Winter Fuel.

Sep 10, 2014
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Totally non caravaning,,

does anyone know if us old codgers still get the winter fuel allowance,,or has that been stopped like so many other things.

Thanks.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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pensioner said:
Totally non caravaning,,

does anyone know if us old codgers still get the winter fuel allowance,,or has that been stopped like so many other things.

Thanks.

You will still get it. What “other things “ have been stopped. I thought that pensioners had been a rather privileged group since 2010. Politicians are afeared of their backlash if they upset pensioners :)
 
Jun 24, 2005
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Depends where you live - us residents in France lost our winter fuel allowance some years ago because our average temperature is more than in the UK. That, of course, is including French territories such as Corsica, Martinique and French Guiana. I believe that ex-pats living in Spain and Italy still receive the allowance.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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PaulT said:
Depends where you live - us residents in France lost our winter fuel allowance some years ago because our average temperature is more than in the UK. That, of course, is including French territories such as Corsica, Martinique and French Guiana. I believe that ex-pats living in Spain and Italy still receive the allowance.

Spain, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Portugal, Gibraltar and France don’t qualify. Italy does for some strange reason. Probably not many ex pat pensioners.
 
Jun 20, 2005
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Pathetic. Are you really worried about ex pats?
The fuel heating allowance was given , globally in the UK, to ensure those on the basic government pension didn’t die of hypothermia.
So you choose to live in sunnier climates? Fine by me. But are you cold? No!
Do you deserve a heating allowance? NO!
Get a grip and be sensible for those not so financially blessed as you are!

OK. Gets banned now. But this is passion for me and thousands of others.
 

Damian

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Mar 14, 2005
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Quote " OK. Gets banned now. But this is passion for me and thousands of others. "

Rest assured Dustydog, you will not be banned.

I would reply to this topic but most certainly would be banned if I did.
 
Jun 24, 2005
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Dustydog said:
Pathetic. Are you really worried about ex pats?
The fuel heating allowance was given , globally in the UK, to ensure those on the basic government pension didn’t die of hypothermia.
So you choose to live in sunnier climates? Fine by me. But are you cold? No!
Do you deserve a heating allowance? NO!
Get a grip and be sensible for those not so financially blessed as you are!

OK. Gets banned now. But this is passion for me and thousands of others.

Not quite sure where you're going on this one Dusty. I wasn't complaining about not getting the heating allowance, I've accepted it. However, the governments method of working out who receives it is flawed. It's based on average temperatures. The French overseas departments are included. If these are excluded the average temperature of France is below that of the UK. Winter temperatures here can be considerably colder than the UK and for longer periods. It's also unfair to imply that expats are "financially blessed". Many of us are no better off than if we lived in the UK and it could be argued that we're taking the strain off the NHS. Imagine what would happen if all the expats (most of whom are of the older generation) returned to the UK and made demands on the NHS. As I said at the start, I'm not complaining about not receiving the heating allowance but it does seem a trifle unfair that I still pay UK tax but cannot claim anything. .In a few years time I'll lose my right to vote in the UK. Will I still pay tax? - of course.
 

Damian

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In response to PaulT, you are right that the mechanism for working out anything by our wonderful Government is flawed, and that goes for all the "benefits" they administer.
As far as France is concerned, it is a big country with extremes of temperature dependent on where you live from the very cold North to the much warmer South.

I know a lot people who have moved to France and Spain for the very reason that they say it is cheaper to live and in a better climate, although I tend to have doubts about the cheapness of living anywhere in the Euro zone.

I also know of a lot of people who take their caravan or motorhome to Spain for 3 or 6 months over our winter period to escape the cold and save on heating bills.

My own personal view is that our country has a finite amount of money to fund various initiatives, which are primarily aimed at those of us who live here all the time, and it seems wrong to be sending such payments to anywhere outside our own borders.

I do accept that there are people here that do not need the winter fuel payment as they have enough money to be comfortably off without it, much the same as not all families actually "need" Family Allowance for children.

However, there are hundreds if not thousands of people who would die if they did not get the money as they do not have the resources as they are, specifically the old with no provisions and those on very limited income.

There are also those of a much younger age who are in poverty and homeless who need extra money but do not get it.

As the saying goes, you can please some of the people some of the time, but not all the people all of the time.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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PaulT said:
Dustydog said:
Pathetic. Are you really worried about ex pats?
The fuel heating allowance was given , globally in the UK, to ensure those on the basic government pension didn’t die of hypothermia.
So you choose to live in sunnier climates? Fine by me. But are you cold? No!
Do you deserve a heating allowance? NO!
Get a grip and be sensible for those not so financially blessed as you are!

OK. Gets banned now. But this is passion for me and thousands of others.

Not quite sure where you're going on this one Dusty. I wasn't complaining about not getting the heating allowance, I've accepted it. However, the governments method of working out who receives it is flawed. It's based on average temperatures. The French overseas departments are included. If these are excluded the average temperature of France is below that of the UK. Winter temperatures here can be considerably colder than the UK and for longer periods. It's also unfair to imply that expats are "financially blessed". Many of us are no better off than if we lived in the UK and it could be argued that we're taking the strain off the NHS. Imagine what would happen if all the expats (most of whom are of the older generation) returned to the UK and made demands on the NHS. As I said at the start, I'm not complaining about not receiving the heating allowance but it does seem a trifle unfair that I still pay UK tax but cannot claim anything. .In a few years time I'll lose my right to vote in the UK. Will I still pay tax? - of course.

But the restrictions were known when ex pats made their choice. Live with it and enjoy France.
 
Jun 24, 2005
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otherclive said:
PaulT said:
Dustydog said:
Pathetic. Are you really worried about ex pats?
The fuel heating allowance was given , globally in the UK, to ensure those on the basic government pension didn’t die of hypothermia.
So you choose to live in sunnier climates? Fine by me. But are you cold? No!
Do you deserve a heating allowance? NO!
Get a grip and be sensible for those not so financially blessed as you are!

OK. Gets banned now. But this is passion for me and thousands of others.

Not quite sure where you're going on this one Dusty. I wasn't complaining about not getting the heating allowance, I've accepted it. However, the governments method of working out who receives it is flawed. It's based on average temperatures. The French overseas departments are included. If these are excluded the average temperature of France is below that of the UK. Winter temperatures here can be considerably colder than the UK and for longer periods. It's also unfair to imply that expats are "financially blessed". Many of us are no better off than if we lived in the UK and it could be argued that we're taking the strain off the NHS. Imagine what would happen if all the expats (most of whom are of the older generation) returned to the UK and made demands on the NHS. As I said at the start, I'm not complaining about not receiving the heating allowance but it does seem a trifle unfair that I still pay UK tax but cannot claim anything. .In a few years time I'll lose my right to vote in the UK. Will I still pay tax? - of course.

But the restrictions were known when ex pats made their choice. Live with it.

Not so, otherclive. The changes were made about (I think) 5 years ago after many expats had already moved. As I said before, I'm not complaining just trying to put a different perspective on it
 

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