Has anyone else not yet received their Winter Fuel Allowance?

[nectarine]

It's strangely late this year ... I got it in late November last year but nothing so far so, before I ring the Pension Service, I just wanted to check if anyone else is still waiting.

last year I was told it was being done 'alphabetically'. As my surname is near the beginning of the alphabet I'm wondering if they've forgotten how to spell ...

[Gardengirl]

Ours was paid in over two weeks ago, although into a UK bank account, so may be different; we are towards the end of the alphabet!

[Judith]

OH got his letter saying it was coming about a week ago.  It said that they would all be paid by Christmas.  I am of the opinion (and his has  been been late before) that they send the overseas ones after the have dealt with the UK ones, in the mistaken belief that it doesn't get cold here.   -1 at least for the last week with a windchill factor much lower....... 

[Hereford]

We have ours paid to a French bank account and received it in November.  Not sure about alphabetically but in any case our surname begins with a P.

[NormanH]

I would imagine that the payment of this to Brits abroad may be one of the economies made by a future Conservative Government.

[chessie]

Aw cheers mate !!!

Nice comments before Christmas - why try to 'stir' up political comments in this simple question.    And anyway - which Government is it that's trying to weasel out of its DLA payments ?

And why do you think it's going to be a 'Conservative' government ?  It will a hung parliament - with UKIP and BNP and Independents holding the balance.

British public sick of the whole damn lot of them.

Anyway - Happy Christmas Scrooge  XXX

Chessie

[NickP]

[quote user="NormanH"]I would imagine that the payment of this to Brits abroad may be one of the economies made by a future Conservative Government.

[/quote]

Hello sounds like someone  doesn't get it then?

[NormanH]

Nobody who has emigrated should.

Leave the country, start a new life.

Nobody is more despicable than those who profit from a better system that they haven't paid for, but expect the old country to pick up the bill.

[minnie]

Hang on a moment here, Norman. We've paid into the system in the old country all our working lives so why shouldn't we get the fuel allowance and the E121 health benefits. The French pensions are more generous than the UK state pension so it goes some way to catching up. You really are so bitter... By the way OH got his fuel allowance at the end of November.

[NormanH]

Because you chose to leave 'the old country'

Leave it and stop taking.

What have you paid into the system in France that you expect to have cover for?

Would that work in the USA?

[NickP]

[quote user="NormanH"]Because you chose to leave 'the old country'

Leave it and stop taking.

What have you paid into the system in France that you expect to have cover for?

Would that work in the USA?

[/quote]

Definitely doesn't get it .

[PaulT]

[quote user="NormanH"]Because you chose to leave 'the old country'

Leave it and stop taking.

What have you paid into the system in France that you expect to have cover for?

Would that work in the USA?

[/quote]

Does that mean that people should not take their pension because they have left the UK????

[Frederick]

"Winter fuel allowance " Winter = Cold

Costal del Sol winter 19 degrees A place where people go to avoid winter .

Costa del Sol / Southern France Ex pats Winter fuel allowance = Xmas booze taken care of for " party time " . Now somebody tell me I am wrong !

[powerdesal]

[quote user="Frederick"]"Winter fuel allowance " Winter = Cold Costal del Sol winter 19 degrees A place where people go to avoid winter . Costa del Sol / Southern France Ex pats Winter fuel allowance = Xmas booze taken care of for " party time " . Now somebody tell me I am wrong ![/quote]

 

So logically, the "cold" payment should be given by address, that should give more employment opportunities for Govt employees, probably need a whole new dept to be set up.

[Gardengirl]

Frederick, we're resident in UK, still pay taxes etc in UK and receive winter fuel allowance for UK. However, we legally spend half our year in the south of France. I can't comment on the Costa del Sol, but I can assure you that the south of France can be very cold in winter! We spent a few weeks there in November/December last year, also a couple of weeks over the New Year and the whole of February. It was bitterly cold, although very sunny and with blue skies, which is why we spend time there in the winter.

BTW, the forecast for our place in France today is for a high of 3 degrees; for our place in UK also 3 degrees, but feeling a degree colder due to wind chill. Both are from Accuweather just a minute ago.

I can't see any problem with people receiving their pensions, winter fuel allowance or any other benefits to which they are lawfully allowed, whether they live in France or Timbuktu. Anyone receiving benefits to which they aren't allowed is another matter entirely, IMO, wherever they live.

[Benjamin]

[quote user="Frederick"]"Winter fuel allowance " Winter = Cold

Costal del Sol winter 19 degrees A place where people go to avoid winter .

Costa del Sol / Southern France Ex pats Winter fuel allowance = Xmas booze taken care of for " party time " . Now somebody tell me I am wrong ![/quote]

How much time do you actually spend here in the Winter Frederick? There apparently (according to French friends) used to be a saying hereabouts which went something like "Christmas on the terrace, Easter in front of the fire".

We've been here five years and not once have we been able to sit out at Christmas. This last week has been chuffing cold with temperatures down to minus 7.

[5-element]

[quote user="Frederick"]"Winter fuel allowance " Winter = Cold

Costal del Sol winter 19 degrees A place where people go to avoid winter .

Costa del Sol / Southern France Ex pats Winter fuel allowance = Xmas booze taken care of for " party time " . Now somebody tell me I am wrong ![/quote]

Ha ha ha Frederick, what great sense of humour you have. I would like to go back to the UK for the winter (as some do!) because it gets so cold here in the winter (45k from the Med...). Temperatures did not rise above minus 3 yesterday. Nights often minus 8.

However, the myth of warm southern French winters continues: I am thinking of those Brits who were sold a house by an unscrupulous estate agent, who assured them that they did not need any heating. In the end they managed to re-sell their totally un-heatable large house.

Just for the record, some of us (brrrr....) do NOT get a winter fuel allowance, but fortunately, do not touch booze either, so it evens out.

Now, what do you make of that???[:D]

[Frederick]

Well that warmed a few up on this freezing morning did it not !

Ben I recall it got to minus 10 last year in the Vendee .... bit too nippy for me ... Have a good Xmas ..

[NickP]

OK then, when we have stopped people who are entitled to fuel allowance getting it, we can then stop pensions to those entitled to them, next we could stop immigrants to the UK sending money they earn by working in the UK back to their families in their home country.Then we could stop British holiday makers spending their money abroad. Don,t let's be silly? if you have earned it and are entitled, you are entitled to get it wherever you live. Where you live is your choice.

[Belle]

[quote user="NormanH"]Nobody who has emigrated should.

Leave the country, start a new life.

Nobody is more despicable than those who profit from a better system that they haven't paid for, but expect the old country to pick up the bill.

[/quote]

Not sure what better system I am profitting from that I'm also not paying for, we pay taxes in france, social charges, and our extra euro when we visit the Doctor(like the french, towards the health system) I can't see that the french government are GIVING us anything, as has already been said, we have paid into the UK system all our working lives, so once again, we are being given nothing, that isn't due to us. If you want to rant on about Something Norman, maybe you might agree with me, that child benefit should be means tested, do all those people with children and earning in excess of £100000 a year, really need child benefit.

[NormanH]

Then presumably you aren't retired.

If you were your health cover would be paid for by the UK that you decided to leave, and you wouldn't be paying social charges.

That's what I meant by 'expect the old country to pick up the bill.'

If you have settled in France, what possible interest have you in the UK system of Child Benefit?

[Belle]

Sorry to rock your thoughts still on to recieve or not to recieve, but we are both retired, I am 63, hubby is 64, we have been living in france for nearly four years, and have been paying social charges since 2006, I'm still not sure what you mean by the old country picking up the bill, we have been 'paying into this bill' since we started work at 16, nobody, England or France is GIVING us anything, also the reason that I mentioned the child benefit, was simply, that the money being paid to the high earners, could be better spent elsewhere, like the pensioners who only draw a very basic pension.

[allanb]

[quote user="NickP"]If you have earned it and are entitled, you are entitled to get it wherever you live.[/quote]Legally, yes, and I don't have any problem with people claiming benefits they are entitled to.  But there is still such a thing as a badly-designed benefit, and a heating subsidy that provides the same amount in Valencia as it does in Inverness is badly designed.

In case you think this is just sour grapes (no, I don't get the WFA) I'll give you another example; free public transport for people over a certain age.  My father, living in the UK, was entitled to free rail travel.  He lived thirty miles from the nearest working railway station, and (towards the end of his life) couldn't drive, so the "benefit" was effectively useless.  A few quid for taxi fares would have helped.  

 

[NickP]

[quote user="allanb"][quote user="NickP"]If you have earned it and are entitled, you are entitled to get it wherever you live.[/quote]Legally, yes, and I don't have any problem with people claiming benefits they are entitled to.  But there is still such a thing as a badly-designed benefit, and a heating subsidy that provides the same amount in Valencia as it does in Inverness is badly designed.

In case you think this is just sour grapes (no, I don't get the WFA) I'll give you another example; free public transport for people over a certain age.  My father, living in the UK, was entitled to free rail travel.  He lived thirty miles from the nearest working railway station, and (towards the end of his life) couldn't drive, so the "benefit" was effectively useless.  A few quid for taxi fares would have helped.  

 [/quote]

I don't think it is sour grapes at all, what I would ask is, why didn't he use his bus pass? By the way, I don't get free rail travel

[allanb]

[quote user="NickP"]I don't think it is sour grapes at all, what I would ask is, why didn't he use his bus pass?[/quote]I should have mentioned: the local buses had been withdrawn years before.