Can Some Knowledgeable Person Explain This Please?

[10ClarionSt]

Senior citizen 'A', receiving state pension plus pension credit, is entitled to WFA, plus access to help with housing costs and council tax.

Senior citizen 'B', receiving state pension plus a private pension (which is equivalent to pension credit) is not entitled to any state help.

Both are receiving the same income, but because one had the foresight to have a company pension, that person is now excluded from any state benefits. 

Have I missed something? I'm sure the knowledgeable users of AB will point it out if I have. TIA.

[barry1010]

Even worse, Person B's income is £2.50 a week above the limit so receives no pension credit and all the add one.  On average £3k a year worse off than Person A.

Makes me very angry. I know several people in that situation.

Another kick in the teeth is Person C lives in Spain in receipt of UK state pension plus huge private and occupational pensions. Owns a big villa and three properties he rents out, one in the UK and two in Spain. He gets the WFA. I know him, too.

[douglas9401]

I don't think anybody, ever, has thought that the UK benefits system is well thought out, fair or fit for purpose.

If it was I wouldn't be seeing 'disabled' punters strolling from pub to bookies every day of the week while I work for a living.

[newmodarmy]

It's not a good system but doubt anyone will be able to unpick it- there will always be losers and howls of protests... although Labour will never get a better chance and have more chance of pushing through than the 'heartless Tories'.

Yes anyone who had saved a pension pot of around £30000  has wasted their time if any income will prevent them getting PC

[10ClarionSt]

Thanks for the replies. I see what you mean Douglas, but that is another issue and one that never seems to be resolved. 

The government says it wants help those in most need, but it is excluding many people and creating need, with the withdrawal of WFA.

[newmodarmy]

They were clear about their priority being 'working people' so pensioners are not a priority and are an easy target- they won't strike for example and Labour don't need their votes. 

[douglas9401]

One should bear in mind that the main job of the government is the stately progression of members and their coteries of hangers-on.

Anything else is a poor second and incidental.

[bhg481]

The problem is that benfits are introduced to fix a problem and then people start to abuse them. A century ago men were knackered at 70, couldn't work, hadn't ever earned enough to save so ended up destitute. Pension baled them out with a pittance to keep them going. Now most people but not all earn enough to save for retirement; some do, some don't. You can easily identify the ones who have enough money to not need help but how do you differentiate between those who don't into "didn't save" and "couldn't save" classes to decide who needs help?

[DDIL]

What jobs did Citizen A have and what job did Citizen B have?

Workplace pensions for all is a fairly recent invention