1.9 million older people miss out on benefits they are due !

[Papaumau]

In a report compiled by Age UK it has been found that 1.9 million people of pension age in Britain are missing out on £5.4 billion a year in due benefits.

Even although many of these pensioners struggle severely to make ends meet they miss out on due council tax benefit, and other benefits that would make their lives much easier.

Among the reasons for not claiming what is due are, not knowing the range of benefits available, finding the process too difficult and confusing and intrusive, and even not claiming because they did not think the country can afford it.

This report comes in the middle of the charity launching their More Money in Your Pocket campaign. The initiative, backed by actress Barbara Windsor, aims to get 50,000 pensioners to collectively claim one hundred million pounds in the coming year. She said: "I really hope that this campaign encourages people to put in a claim.

THIS link shows how to get to Age UK and takes you directly to the section that helps in claiming benefits.

And, find the specific "More Money in Your Pocket Campaign" HERE

Use them, as that is what they are there for !

[Hugh]

It really is time on retiring you were told what you can claim, rather than having to feel like you are begging and having ti search for your dues. They certainly don't make it easy for you to understand what you are entitled to.

[Papaumau]

You are right Hugh, and as I am a bit of a cynic too I often think that they are happy that everybody does not claim what they are due. This saves them a fortune: £5.4 billion every year in fact.

It would be reasonably easy to give that kind of advice right from the horse's mouth when any citizen makes first application for state benefit.

[Hugh]

Wouldn't be a bad idea on this forum to start to investigate where pensioners are missing out on there benefits. Ivanhoe would be the ideal person to start the ball rolling he as the intelligence and the time and will be a pensioner in the next few years. Just a thought

[avalonmpk]

Pensioners: What do you consider to be a liveable pension, I'm happy being poor and healthy and very active no amount of money can compensate for this! but I do have third of an acre veg & and fruit plot

[Hugh]

That really is a very debateable question and I guess its what ever the powers to be decide. What a annoys me that many pensioners should be getting more but don't know the amount they should be claiming, and the powers to be seem quite happy about it.

[avalonmpk]

Hugh would this not just create more public sector incompetence & thus the monies that we may be entitled to disappear into this bottomless pit; better buy far for those of us who are able, to find out and spread the word through sites like this.

[Hugh]

I agree I thought Ivanhoe would be the best person to start the ball rolling he as for along time he as said our pensions should rise, but its not going to happen. But getting pensioners what they are due would be a good start Wouldn't be fair to leave it all to him so its up to us all to do a bit of research.

[Hugh]

Guarantee Credit

If you are living in Great Britain and have reached the minimum qualifying age, you may be entitled to the Guarantee Credit. This guarantees a minimum income by topping up your weekly income to:


•£132.60 if you are single 
•£202.40 if you have a partner
These amounts may be more if you are disabled, have caring responsibilities or certain housing costs, such as mortgage interest payments.

With rent and house running costs not sure how you would live on these amounts.

[Papaumau]

All three main parties have agreed that this should be called "The Citizen's Pension" and it should be paid automatically for every Britisher that has lived here all or most of their life and has contributed to the health of the economy by paying all of their taxes and spending their money WITHIN this economy.

While they all agree that this would be a good thing they still cannot agree on how much this Citizen's Pension should be or what they would do about people who are already property and cash rich.

[Hugh]

Property Rich !!!!!! Lots of people in the London area live in houses worth well over a mllion pounds but quite often cash poor. Its just that their family home as increased in value over the years.

I have worked all my working life and save for retirement, but why should I now get less than others who haven't saved ? 

This as got nothing to do with pensions but shows how unfair systems are.
My eldest son lost his job for no reason of his own. Because he as saved hard for his retirement and as a few pounds in the bank he cannot draw unemployment benefits!!!! Its a case of dammed if you do dammed if you don't

[Papaumau]

Of course, thinking sensibly, you are right about that !

I guess that what we are talking about here is WHERE the cut-off for benefits or a decent pension should be, not about whether or not it should be paid at all.

I have always thought that the people - from working class stock - who have worked hard all of their lives and contributed to the economy, should get all that is due them at the end of the day.

Those that have been careful with that lowly income, who have scrimped and saved to have a roof over their heads or who have built up a nest-egg of savings from this life - should be untouchable.

It is the ones that get it easy either by being privileged or via the silver-spoon you talk of that have not had to strive and struggle that need to be taxed until they notice it.

A saying that my Socialist grandfather once coined to me was: "If the rich are taxed a bit more and that money is given to the poor, the poor will notice a big difference but the rich will STILL be rich !"

[Hugh]

Tax the rich more and they take their wealth abroad which makes us all worse off.

Our welfare money is given away to many undeserving people. I'll tell you two which really annoys me. Registered drug addicts and alcoholics get an extra £40 of benefits for each to feed their habit.



 

[avalonmpk]

It's called socialism - the most pernicious form of government thought up by so called intellectuals and administered by thugs to the detriment of all

[Papaumau]

Tax the rich more and they take their wealth abroad which makes us all worse off.

Our welfare money is given away to many undeserving people. I'll tell you two which really annoys me. Registered drug addicts and alcoholics get an extra £40 of benefits for each to feed their habit.

Hugh.......

Be certain-sure that the rich ALREADY hide their money in offshore accounts so that the tax-man cannot get his hands on it.

I have heard that one before and the other one about - "if the fat-cat earners are not paid their big money they also will move abroad" - I say LET THEM as then we will get good managers that want to do the job for less money across the board.

Avalonmpk said:

It's called socialism - the most pernicious form of government thought up by so called intellectuals and administered by thugs to the detriment of all.

Avalonmpk.....

We should not be frightened of the word "Socialism" even if the rabid right use it to frighten the horses regularly. True Socialism, ( NOT Communism BTW - there IS a difference you know ), is based on a thought-process whereby the people of any country and in any "society" are treated "socially".

The selfish right-wingers only care about themselves but the true Socialists care about everybody !

That is the way that humanity should work if the right people are allowed to make it work like that.