OAP freebies face the axe as new pensioners targeted..rich or poor
Free to go ... bus pass, TV licence, winter fuel & eye tests
Exclusive
By TOM NEWTON DUNN, Political Editor
Published: 10 hrs ago
104
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MINISTERS are drawing up controversial plans to axe freebie perks for ALL new pensioners, rich or poor.
Winter fuel allowance, free bus passes, TV licences and eye tests would all be scrapped to eventually save billions.
Under the idea being worked on in the Treasury, poorer people who retire would be compensated for the loss by a boost to their pension credits.
Crucially, the move would allow PM David Cameron to say he has fulfilled his rash election pledge to ring-fence benefits for current pensioners until 2015 — as it would only apply to people who have not yet stopped working.
It would also be a victory for The Sun’s “Ditch Handouts to The Rich” campaign, which highlights the scandal of £2billion in taxpayers’ cash going to wealthy OAPs who do not need it.
One minister told The Sun: “We cannot carry on handing over a fortune to elderly millionaires while working people cut back.”
A growing number of Cabinet ministers are speaking out, and Deputy PM Nick Clegg yesterday savaged handouts to the rich as indefensible. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has calculated restricting new claimants would save £115million in the first year alone.
If No 10 backs the plan, it could be unveiled in a spending review in June, or even in Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget in March.
More than 100,000 households with income over £100,000 a year currently get the winter fuel allowance of £200, or £300 for over-80s.
Exclusive
By TOM NEWTON DUNN, Political Editor
Published: 10 hrs ago
104
MINISTERS are drawing up controversial plans to axe freebie perks for ALL new pensioners, rich or poor.
Winter fuel allowance, free bus passes, TV licences and eye tests would all be scrapped to eventually save billions.
Under the idea being worked on in the Treasury, poorer people who retire would be compensated for the loss by a boost to their pension credits.
Crucially, the move would allow PM David Cameron to say he has fulfilled his rash election pledge to ring-fence benefits for current pensioners until 2015 — as it would only apply to people who have not yet stopped working.
It would also be a victory for The Sun’s “Ditch Handouts to The Rich” campaign, which highlights the scandal of £2billion in taxpayers’ cash going to wealthy OAPs who do not need it.
One minister told The Sun: “We cannot carry on handing over a fortune to elderly millionaires while working people cut back.”
A growing number of Cabinet ministers are speaking out, and Deputy PM Nick Clegg yesterday savaged handouts to the rich as indefensible. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has calculated restricting new claimants would save £115million in the first year alone.
If No 10 backs the plan, it could be unveiled in a spending review in June, or even in Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget in March.
More than 100,000 households with income over £100,000 a year currently get the winter fuel allowance of £200, or £300 for over-80s.
