Always balanced out by those who tell us they spend less on energy bills and heating their homes since they moved back to the UK - which begs the question why people in the UK need the help of WFA, does it not?

Why would the UK Government do a comparison with Spains costs to see if pensioners in the UK needed a top up

In the past we've had all the "it's so warm in winter, I'm in a tee shirt" type posts, now all of sudden they are deserving of WFA. Surprised they haven't asked for a SFA, a summer version to cover the A/C. Anyway, electricity aside, everything else is cheap as chips, so much cheaper than UK, that's not been my personal experience (I don't do €3 MDD's) just something I have learnt from reading this forum.

Yes, that is what I was trying to point out. Over the years I have seen posts that their electric is about €30pm or so. They hardly ever have their heating on. They can live easily on a basic UK pension (some can even save out of it). Food prices haven't risen for years...yadda yadda. When WFA comes up it's volte face

Actually the argument I have been making, if you bothered to read anything but your cronies' posts, is that WFA is not paid on the basis of need, therefore whether people in Spain or the UK pay a little or a lot for energy is completely irrelevant. It is just paid to everybody who is entitled to a UK state pension, full stop. They could be a multi-millionaire or a pauper, both get the same £200.

You have forgotten to put the

What skewed logic, not all expat pensioners would be needing all you say, housing benefit etc.
You also forgot to mention that the British government also pays over 3 thousand for health care for each pensioner in Spain.
Added to that the pension money that leaves the economy, plus he fact that when health really begins to fail a lot of pensioners come back to the UK to live, as the language barrier is often too much.

So carrying you point a bit further, if the UK could "persuade" another 250 thousand pensioners to move abroad, the crisis would be a lot less.


I don´t get it myself, but your numbers seem to add up.

The ones Jennie was advising to move back to the UK and apply for Pension Credit would!

How much do you think the health care for a pensioner in Spain actually costs per year? I know plenty of people who have had or are having treatment for cancer, hip replacements, heart attacks, cataracts, etc. On average, I tend to think the UK Government is getting good value for the standard amount it pays per pensioner.

Pension money leaving the economy? Where is the money spent on fuel bills, for example, actually going - to foreign owned energy companies, in the main. May as well give people £200 a year to give to Spanish energy companies as French or German owned ones, no?

Germany, in fact, has already started to face up to the fact that it might be cheaper to "export" older people needing care, in spite of the fact that the money paid out in pensions and care allowances would be going out of the country:-

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-0...-converge.html


http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...ing-care-world

The demographics being what they are, sooner or later the UK is going to have to start thinking about more radical solutions, too.

I'm getting a bit tired to read all the time that the WFA is given automatically to all who receive a state pension. I retired in 2011 (after 20 years working in Madrid) and while the greater part of my pension is Spanish (Thank the lord they are very generous!) I also started receiving the UK State Pension automatically and I can assure everyone that if you are an expat when you start receiving your pension you need to apply for WFA.

I haven't even bothered to apply for it as apart from pensions I'm not a great believer in screwing the system for all I can get out of it.

It seem obvious to me that the idea that it should be restricted to those who need it in the UK would be the best solution.

We have for donkeys years seen/read/known about a generation who have spent their working lives .............not working by playing the system.
Same goes for pikeys who only know the word taking, have never paid into the system, have no intention of ever doing so either & cost the tax/rate payer a good piece cleaning up the mess they make.

The tax payer has been burdened paying untold Billions to cover the criminal acts of the banks.

So in the scale of things the WFA is nothing !, yes nothing and pathetic in the extreme trying to stop this payment to pensioners.

You do not agree (as many on here seem to be) then if in recipt of this payment simply ask DWP to stop paying it into your account.

perhaps the 20 years in Madrid are part of the problem

but it is paid as part of an EU edict so cannot be restricted to the UK, therefore whether people want it or not, it is there.

the rules for Winter Fuel PAYMENT are laid down at
https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/overview
and subsequent pages

Eligibility is generally based on (currently) 5th Jan 1952 and will normally be paid along with your Old Age Pension.
If you do not receive such payment then you should make a claim as shown at
You need to claim Winter Fuel Payment if you’ve not had it before and either of the following apply:

it is my understanding that you would get the payment automatically if you are receiving a State Old Age Pension.

for those who don't want it
https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/eligibility
states quite clearly
so stop all the bickering, not even the great and good of BE Spain can change things - either you get it or you don't. Its up to the individual to sort out after that.

hth

Thoroughly agree with you, most of us are not rich, state pension does not go very far these days in spain or any where else for the matter. When winter comes it is only possible to heat 1 room with the high fuel costs, no central heating luxury here and petrol now is the same as the UK.

Yes the winters in Spain can be miserable and as anywhere if not well off even more so. This is compounded by the tumble that sterling took versus the Euro for those who's income comes from the UK.
I am with Domino on this matter if legally you can claim WFA then if I were at an age to claim it I would , if they change the rules preventing me from doing that then so be it, the amount although obviously useful is not a deal breaker for me.

Are you not confusing WFA with the cold weather payment? Which was introduced in 1986 and has very different rules http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/s...ther-payments/
Labour brought in the WFA without any mention of temprature level to simply assist pensioners with increased cost of heating a home in the winter months without any real criteria.

WFA is a development of the original cold weather payment which was mean,t as a " one off ".
As previously posted having WFA as an annual but variable charge is far less costly than increasing pensions which are index linked.

We claimed for the WFP for the first time last year. Previously, as moving to Spain before state pension age, we were not eligible before. This year, do we have to make another claim.In the UK, once claimed it is automatically paid each year, but I don't know if it's the case in Spain.
I did look at the website , but it doesn't say whether you have to reclaim in Spain
Might as well have it while it lasts!