Chris'nJulie

Very nearly - cathedral-like interior, nearly two hundred years old. Can be chilly, but the advantages far outweigh a bit of occasional winter discomfort, and even that is ameliorated by sitting close to the stove! Not for much longer, though - probably.

dmu

OH says there's no national equivalent of WFA in France.
The Conseil Général of each Département grants CMU (free healthcare) status to very-low-income applicants, who would therefore be "listed" and possibly allocated other benefits. Each Département has its Fonds d'Aide Sociale which must be shared between the needy and there are 4 Commissions per year to study all the applications (renewed annually) and decide who should benefit and how much.
Some Départements might be more generous than others, depending on their unemployment rate and how rich their inhabitants are...., but what they allocate is certainly not a national right.
P.S. I'm not sure what all the fuss is about, just for £200 p.a.

cyrian

Only 40% of personal taxation is Income Tax.
The rest is NIC and indirect taxation (VAT) which provides the other 60%,
As a UK OAP you are not required to pay NIC on your income unlike France.
You are complaining about the equivalent of £4 per week.

dfjordan

If its such a miserly amount, I cant see why you make a fuss over it? If we follow your logic, then expats should also be entitled to all other benefits that pensioners can get in the UK. Polish immigrants tend to work better than the average Brit; that's why they have a job.I suggest you stop nit picking and enjoy what's left if your lives.

miss limousin

Yes but when you get it, all at once, it is a godsend for December electric bills/wood purchase - and we have paid in over a full lifetime of work, and it is part of the pitiful pension that we get. It is the principle and the misguided notion that we all live in constant hot sunshine. I for one am spending new year's day in bed to try to keep warm. £200 may not be much to you, but it meant all the world to me. And it is galling when you read about bankers' bonuses of £370million. Who needs that kind of money?

cyrian

I sympathise with your situation but the current benefits system is not appropriate for present-day society.
The bankers you refer to will also receive the WFP if they are the correct age.
A friend of mine who has a State Pension plus 3 private pensions is using his WFP for golf lessons.
Another friend who has a highly-paid job in the insurance industry uses her free bus pass to get to work.
The problem is that wealthy pensioners receive universal benefits that could be better used for those who have real need.
If they re-distributed the money from better-off pensioners to the less well-off then it would make a significant difference to the latter group.
I will also spend New Years day in bed but for a totally different reason.

capricorn2013

Plenty of water and a bacon sandwich should sort you out!

Happy new year!

surreygirl

Just thought I would ask people if they would sign this petition against the British Government stopping the winter fuel payments to ex pats!

Petition | rivoice.net ... tries.html

If you sign you will get an email from rivoice which may go in your junk file so please check that!

surreygirl

Expats to lose Winter Fuel allowance in Spain and other European Countries | rivoice.net

I think this one is better!

snikpoh

Why?

What about all the other allowances that we lose by moving abroad (child allowance for one)!

It's not just the pensioners why lose out!

bigglesworth

Slightly off topic but I went to local supplier to order another 100 litres of oil. I was quoted a lump price, and thought it a bit high, so asked two different neighbours what they had paid. Mine worked out at 76 cent, theirs at 69.
I returned to the supplier, who informed me that this was due to the high taxes in France. I pointed out that VAT actually reduces as the base sum declines and that taxes are also high in the UK.
They then said the market was moving higher anyway. I pointed out that it has dropped nearly ten percent since their initial quote. They flatly refused to accept that this was the case and then said not only was the fuel market heading higher, but they often had this problem as English people simply do not understand how markets work. I told them I was a commodities merchant for thirty years and that certainly was not true of me. By this time the whole office was in on the act.
The next step was to cancel the delivery as I could get it 7 cents cheaper elsewhere. The response was that these people were only trying to get my business (which clearly for some reason was a BAD THING).
By this time I was the only customer left. The boss then came over and said that they would supply at 69 cents "expectionellement".
Now I am off to talk to the woodman - I need another 10 steres. He put his price up to 55 a stere two years ago as the oil price was so high. I wonder if he will have reduced?

surreygirl

What about all the other allowances!!

This petition is about the winter fuel payments. If you feel hard done by start a petition yourself.

cyrian

bobd22

I have signed it but doubt it will matter they have picked on an easy target as most in UK resent expats through jealousy although of course same people will take advantage of cheap holiday visiting you lol. The government instead of penalising those that have paid full contributions in there working life should sort out the sillyness of paying family allowance etc to EU immigrants whose children and often partner have never set foot in the UK.

surreygirl

I agree with you that that is appalling, however if we dont try we will not gain anything, so thank you for signing. Can you share if possible on your facebook as the more the merrier. We need 10,000.00