New Law about UK Pensions

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Unicorn
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New Law about UK Pensions

Postby Unicorn » Wed Jan 16, 2019 3:06 pm

This may be of interest to some. It was snuck out yesterday very quietly
https://www.theguardian.com/society/201 ... ion-credit

Lavanda
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Re: New Law about UK Pensions

Postby Lavanda » Wed Jan 16, 2019 4:14 pm

We are both over 65 and never had a penny in benefits, ever. However, all this stuff is linked to the new Universal Credit thing which is administered by Capita who get a bonus from the government for every claim they refuse. Just don't get me started ...

El Cid
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Re: New Law about UK Pensions

Postby El Cid » Wed Jan 16, 2019 4:58 pm

That won’t apply to residents as pension credit is not exportable.

Sid

Pamela1
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Re: New Law about UK Pensions

Postby Pamela1 » Wed Jan 16, 2019 7:06 pm

Lavanda wrote:We are both over 65 and never had a penny in benefits, ever. However, all this stuff is linked to the new Universal Credit thing which is administered by Capita who get a bonus from the government for every claim they refuse. Just don't get me started ...
lavanda, i never knew that...that's disgraceful!! :shock:

Manchesteral
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Re: New Law about UK Pensions

Postby Manchesteral » Wed Jan 16, 2019 7:40 pm

I don't see the problem !

katy
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Re: New Law about UK Pensions

Postby katy » Wed Jan 16, 2019 9:25 pm

El Cid wrote:That won’t apply to residents as pension credit is not exportable.

Sid
Exactly, if you want to have a moan about the UK there are Guardian, daily fail comment etc. Why not study the benefits system where you pay your taxes.

Seeing as it's continuing I have seen the cherry picking in the Guardian and the last two on BBC programmes have been exposed as labour activists. There will always be winners and losers, the benefits system is too complicated. I thought the intention was when reforming it was that no one should be better off than if they worked which with the crazy housing benefit etc, many single parents would have to have jobs earning around £30,000 to equal to their benefits, impossible with the average skills level.

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Re: New Law about UK Pensions

Postby Unicorn » Wed Jan 16, 2019 10:15 pm

Who is having a moan, apart from the obvious, I mean?

Lavanda
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Re: New Law about UK Pensions

Postby Lavanda » Thu Jan 17, 2019 10:21 am

I have, actually, read the post from Katy.

I pay taxes in the UK and I know a great deal about Disability Benefit being replaced by Personal Independence Plan (run by Capita) over two years ago. I could tell you a long and disgraceful story about how my brother was treated by these people while in and out of hospital and in the process of dying. He did die. They breathed an audible sigh of relief. I wiped the floor with them and got the most grovelling apology because they had not given him any money whatsoever for four months. Strangely, they gave all my brother's back-benefits to my parents — as if that compensated in some weird way for what they had done.

No one in the family knew what was happening but I discovered all this while going through his papers after his death.

No this is not to do with Living in Andalucia but there's a good reason why I don't normally read Katy's post.

Delete if you want to Moderators. I don't care.

katy
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Re: New Law about UK Pensions

Postby katy » Thu Jan 17, 2019 1:48 pm

Lavanda wrote:I have, actually, read the post from Katy.
No one in the family knew what was happening but I discovered all this while going through his papers after his death.

No this is not to do with Living in Andalucia but there's a good reason why I don't normally read Katy's post.

Delete if you want to Moderators. I don't care.
Here we go :roll: I didn't start this OFF topic or post childish comments about another poster (I am over 15 now!)

You are all so fortunate living in Andalucia with their pensioners safety net. Can't pay your rent, simple, live with relatives or in the case of expats go back and claim pension credits and HB.

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Re: New Law about UK Pensions

Postby El Cid » Thu Jan 17, 2019 5:40 pm

OK ladies, please can we keep on topic and be nice to each other

Sid

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Re: New Law about UK Pensions

Postby Lavanda » Thu Jan 17, 2019 6:23 pm

Thank you, Sid. I have no idea what Katy wrote and so I assume we will both be nice.

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Re: New Law about UK Pensions

Postby Manchesteral » Fri Jan 18, 2019 7:45 pm

Katy's post is correct and I'm 100% with her !!

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Re: New Law about UK Pensions

Postby katy » Sat Jan 19, 2019 1:25 pm

A short report on BBC about a Judges statement re. a benefit cheat who fraudulently claimed £72,000. The Judge said the system was too complicated and open to abuse, relying too heavily on claimants honesty. Which led to a link in the Express

But of much wider concern is that despite some admirable changes by this Government brought in by former work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith, the welfare system is still too complicated and open to abuse.
Sadly, though, every time people like Mr Duncan Smith try to reform the system to protect the interests of the taxpayer and tackle fraud, there is a hue and cry from Labour and other Left-wingers who try to ensure that the measures needed are watered down or stopped.


Perhaps when the BBC talks to a couple of suffering claimants (who were exposed as labour activists) they should also interview a couple of people who see what is happening in their own streets. Whilst they are turning out to commute at 7am and returning at 7.15pm some down the road are tucked up in bed at their rent/tax free homes. No thousands of pounds per year travel/clothes expenditure. Add up all the extra benefits, free prescriptions, allowances for special diets, cheap gym membership as they are too fat etc they are far better off than working. Every benefit shake up for decades, followed by the same cherry picking hard luck stories has only led to increased benefits.

One of the strangest stories I saw on TV was a couple, both obese. Both were receiving disability allowance but in addition one was also receiving carers allowance for caring for the other. Not logical, they must be picking up a tidy sum. Mental health issues appears to be the new way to tap into everything, met a few in Spain who had retired early through anxiety etc. who had found the cure in the sun.

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gerryh
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Re: New Law about UK Pensions

Postby gerryh » Sat Jan 19, 2019 1:30 pm

I might be missing something but what has all this talk about the UK benefit system got to do with any body living in Andalucia?
Cheers
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katy
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Re: New Law about UK Pensions

Postby katy » Sat Jan 19, 2019 2:04 pm

Absolutely nothing which I said several posts ago but since the posts continued so did I. If you check the rules you can come to your own conclusion :mrgreen:

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Re: New Law about UK Pensions

Postby El Cid » Sat Jan 19, 2019 2:43 pm

Interesting post Katy, but off topic. I will leave it, but any more posts relating to the UK benefits system that do not have particular relevance to Spain will be removed.

Sid

katy
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Re: New Law about UK Pensions

Postby katy » Sun Jan 20, 2019 11:29 am

Thanks Sid. May have some relevance as some expats have been caught out claiming the full monty. Remember the guy from Nerja some years ago? I also knew someone personally, now dead who pretended to live in UK.

I shall be silent now ha ha.

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Re: New Law about UK Pensions

Postby Unicorn » Sun Jan 20, 2019 10:45 pm

I originally posted it as it is my understanding that not everybody on this forum is resident in Spain full-time. It may have been relevant to some 'part-timers'. I have certainly met people claiming UK pension credits over here. I thought it was interesting as it is a policy that has been moved forward.
BBC Moneybox did quite a large piece on it yesterday.
That's all folks.

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Re: New Law about UK Pensions

Postby Lavanda » Mon Jan 21, 2019 7:33 am

Don't worry, Unicorn. Strangely, most people living in Andalucia do it in the real and wider world and not some hermetically sealed bubble. It's all interesting stuff as far as I am concerned.

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Re: New Law about UK Pensions

Postby Beachcomber » Mon Jan 21, 2019 8:02 am

The UK benefits system is a shirker's charter. As several people on the BBC Moneybox programme said, if they are below retirement age why not just get a job?


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