General Chat

I have just been listening to Gordon Brown saying that all us Senior citizens that we should not worry about heating bills, just turn the heating to keep warm.

Just exactly to which pensioners is he referring to, does he mean those who are on benefits who recieve the additional cold weather fuel payments, or all of us.

I think I know the answer he means those on benefits, but why should that be, dont those of us not receive any benefits feel the cold.

I bet Gordon will be claiming his fuel on expenses

George.

The rest of us are supposed to be able to afford the extortionate fuel bills George.

Hi George, Hi Ann,

You are entitled to cold weather payments if you are in receipt of Disability Living Allowance..... BUT...... only if you are under 60 years of age!!

The cold doesn't get any less once you have reached 61!!

Siouxie

What on earth is the reasoning behind that? I would have thought it should be the other way round if anything. However, it should be all on disability Living Allowance as those are the people less likely to be able to move around so much.

I can't actually see where it says you get it if on DLA. This is what I found on the DWP site

Who can get Cold Weather Payments?
You are eligible for a Cold Weather Payment if you get one of the following benefits

Income Support
Employment and Support Allowance (income-related)
income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
Pension Credit
If you get Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance (income-related) during the assessment phase or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, you must also receive a pensioner or disability premium or have a child who is disabled or under the age of 5.

Also found the following

If you are disabled and receive Income Support, you may qualify for a premium on top of the basic personal allowance.
The Disability Premium
If you are aged under 60, you may be able to get this premium if any of the following applies:

you receive Disability Living Allowance
you receive Incapacity Benefit - long term rate
you receive Severe Disablement Allowance
you are provided with an invalid vehicle
you receive payments through the invalid vehicle scheme, or war pensioners vehicle scheme
the mobility component of your Disability Living Allowance is being paid directly to Motability Operations
you are registered blind
your partner is receiving any of the above
your partner is receiving Attendance Allowance
You may also get the disability premium if you are accepted as being incapable of employment (or are receiving Statutory Sick Pay) for at least 364 days (196 days if terminally ill). Periods of incapacity separated by 56 days or less can be linked together when calculating the qualifying period.
The Enhanced Disability Premium
Single rate

If you are single and aged under 60, you may be able to get this premium if either:

you get the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance; or
you have a dependent child or children who get(s) the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance
Couple rate
If you have a partner, you may get the couple rate premium if you or your partner get the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance.

The Enhanced Disability Premium can be awarded in addition to other premiums.

Gordon Brown really hasn't got much of a clue. We get this 'keep warm' message given out to us and 'don't worry about the fuel bills' but how the heck does he think all of us can do that. Not knocking anyione on benefits, but does Gordon not realise that there are many many of us who do not 'qualify' for any benefits but are nevertheless on small pensions which we just about manage on ? We do of course get the general OAP Heating Allowance but certainly no extra in extreme conditions as prevail now. Does he not realise that the fear of getting an enormous fuel bill which we are unmable - or struggle to pay - is one of the reasons why a lot of OAP's wear a coat indoors through the day in order to keep the heating costs down. Stupid man.

Well we can cope but there are as usual many who fall through the net and who will be cold because they wont put the heating on. We are so pleased we had our walls insulated (with government help) 2 years ago and had new windows put in the back of the house, which gets the worst of the weather before Christmas. We also checked and the loft is fairly well insulated. Our worst fear is an electricity cut because we have no way of cooking if it does and although the central heating is gas it need the electricity to switch it on. So every morning and evening we boil a kettle and fill a flask so we have at least got some hot water.

DET

You made the point i didnt want to.

"If you are managing on a pension and have some savings which you have 'gone without' to accumulate, you get no help from the Government"


I was going to add a lot more about benefit claimants, like the one who was in front of me last week at the dentist, i had to pay £198-00 for replacement of a crown, the guy in front of me made the point he was on benefits so didnt pay, when outside he jumped into his i year old 4X4 Jeep.

I jumped into my 5 year old car, still seething

George

George

you've got savings, a car and your own teeth...are you single lol

x

Ginny

thank you that made me laugh, helped me to calm down a bit.

Still some teeth, savings all gone, wife still nags me.

George

Oh George, theres ways around the wife problem, but no savings...sorry hun, Im out of here!

x