Winter Fuel Payments for pensioners on 52k per year, Is Our welfare system out of touch?

Upskilling, qualifications etc are a route out of low pay but not all will be able to take it.

There will always be those whose work is undervalued.

Even though we have full employment there are still too many on minimum wage.

About 150,000.

There are more in informal employment in family situations.

The trouble is that it's not enough to live on.

As a stepping stone for younger people it may have some use but a living wage is better for adults.

(I'm conscious that apart from how erratic contributions can effect pension eligibility we may be going off topic)

It's in this link 137,500.

That's people self reporting so it's easily another 12,500 in informal situations.

Whether they are spoiled or not is debatable.

Most people who are working now hope to be pensioners one day.

Therefore they have a vested interest in having good pensions.

People who are pensioners now also have a vested interest.

Anyone who has elderly relations wants them to have their best life.

Why would any politician go against odds like that and who would want them to ?

If you start changing the rules now and effectively punishing those that have pension income (beyond the basic old age pension) then you would discourage those currently working from making any provisions for their own old age.

Unemployment rates are currently 3/3.5% I believe. Very few 30 year olds and other age groups are actively dodging work excluding a certain ethic minority.

Take it up with the person who invented the scenario. I was only responding to that.

That's meaningless waffle and always has been, it's neither created a right for stay-at-home mothers to receive a wage/allowance, nor did it prevent women in many jobs from being sacked upon marriage (that only ended in 1973 due to EEC law).

What evidence is there for this statement? Have pensions gone up more than childrens allowance?

Pensions have made their contribution and should get their pensions. People who have children should look after them.

Children who grow up in poverty are more likely to end up in poverty their entire life.

https://www.oecd.org/wise/The-economic-costs-of-childhood-socio-economic-disadvantage-Policy-Insights-November-2022.pdf

Coulda, woulda, shoulda isn't an excuse for the government to look the other way when parents cannot or do not look after their kids properly.

I think the children's allowance is far more out of touch, I have one friend with 4 kids who uses it to buy shares in the company he works for every month. I have no kids because I couldn't afford one.

Easy to implement in a perfect world with married working parents.

Thats a lot less common moreso and would be a night mare to administer.

It's not the child's income it's the parent's.

Only 9% of those entitled want free GP visits, saving ~€50 each time

Dr Tadhg Crowley, was asked his views on why just under 39k people out of a possible 430k have so far availed of a GP visit card after the easing of means testing for those on a median income. “People don’t like to apply for something that says they are poor,” he said.​

Supporting a policy of the UK tory government.…

Not sure why you think this will benefit children -

That's far too sensible an idea to ever get implemented.

Instead we'll ramp up the giveaways to well-off pensioners, because pensioners on 70k+ are 'poor'.

So now we are trying to cancel benefits on pensioners 🙄 who in reality will not be able to work

Why? well the people who are young and fit for work want more money

Only in Ireland today would you see this sort of madness

Surely the pensioners with contribitory state pensions deserve to draw them ,what about the influx of oap from Ukraine and the parents of refugees who arrive here ,clog up our hospitals ,qualify for medical cards and qualify for state pension while never working here for even 1 day in their lives maybe point the finger at them

Pensioners who contributed all their working lives and rely on the state contributory pension receive 277pw, while someone who never worked and never paid into the SW pot will receive 266pw. I know that cohort also covers citizens who cannot work through disability, but it is a very small difference in the amount for those who actually paid for their pension.

Also, workers will likely have paid for their own home, gp, medicines, etc etc. throughout their working life, while a non-worker would have received those items from the state in addition to other supports that are not available to most workers.

People seem to forget that a state contributory pension has been paid into (for many years) by those receiving it.

So I do not begrudge my taxes going to support a citizen who has worked and contributed to the public purse over several decades. Whether that is providing a GP card for over 70's, or help to heat their home if they meet the qualifying tests, older age citizens should be supported. They are the people who stayed here through the recessions and tough times when the country was broke, raised families, worked and paid high taxes.

This discussion is not about those receiving the contributory OAP, but those receiving the contributory OAP plus a substantial occupational / private pension on top.

They're a lot richer than most working people, given advantageous tax treatments, non-means-tested GP cards, no kids to pay for, and no rent or mortgage (in almost all cases).

stop bashing pensioners who saved for their own retirement and paid hundreds of thousands of tax in their lifetime.

Save your complaints for freeloaders

I think you will find the freeloaders are the ones bashing the pensioners