Ex Pats To Lose Winter Fuel Allowance

Just been hearing this on the lunch time news and then found this on line article.At least it will save this country some money

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...e-reveals-plans-temperature-test-benefit.html

 

I foresee a legal challenge........

Spain:


Australia:


India:


Portugal:

 

It's ridiculous that expats can claim from a Country they are no longer living in!!!!

Val

 

I have mixed feelings on this.

On one hand, if someone has spent most or all of their working life working and paying taxes in the UK, then they leave when they retire, maybe they should get something back for their life time of contributions.

On the other hand, winter fuel allowance is meant to negate the dilemma of 'eating vs heating' in a cold British winter. If people live in a place where it rarely drops below about 10'C even in winter, and in any case fuel is cheaper than in the UK, then why should they get the same as a struggling UK based pensioner who might routinely have to deal with sub zero temperatures in winter.

 

And they are freeing up loads of housing for others, but perhaps that's not what some people think of as being good for our economy.

 

As a person who claims, I will put my two-penneth worth in. We paid our taxes (up to 40% of our income) whilst we worked in the UK for 23 years and are therefore entitled to claim as the law allows us. All EU countries 'acknowledge' other EU countries. We are doing nothing illegal. We paid all our taxes on our property which included taxes for schools ... although we do not have children, one could say this was grossly unfair but we did not complain and paid our dues.

Just because we choose not to live in an over-priced, cold/damp country should not affect our benefits. I may live in Southern Portugal, but even we have cold winters and frosts, although typically I don't because I live in a 'pocket' protected by the orange groves. In saying that, each year the tops of the orange trees are burnt by frost. They plant lemon trees around most of the orange groves as a barrier against the frost ... apparently lemon trees are hardier. We have wood fires going for at least 4-6 months a years in the South because we have very wet winters and the houses (we live in an old house with 60cm thick walls as we did in the UK) get very damp.

A great majority of expats left the UK because of health reasons. I myself suffered with SAD for many years. Unlike some expats, should we need medical treatment we do not rush back to the UK. Like all EU countries there is a reciprocal agreement that I am entitled to treatment here should I require it ... as a Portuguese citizen would should they move to the UK. My husband is not a UK pensioner yet and therefore cannot claim so we pay privately, which is amazingly cheap here as opposed to the UK, ie, a full body scan at under 400 Euros. You can usually get a doctor/dentist appointment the same day if you call at 9am and you are given a 30-minute appointment so if you are 'in and out' the doctor can see walk-in patients but normally you always use the 30-minute slot with the dentist!

Consider it fortunate that the EU countries are not like the USA. I have a pension from there having earned enough 'credits' during my work career. My American husband had not and therefore was not entitled to an American pension. However, the system there allows him to 'piggy back' onto my pension so he now gets one, which is not deducted from mine! My sister's husband who never worked in America (except for the German forces which doesn't count) actually gets a small pension backed onto my sister's !!!

I do think that people should research all the ramifications of entitlement before they make irrational statements / observations / comments. There are possibly/probably more people in the UK unlawfully claiming benefits that they are not entitled to as opposed to pensioners living abroad!

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23065510

 

what if one moves to Iceland? Probably one would not qualify because there the heating costs nothing...

 

As the heating allowance is just an add on to the state pension, I must admit I cant see why you should be able to claim it if living abroad.

I must admit I cant think stopping it will save a great deal of money though.
I'd like to see overseas aid cut to the bone before they start picking on individals.

Just heard tonight the Kent (elected) police commissioner has employed another lackey to help her do this invented job, he's going to be getting 90k.
Cuts, what cuts.

 

I just think that expats want the best of both Worlds,don't want to live here any more, don't want to contribute any more but still want to take advantage of any benefits they might have had, had they stayed. Sorry but I feel that if you leave a Country you should then automatically relinquish any rights which you once had when living there, we have to put up with the cold, so we should get the heating allowance, not you!!!!

Val

 

A very wise person once said to me, "if you look after the pennies, the pounds will look after themselves".

One of my personal bug bears is that much of our foreign aid goes to India. I have nothing against India as such, but they have much of our business, can afford their own space program, and can afford to have a huge arsenal of nuclear missiles pointing at their neighbours just beyond a little patch of disputed territory. Sure, there are many thousands of people there who are completely flat broke, starving and dying of all sorts of horrible preventable diseases, but not because their nation can't afford to look after them, but because their nation chooses not to look after them.

 

Sorry Val, we DO still contribute with our taxes ... why do you think we do not? I pay taxes in Portugal, the UK and the US ... probably more than anyone does in the UK totally.

This subject is on two of the Portuguese expat forums I frequent, and here is a quote from one person I know of locally ...

"My husband worked from the age of 15. Myself from 20, with breaks for 3 children. Unfortunately he died at aged 60 after being left seriously mentally and physically disabled 10 years previously I was just 50.

So having paid in for years, he never lived to receive a penny.I was granted a berevment allowance for 12 months, which consisted of a percentage of his last earnings. Worst senario ever as he had not worked because of his illness. So my pittance was a percentage of earnings from 10 years back, and £27 a week carers allowance for 24/7 nursing him. The last couple of years he had to have residential care, which stripped us of the little cash we had.

I then had to go back to work until retireing at 62. So the British system has had all it is getting out of me. If I lived there I would be claiming housing benefit, and pensioner credits.(I claim nothing)

SO, give it any title you like, WFA, WHA, (holiday allowance) My xmas present,whatever, I am more than entitled thank you. "

As I mentioned before, it is not all it appears to be and research needs to be done before criticism is given.

 

I simply feel that if you are no longer putting money in then you should not be allowed to take any money out, if you took out a Retirement pension with an Insurance Company and then stopped paying the premiums you would get nothing, I think the same should apply to expats, no contributions = no money!!

Val

 

If we lose it, we lose it ... we will not complain ...

If life gives you lemons, ,make lemonade ...

 

Val, how do you know I didn't put money in any more? I actually paid £3,000 to top up my UK pension with the Government ... not an Insurance Company ... where did you get that from? Again, think ...