Winter fuel crisis: one million elderly already skipping meals and applications system ‘overwhelmed’
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/dec/07/winter-fuel-crisis-one-million-elderly-already-skipping-meals-and-applications-system-overwhelmed
by No_Breadfruit_4901
30 comments
“Four in nine pensioners – about 5.5 million people – said they were worried that they would not be able to heat their home enough this winter. More than 900,000 pensioners with long-term conditions said they were worried about getting into debt.”
I would like to see statistics for all other age groups. I feel that this problem isn’t specific to pensioners.
The argument is usually that pensioners are at greater risk from cold, but so are babies and young adults with health problems. The average 65 year old isn’t going to drop dead on a cold night.
Cutting it now at the beginning of a 5 year term (I think they gameplaned 10-15 years is the only time to do this cut if you were ever planning on doing it.
Voters have short memories, most voters aren’t going to vote on the winter fuel allowance 4-9 years down the line.
That generation is incredibly entitled. Trying to take things from them is always going to make them whine louder than any other generation. Millions of pensioners are still eligible for the payment due to their financial situations, but those who are wealthier still expect a handout.
I also wonder if house size has anything to do with this. I do a job where I go to several different peoples houses every week. Sometime you get older people in 3-4 bed houses by themselves and they moan about costs.
The Guardian ought to do better. This is embarrassing
Have they thought about cancelling bingo and phoning their grandchildren? They just aren’t prepared to make sacrifices, smh
I hope the ones that need it and are eligible, get it sorted quickly. It’s sad that we still have people having to skip meals to pay for a warm room. I’m against the wealthy getting wealthier when others are suffering. However, not every elderly person is well off and they shouldn’t be penalised because of others their age. Government needs to sort this out quickly because this is ridiculous.
Tell you what isn’t (as) incredibly volatile and at the whims of Saudi blood oil billionaires: your electricity bill
Go buy a Nero or second hand ev and fuck em
How many school children miss meals daily yet the editors of the Guardian don’t give two shits?
In other news, those with disabilities have been screwed for years, keep getting screwed, yet you hardly, if ever, hear anything about it.
Then the elderly need to stop sitting in a 3 or 4 bedroom house, and downsize. I know they have lived there since the dark ages, but honestly, you cant whine, if you arent willing to help resolve your problem.
Too many elderly sitting in huge houses for their needs, trying to heat the whole thing, when they could downsize, have a much smaller place to heat, and open up the property for a family to move into who are stuck in a small property!
The answer is …. One million pensioners should just heat their homes enough to keep alive and warm and the supplier can whistle for the money. Will the courts honestly be able to house one million pensioners in prison…. Won’t look too good for the government or supplier…. How about MP’s returning their heating allowance to help them….. No ??? Didn’t think so.
It feels sad that we need to bash pensioners in order to raise awareness of young families struggling the truth is that the basic state pension is not enough to live on unless you are backed up with another occupational pension. It is also true that young families living in the breadline get forgotten. There are children cold and hungry. A compassionate country would look after the elderly and the poor. Don’t punish either group. We need to eradicate poverty
Every week, I get a plastic bag through my door from Help the Aged or some similar charity wanting clothes to sell off for money. They have shops on the high street staffed by volunteers.
Where the fuck is that money going to? Why are they not actually Helping the Aged apply for the benefits many are eligible for? Where are the old peoples’ families to help them? Why is it up to tax payers like me to pay to look after everyone else’s parents? I look after mine. What the fuck is everyone else and these charities doing?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it only the very richest pensioners – i.e. those who don’t actually need it – who are losing the winter fuel payments. The rest are able to obtain it, although they may have to apply.
Can’t blame a government that has been in power for mere months. Blame the last 14 years for building an inefficient system that cannot cope with a high workload
Maybe if they didn’t buy so much avocado toast and starbucks maybe they could afford to heat their homes lol
Boo hoo, pull yourselves up by the bootstraps, maybe get a job and cut back on the Werther’s originals and daily mail perhaps
Don’t they know we need to send tens of billions of pounds in aid to countries that have space and nuclear weapons programmes?
And we also need to spend tends of billions of pounds housing and providing for people that arrive here from those places?
They’ve had months to apply for an allowance that people my age aren’t entitled to. And they’re pensioners, by definition they have free time.
I know 20 somethings who aren’t showering to save hot water and stop themselves feeling cold after, and living in 6 layers 24/7. The statistically wealthiest group with solid housing, 20% being millionaires, and oodles of free time haven’t even bothered to apply for the WFA everyone was screaming about MONTHS ago.
They voted for all of this, way before the 80’s fucked us forever
I’m single on benefits and I can afford to heat my house all winter. My mum is the same and she’s 63, you have to save up through the year and buy at the right time. If you buying oil and gas in the middle of winter just being an idiot
Does anyone else’s parents have like delusions of poverty or something? My mum owns her own home (3 bedroom semi-detached bungalow) and has fully paid off the mortgage and gets more than just the state pension (not exactly sure how much) but refuses to spend ANY money because she “can’t afford it”. By which I mean like she gets annoyed at me when I buy a 30p bag in a supermarket with my own money because I can afford it and she can’t even though I am unemployed (currently unable to work). Here’s the thing tho she can totally afford it she just thinks she can’t afford anything because idk psychosis
Sorry, I simply don’t believe this.
One million elderly must be a sizeable percentage of the entire elderly population. *One million* elderly people aren’t asking their relatives for help?
This is literally two hundred pounds for the entire duration of winter we’re talking about here. It’s being treated in the media like Labour has taken their entire pensions away and is making them live on cold beans.
That’s what got taken away *per month* for the entire unemployed population after the ‘uplift’ during covid and there wasn’t anything like this hysteria **or** sympathetic and sustained media coverage for THAT despite it affecting about 4x as many people!
but but but… Lefty government means everything is perfect. Soooo….. Reddit Approves??
labour said back in july that they will fix things but lied and starmer still bragg about it in the house of commons. labour is meant to be for the working class/people but hurting them instead what is labours true plan.
Now they know how those vulnerable, desperate, and disabled feel on the vicious benefits system, overwhelming application systems and excruciating assessments that are designed to shaft you from eligibility, to the point the vulnerable decide to skip the application and go into severe poverty, when it’s the same boomer generation that have shafted people out of jobs and unaffordable living with the crazy job market and economy due to their greed and out-of-touch, inconsiderate thinking, which also is part of the reason why labour are cracking down even more on benefits to screw more people out of it.
Wow, this sub really hates old people. We’ll all be old one day folks.
Fuel is significantly cheaper than it was a year ago, there’s no reason for anyone to be at the bread line because they got their free money taken away.
Should’ve worked harder earlier in life, should downsize / sell a few houses. Etc etc.
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