Did you know you are a Pampered Pensioner now?

Watch it, guys - they`re coming for us next.
They`ve hit the needy, the young and jobless....
now it`s the turn of the more mature citizen to be demonised.
Dang it - if only we`d just die like decent people and stop costing the Gvt money!

Concessions to pensioners cost the taxpayer £16billion a year, a report claims today.
The elderly have received special treatment and are more or less exempt from spending cuts, according to research by the Institute of Economic Affairs.
The think-tank is calling for the abolition of benefits that are not means-tested, such as free bus travel, free TV licences and the winter fuel allowance
Philip Booth, editorial director at the IEA, said: ‘The reality is that the Government’s cuts announced so far only take public spending in real terms back to 2008 levels.
‘By including older people in the cuts an additional £16billion a year could be saved.
‘The Government has imposed many new burdens on the younger generation in how it has chosen to cut and where it has chosen to raise taxes.
‘They have let older people remain largely insulated from much of the cuts. It’s time this changed.’
The IEA also calls for reform to the state pension that it says would take savings up to £16billion a year by 2016.
‘These proposals should be part of a more radical review of government spending than the one on which the Government has embarked,’ said Mr Booth.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1Enjx4smx

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...OAPs-cuts.html

Re: Did you know you are a Pampered Pensioner now?

Pampered I'm not, If I had their amount of pay each Month then I'd be spoiled rotten. Bet none of the so called Government Ministers who are wanting these cuts would be able to survive on the Basic Pension.

Re: Did you know you are a Pampered Pensioner now?

Give us a decent pension then I would willingly cut my bus pass in half!

Oh yes..... and I would even let them stop my 'huge' Christmas bonus of £10!

Re: Did you know you are a Pampered Pensioner now?

Always thought we'd be a target, free bus passes, prescriptions, bit of heating allowances, concessions a little here and there. Certainly I have paid in enough, working since the age of fifteen. Would'nt it wonderful if they had the guts to go after all them lazy, shiftless bastards, with no intentions of getting off juicy fat benefits. Dream on Johnny boy! Ah well, at least we only go around once, thank god. Must say I feel much better now, good night one and all!!

Re: Did you know you are a Pampered Pensioner now?

It's a fact that too many benefits are dished out whether people need them or not. There should be no universal benefit, whether that is Child Benefit, Bus Passes, Winter Fuel Allowance or, indeed, the £10 Christmas Bonus.

Yes, we all like them, and to some they are necessary, but to many they are just "bunce" that can be used as pin money. Governments have dished out benefits like sweeties as a sop to keep us quiet and to make us think they are giving us something, rather than giving us something back that was ours anyway.

We cannot go on like this. Benefits have to be targeted at the really needy, (and I mean the needy, not the idle or feckless). People must contibute more towards their old age and then perhaps the system could afford better pensions all around. We had a pension system that was the envy of the world until governments raided the funds to spend on a myriad of other things, now it's pay back time I'm afraid.

We cannot continue to place the burden of our old age onto our children and grandchildren. That just isn't right.

Re: Did you know you are a Pampered Pensioner now?

I don't place the burden of my old age onto children and grandchildren and I never expected to. Society and governments have made it that way. I have always thought it the wrong way round for pensions and health not to be paid for in arrears, but the system was originally not set up to pay for it that way.
All these so called "benefits" have been paid for out of taxes which I have contributed to for most of my life (my contributions paid for the beneficiaries on pension whilst I was working, which is where it is wrong imo).
My feeling is that they can do away with all the little "frills" like Christmas bonus, fuel allowance, etc. etc., which are supposed to make us think we are "benefitting" a bit more and just pay a decent old age pension. They only do it this way so that they can withdraw them whenever the government wants to. The o.a.p is a right (not a benefit) and people contribute collectively throughout their working lives. It should be sufficient to make sure we are able to meet our living committments in old age. If it does not do this then abandon it all together and let us all pay into something separately for our old age whilst we are working, instead of having a bit of this and a bit of that and making people feel they should not be entitled to it.

Re: Did you know you are a Pampered Pensioner now?

We never use free bus passes and we would not claim a free TV licence, if I could we would not have the fuel allowance.
There are numerous people who really need the extra money that they can get but there are also an equal ammount of people who dont need the money.
Joan Bakewell and Cliff Richards tried to return their fuel allowance but were told that the system does not allow it so they had to have it.
I do think that means tests should be used for people who claim allowances and those who need it (income less than £14500/an. Government figures of a persons needs according to Labour)should get it without any fuss.

As for the O.A.P then should'nt it cover the basic needs of a persons income? (14500)

Re: Did you know you are a Pampered Pensioner now?

Do agree with last three posters.


I get free travel

Heating allowance

£10 at Christmas.

My income is around £8000 a year.

I live very well on that and manage to save a little.

I dont think I should get free travel but I do find it a God send and use it a much as I can, I go up to London at least twice a week more in the summer.

The welfare state has got out of hand in its costs and needs to be reigned back in.

Re: Did you know you are a Pampered Pensioner now?

1. Since richer pensioners pay tax the benefits are not wasted.
2. To means-test benefits increases massively the cost of distribution.
3. If you feel you are being given too much you can send it to me.

Re: Did you know you are a Pampered Pensioner now?

Clairandaisy, a couple of points to ponder...

1. If the benefit is taxed at 20% then the system is still 80% out of pocket.

2. If you means test you probably end up not paying 90% of recipients. The means testing will probably have been done previously for other reasons so costs should be minimal.

3. If I ever get too much cash I will definitely send it to you.