Anger as 65,000 ex-pats claim winter fuel payments

16.02.10

Nearly 65,000 Britons living in European countries including Spain, Portugal and Greece are receiving state-funded winter fuel payments designed to help them cope with cold weather, it emerged today ...........

HERE

Here we go again ....... no one takes into consideration the taxes we have paid, and in many cases still are paying in the UK.

Probably more to the point....everyone in the UK thinks these places are hot year round and therefore the monies are being spent on "lifestyle" as opposed to heating. Just sour grapes.

I am expecting another delivery of firewood today.

That will be the third this winter - that's a mere €420 in total and don't even talk about the electricity bill!

One point mentioned on the TV news was that to stop these payments would be DISCRIMINATION.

It will come in handy to dry out all the leaks as well

So it's ok to pay out child allowance to immigrants (who haven't paid a penny into the system) for children who still live in their native country but not ok to pay out a heating allowance to pensioners who have contributed to the system all their working lives and have settled in another country for whatever reason. isn't this an infringement of their human rights (they appear to be pretty big on human rights when it suits)

Yes, it certainly would be.

The UK Government were told by the EU Commission in 2002 that it was discriminatory to discontinue WFA payments to pensioners who had moved abroad.

The compromise that was agreed was that if you had already been receiving it while resident in the UK, you could "export" the benefit. It you moved before receiving it you did not get it.

To reverse that decision would be almost impossible as nothing has changed to justify that.

Mathew Elliot of the Taxpayers alliance (whoever they are) has a bee in his bonnet about it and keeps bringing it up in the media.

It only costs about £14 million a year which is about the same as it costs to stop MPs fiddling their expenses!

I can't see HMG getting into another prolonged battle with Brussels over something that insignificant.

Wouldnt it be easier and less confrontational if they stopped calling it "Winter Fuel Allowance" and simply stuck roughly the same amount on to pensions??

Jo xxx

or how flippin cold it is

This is another example of how well the British government looks after its own people in comparason to other countries.


So it cannot be such a bad place after all.........

I dont know any Spanish folk that have gone to live in another country and are claiming a fuel allowance from the Spainish government, even though they have paid into the system as well.

I think if a Spaniar asked about such a thing at the social security office, they would be carted of to the manicomio. (loony bin)

Of all the payments that should and could be stopped IMO this is one that certainly shouldn´t be stopped. Many people paid into the system all their lives and never took a penny from it. My last year as an employee in the UK saw me pay just short of 15 000GBP in tax and I´ve never taken anything from it, wonder if there´ll be anything left when I retire?

I am not against the winter fuel payments, but it would be interesting to know if any other country in the world offers such a payment to its expate.

Would the USA pay a fuel allowance for someone who lived in Florida and moved to the far north of Canada????

Another case of sensationalism by the tabloids who never stop to study the real facts.
Many areas of Spain can often be colder than the UK and get more snow also.
Many of the Spanish houses have nothing like the degree of insulation as in most UK houses.
Most people spending their time in Spain, have paid or are still paying their fair dues to the UK system.
Would be nice to see them publish the full truth,...but somehow I doubt it.

These houses are freezing in winter, my husband is nearly 82 and I am 67 (I think) we need the winter fuel allowance to help out.

There is no insulation at all.