go as retirement costs go up? Should people keep working until later in life? Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
This under-claimed benefit could help boost your pension
Last week, the long-awaited announcement on the winter fuel allowance finally happened. After months of speculation, the government hiked the eligibility threshold to £35,000. This means millions more pensioners will get a payment of up to £300 in time for the colder months. It's an announcement that will be greeted with a sigh of relief by pensioners up and down the country. Restricting the payment to those on pension credit and other means-tested benefits was hugely unpopular and meant many low-income pensioners faced a nasty threshold, where those just a few pounds off from qualifying received nothing. These pensioners faced a difficult time as they tried to make their already strained budgets stretch even further over the winter months. Read more: What the winter fuel allowance U-turn means for your finances Details of when the winter fuel allowance will be paid will be available soon, but pensioners will receive the payment automatically — you don't need to claim it. Those with an income of more than £35,000 per year will need to repay it either through PAYE or self-assessment. It's not a flawless system by any means, but it does mean millions more pensioners will get this much needed payment. There were also hopes that the move to restrict the winter fuel allowance would prompt more people to check if they are eligible for pension credit. This is a benefit targeted towards boosting the incomes of the poorest pensioners, which remains chronically under-claimed, despite government attempts to boost awareness. The data shows that the move did prompt more people to check their eligibility, but the fact remains that hundreds of thousands of people who could be claiming it still aren't. The issue of under-claimed pension credit remains unresolved. This benefit not only tops up your income but acts as a valuable bridge to further support. This can include help with council tax and NHS costs. There's also the free TV licence for the over 75s. More work needs to be done to understand why more people don't come forward with a claim. If you or a loved one is over state pension age, then pension credit will top up your weekly income to £227.10 if single or up to £346.60 if you have a partner. If your income is higher, you might still be eligible for pension credit if you have a disability, you care for someone, you have savings or you have housing costs, so it's well worth putting in a claim to see if you qualify for this important benefit. Read more: What is pension credit and are you eligible to claim? How far will your pension go as retirement costs go up? Should people keep working until later in life? Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
This under-claimed benefit could help boost your pension
Last week, the long-awaited announcement on the winter fuel allowance finally happened. After months of speculation, the government hiked the eligibility threshold to £35,000. This means millions more pensioners will get a payment of up to £300 in time for the colder months. It's an announcement that will be greeted with a sigh of relief by pensioners up and down the country. Restricting the payment to those on pension credit and other means-tested benefits was hugely unpopular and meant many low-income pensioners faced a nasty threshold, where those just a few pounds off from qualifying received nothing. These pensioners faced a difficult time as they tried to make their already strained budgets stretch even further over the winter months. Read more: What the winter fuel allowance U-turn means for your finances Details of when the winter fuel allowance will be paid will be available soon, but pensioners will receive the payment automatically — you don't need to claim it. Those with an income of more than £35,000 per year will need to repay it either through PAYE or self-assessment. It's not a flawless system by any means, but it does mean millions more pensioners will get this much needed payment. There were also hopes that the move to restrict the winter fuel allowance would prompt more people to check if they are eligible for pension credit. This is a benefit targeted towards boosting the incomes of the poorest pensioners, which remains chronically under-claimed, despite government attempts to boost awareness. The data shows that the move did prompt more people to check their eligibility, but the fact remains that hundreds of thousands of people who could be claiming it still aren't. The issue of under-claimed pension credit remains unresolved. This benefit not only tops up your income but acts as a valuable bridge to further support. This can include help with council tax and NHS costs. There's also the free TV licence for the over 75s. More work needs to be done to understand why more people don't come forward with a claim. If you or a loved one is over state pension age, then pension credit will top up your weekly income to £227.10 if single or up to £346.60 if you have a partner. If your income is higher, you might still be eligible for pension credit if you have a disability, you care for someone, you have savings or you have housing costs, so it's well worth putting in a claim to see if you qualify for this important benefit. Read more: What is pension credit and are you eligible to claim? How far will your pension go as retirement costs go up? Should people keep working until later in life? Sign in to access your portfolio
Telegraph
10-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Starmer and Farage have doomed Britain to a spiral of decline
The Government's decision to U-turn on the winter fuel allowance is absurd – and, sadly, a big indicator that Reform UK is not going to be the party which breaks Britain out of its spiral of self-inflicted decline. Rachel Reeves plans to restore the WFA to all pensioners with an income up to £35,000 a year. It will then be clawed back from the wealthiest retirees via the tax system. Overall, around 7.5 million older people who missed the payment last year are set to receive it again – at an apparent cost in the region of £1.25 billion a year. Paul Johnson, the Chair of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, puts it well: 'It wouldn't even be in the top 100 of things that I would do with my £1.25bn if I wanted to act on poverty. Almost none of the people impacted by this will be in poverty.' He's right. The Government's decision to means test the WFA removed the payment from some ten million people; of these, its own analysis suggested that only 50,000 or so were placed into 'relative fuel poverty'. And remember, 'relative poverty' is merely an income inequality metric; it doesn't mean someone is necessarily unable to afford heating. Even on the face of it, therefore, Reeves is hosing money at 7.5 million people for the sake of lifting just 50,000 out of 'relative' poverty. But closer consideration of the numbers reveals even deeper absurdities. Take the income requirement of £35,000. From the off, that is only a couple of grand less than the national average wage of £37,430. Why should pensioners on that income receive a fuel payment when working-age people on similar incomes do not? If anything, those working-age people are more deserving of help – for their cost of living is often substantially increased by costs from which many pensioners are exempt. How many of those 7.5 million beneficiaries, for example, are living mortgage-free? Retirees are also exempt from National Insurance, and that has big implications for their real income. Without NICs, that £35,000 becomes about £2,500 a month post-tax; for a working person to be in a similar position, they would need to earn quite a bit more than the average wage (enough to be in the top 37 per cent of earners, or thereabouts). Pensioner poverty was a real problem in 2010, when the Coalition Government first introduced the Triple Lock. But whilst there are some struggling pensioners today, it is absurd that the State continues giving indiscriminate welfare to what has become, on average, this country's wealthiest age cohort. Our pathological inability to cut entitlement spending, even to people who obviously don't need it, is one of the main reasons our country is in such a sorry state. We are all but conducting a controlled experiment in how much of the state can be all but dismantled – prisons, courts, the military – in order to avoid touching the big revenue expenditure accounts. Arresting British decline will require breaking out of this cycle. But it's a prisoner's dilemma for politicians: try to do the right thing, as Theresa May did on social care, and it creates an all-too-tempting opening for opportunistic opponents to exploit – as Labour did then, and as Reform UK has done now. Now forced to govern in the long shadow of wildly unrealistic voter expectations, Labour is probably quietly regretting its game-playing over the 'dementia tax'. If Nigel Farage ever becomes prime minister, and is forced to admit the extravagant savings he claims he can get from abolishing DEI and net zero are for the birds, he may well regret killing off such an obvious cut as the winter fuel allowance.
