Heating Allowance in Europe

The deep divisions in society are as much the fault of the media as any obnoxious individual spreading fake news on social media

Perhaps if children were taught to think critically they would be more cynical & less influenced by & accepting of what they read, hear & see in both mainstream media and on the internet.
Placing all the blame for division & disruption in society today on the media & obnoxious people is denying that individuals have any personal responsibility for their opinions & actions.

Wyllow3

Whats wrong is half baked information from a major newspaper just to inflame: I'm sure the writers of the article have access to full information.

If you think about it - in a broader context - the media should perhaps come under the same scrutiny that is currently being applied to social media platforms which foster 'misinformation' designed to provoke public anger and resentment.

A quick search on a government website will, as others have pointed out, show that eligibility rules applied to the WFA will change next month. Until we know what these new rules are, it is pure speculation, not fact, to insist that the WFA will STILL be paid to pensioners living in Europe , regardless ! as the original poster is claiming?

Of course, the media isn't suggesting that there should be protests, demonstrations, assaults, riots - they are far too canny and 'law-abiding' for that. But aren't they deliberately inciting public anger and resentment at a time when the nation is in a politically unstable, divisive and restless state?

The deep divisions in society are as much the fault of the media as any obnoxious individual spreading fake news on social media.

Utterly contemptible.

The Telegraph is really going down the pan in terms of accuracy. It used to be a reliable, if predictably right wing source of news and information, but now seems to have become yet another source of inaccurate and inflammatory headlines

I live in France (moved just before Brexit) and we do not get the WFA as France is deemed “too warm” (when the overseas departments are taken into consideration.
We do not get any benefits from the UK apart from our state pension, which we have paid NI for once we were in our teens.

Don’t believe everything you read in the papers!

As I have just posted on another thread the WFA was taken away from those of us who live in France about ten years ago, to the delight of some on here. Pensioners in Spain are not eligible either. To make the average temperature in France too hot to qualify they added in all the overseas territories in the Pacific and the Caribbean. You might be cynical and think that got rid of the countries with a significant number of UK pensioners.

The article in The Telegraph re the fact that this will STILL be paid to pensioners living in Europe , regardless !

... is clearly wrong then.

As Wyllow says
Updated guidance will be published in September 2024

Until then it's surely conjecture?

Whats wrong is half baked information from a major newspaper just to inflame: I'm sure the writers of the article have access to full information.

GrannyGravy13

#Labourlies

The Telegraph article’s behind a paywall.

MSN news is also saying that the cuts will not affect 36,000 retirees who were living in 23 countries across Europe, including Germany, Ireland, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands (but not France or Spain) before 2021, and who will be able to carry on claiming the allowance up until April next year.

According to the article, they are still eligible for the allowance this year because their access to social security payments was written into the Brexit withdrawal agreement, and the entitlement is due for review in April 2025.

So it seems that the situation is completely out of Starmer’s control, and not of his choosing.

Wyllow3

I'm not sure if that's the case. The government website says clearly,

Eligibility rules if you live abroad are changing for winter 2024.

Updated guidance will be published in September 2024

and we haven't had them yet.

www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/if-you-live-abroad

I’ve just posted on the other thread which brings this up,

“If you live abroad

Eligibility rules if you live abroad are changing for winter 2024. Updated guidance will be published in September 2024.

The rules thus far are as below:-

If you do not live in the UK, you’re only eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment if:

you moved to an eligible country before 1 January 2021

you were born before 23 September 1958

you have a genuine and sufficient link to the UK - this can include having lived or worked in the UK, and having family in the UK

Eligible countries
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
Germany
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Sweden
Switzerland”

I'm not sure if that's the case. The government website says clearly,

Eligibility rules if you live abroad are changing for winter 2024.

Updated guidance will be published in September 2024

and we haven't had them yet.

www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/if-you-live-abroad

#Labourlies

That is so wrong.

I saw that too! The mind boggles.
I think that it will stop after April 25 though.