Winter Fuel Allowance

Another point-just heard on the news that some parts of Devon and Cornwall are warmer than Spain in the winter!

John Mc

 I am sorry Camposol, if you are 60 at a particular time in the year you receive it automatically.  There is no application process.

Roly, if that is so why did those living in Spain etc who had not received the payment ever, like me,  I am 73, have to claim it.?

Ok - sorry - things move on and I am out of touch with UK things.    Until very recently, once someone hit 60 they did not have to do anything, and it was an automatic payment.   Now I think you have to be on a pension or on some sort of benefit.   The situation with living abroad was that if you got it when you went you kept it (dont think this is in dispute).   But what I said about the temperatures still applies - and will eventually lead to a tapering off the allowance for everyone (in my opinion).

Sorry Camposol - I will endeavour to keep more up to date.

Roly2, the WFA is not automatic for those under 65 but you don't have to be in receipt of benefits either. The age ti can be claimed is linked to the current state retirement age for women which is gradually increasing, when a man reaches the age a woman reaches state pension age he is invited to claim whether in receipt of benefits or still in full time work. So if a woman reaches state retirement age at 63 on a given date then a man of the same age can claim the WFA too but not before that date, all to do with equality. No-one reaching 60 now can claim it because the state retirement age for women is going up. It couldn't be awarded automatically because you have to provide bank details etc. My husband received a letter a few years ago inviting him to claim (he's not 65 yet) but he declined the generous offer.

This is what the DM says about WFA for people living abroad,. I think you are confusing the WFA with the cold weather payments.

More than 100,000 expat pensioners face losing winter fuel payments under plans for a ‘temperature test’.

There will be restrictions imposed on elderly Britons living in warmer countries from claiming the benefit – worth up to £300-a-year.

Almost £2million goes abroad every week to claimants who qualify for welfare despite leaving the UK.

Pensioners living in European countries, who can currently claim a range of benefits, will lose winter fuel payments if they live in a region with a higher average winter temperature than the warmest region of the UK.

This system would disqualify an estimated 120,000 people and save £30million a year after 2015/16, when it is expected to come into force.

When the Winter heating allowance was introduced it was to help British pensioners through the worst of the winter in the Uk . That means snow Ice blizzards and frost, day in, day out from any time between October and May.  Unless you live in the Mountains in Spain you are not going to suffer any of the above. Even with poor insulation that some spanish house suffer from, the cost of heating in winter is minimal.  I agree it should be scrapped for those who live in warmer climates.  Most people in UK will be staggered to read that it still applies and is paid to ex pats.

Neighbours tell me they go to the beach at Pt Mazarron on Xmas day and the Heating allowance probably funds the Barbaque

I have a bus pas and wouldnt expect to be able to use it in Spain either.

And as for some one posting it should cover Air Conditioning charges ... well what can I say. !

In the UK when you hit 60 years old you will get a letter form the Winter Fuel Payment people, they want to know your National Insurance number and when that matches you, and you let them know how you want payment to be paid you get it.

You dont apply for it, you get told your due it, then you do the rest.

And if anyone thinks Devon is warmer then Spain in the winter i suggest they go their in the winter, North Devon most winters makes the North Pole look warm, granted the south of Devon is slightly warmer but still not as warm as Spain. Cornwall is blessed with two coast lines and being a relative small county more often then not it's a decent winter. But still colder then Spain in winter. 

 Hi Baz - that is exactly what I thought but then saw:   You usually get a Winter Fuel Payment automatically if you get the State Pension or another social security benefit (not Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction or Child Benefit).

If you qualify but don’t get paid automatically, you’ll need to make a claim.

But if you click qualify it says:   

• you were born on or before 5 January 1952 (for winter 2013 to 2014 - this date changes every year)
• you normally live in the UK throughout the week of 16 to 22 September 2013

So it is stil 60 - and you still don't have to apply normally.   Clear as mud really!!!

Hi Baz - that is exactly what I thought but then saw: You usually get a Winter Fuel Payment automatically if you get the State Pension or another social security benefit (not Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction or Child Benefit).

If you qualify but don’t get paid automatically, you’ll need to make a claim.

But if you click qualify it says:

• you were born on or before 5 January 1952 (for winter 2013 to 2014 - this date changes every year)
• you normally live in the UK throughout the week of 16 to 22 September 2013

So it is stil 60 - and you still don't have to apply normally. Clear as mud really!!!

Yes Roly what you say is correct, i did mean to mention that the Winter Fuel Payment is nothing to do with state pensions, it dont even come from, or is anything to do with the state pension department.

I don't know how being born on or before 5 January 1952 makes someone aged 60 in 2013 when they will actually be at least 61 and during the qualifying week in September 2013 will be at least 61 and 9 months............ What is quoted from the gov.co.uk website seems perfectly clear but I'll include this info from CAB also

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/benefits_w/benefits_older_people_ew/benefits_for_people_over_sixty.htm#winter_fuel_payments

 I think the point was that at 60 you will  get your letter confirming details, you do not have to apply, and it is automatic, and not linked to the pension age.   61 is still closer to 60 than the state pension age, but I guess they are gradually moving it?

At the risk of attracting the wrath of many who seem to think that claiming benefits is a right,  it should be remembered that the benefits system or the welfare system as it should rightly be called was formed and has developed with the intention of providing a safety net for the unfortunate who cannot provide for themselves.

Sadly the welfare system has become not a safety net but a pot of money that grows ever more a burdon on a shrinking working population to be claimed by individuals, many of whom, are not in the unfortunate class and many who have not the will to imptove their own lot.

For me ALL benefits should and must be means tested, not just against the means of those who claim but also the ability and willingness of those that claim to help themselves through work or other expedient ways to ensure they can afford the basic necessities of a reasonable life, food, heating, a home in which to live and the ability to move around the area in which they live.

Unfortunately welfare benefits are distributed too widely and to many who seriously don't need them to be able to afford a reasonable lifestyle, the WFA is a classic case as was child allowance..... that unfortunately is the result of (usually) socialist goverments who would rather decide for you how to spend YOUR cash and the nanny state is born. The welfare system has to be scaled back and once again be available amply for those who really need it and not for all who have contributed, if that is done properly then pensions can be raised and the NHS can be boosted.

Now I shall duck !!

Barry

 totally agree!

You can all believe that if they stopped the WFP, bus passe's and everything else that they say they are going to do so the saved money could be more wisely spent on the NHS or state pension increase, etc etc, but you all know thats not the case, the extra money would be, and will be spent on topping up the many benefits for the overpaid ministers, bankers...you name it, and to keep the perks going.

This alone is the best reason that none of what they say should happen, because it will always be the hard working class that lose out...every time.