Winter Fuel Allowance Cut

Pensioners are facing financial assault from the new Labour government and are seeing reductions in their winter fuel allowance. Previously the winter fuel allownace was given to all pensioners, regardless of their income meaning that many well off pensioners received a government handout that they didn’t need.

The change, voted through parliament on the 10th September means that the winter fuel allowance for pensioners will be cut unless the pensioner is on Universal Credit or Pension Credit, totalling around 10 million people.

In 2017 Labour, while in opposition estimated that the impact of cutting the winter fuel allowance would result in the unnecessary deaths of arounf 4,000 pensioners from the cold.

Retirement Age Increase

Meanwhile, Two Tier Keir, together with Rachel Thieves are pondering the possibility of increasing the retirement age from 66 to 68 in order to save a possible £6 billion (no doubt earmarked for public sector wage rises elsewhere).

More tinkering around the edges instead of attacking the fundamental pension issue which is that every month we rob Peter to pay Paul with what is possibly one of the largest Ponzi schemes on earth. The system is designed to fail, designed to keep pensioners poor and designed to require an ever growing population of young working people, all paying their National Insurance to feed the growing beast of pension payments.

Until we save the pension portion on our weekly NI contributions we will never solve the problem, but instead be required to keep punishing pensioners with less money when they are older.

Single Person Council Tax Rebate

As if pensioners are not taking enough pain at the moment, the grusome twosome have floated the idea of removing the single person Council Tax rebate, currently a 25% discount. The majority of single person households are in the 65+ age range meaning that pensioners would face another huge financial blow.

Paying full council tax as a single pensioner would push many past the point of being able to survive, to keep a roof over their heads. While I have no doubt that there are many households across the country claiming the single person rebate while more than one person live in the property, punishing already hard pressed pensioners is not the answer.

On a side note, one of the reasons why a third of the population are not registered to vote is because they live in a property registered as a single person household. While it makes perfect sense to chase those households claiming the single person allowance when they shouldn’t be, the blanket removal of the rebate will disproportionately punish pensioners.

The Triple Lock

In April 2025 the state pension will increase by £400 for most pensioners. This isn’t extra money that pensioners will receive, they won’t be booking holidays and buying new cars, it is just to cover inflation and so that they can buy today what they bought last year. It looks like the government is attempting to claw back that increase, leaving pensioners worse off than they were before.

Energy Prices Rising Again

Our energy prices have already increased by 10% as we head into autumn, it looks likely to not be the only increase at a time when we are all going to be using our heating. The net zero renewable energy strategy being pursued relentlessly by Ed Milliband will only increase energy prices further in the years to come, requiring more government, tax payer subsidies, more imported gas to back up our base load. When the wind doesn’t blow, when the sun isn’t shining then industry will stop, the lights will go out, the country will grind to a halt. Pensioners on fixed incomes are paying the biggest price as more and more of their meagre pension goes on energy bills.

Pensioner Bus Pass Under Threat

Angela Rayner hasn’t ruled out scrapping free bus passes for pensioners. For many in retirement, the bus is the only way they can travel and removing the free bus pass is another blow to our hard pressed pensioners.

Pensioners Dragged into Paying Tax

As if all of this wasn’t enough of a hardship for pensioners, some now face paying tax on their pensions as they breach the basic rate tax threshold. The inconvenience and increased cost of completing a tax return will create additional pressures and hardships for many pensioners.

The government seem to have it in their minds that all pensioners are wealthy, that all pensioners are rolling in cash and need to have their financial wings clipped.

We will see in the October budget exactly how many of these pensioner punishments will be implemented, but it isn’t looking like a good time to be retired on a limited budget.