Paphos Life

This may be of interest to ExPat's and Non ExPat's --

It will probably make no change at all but you never know its worth a go --

DWP urged to approve plan to increase State Pension payments to £549 a week
The Department for Works and Pension (DWP) is being urged to increase the State Pension payments to £549 for everyone over 60, including British expats. A petition, that has garnered over 14,900 signatures, is requesting the UK Government to consider the proposal.
Started by Denver Johnson, the petition asks for an increase that would bring the State Pension in line with 48 hours of work per week at the National Living Wage rate of £11.44 per hour.
This will result in a yearly payment of £28,554.24 for 12.9 million people who are currently receiving the State Pension, as well as those over 60.
The raise would also benefit approximately 453,000 retirees whose State Pension has been frozen due to their country of residence not having a reciprocal agreement with the UK Government.
The petition, posted on the petitions-parliament website, states: "We want the Government to make the State Pension available from the age of 60 and increase this to equal 48 hours a week at the National Living Wage.
"Hence from April 2024, a universal State Pension should be £549.12 per week or about £28,554.24 per year as a right to all including expatriates, age 60 and above.
"We think that Government policy seems intent on the State Pension being a benefit, while increasing the age of entitlement. We want reforms so the State Pension is available from age 60, and linked to the National Living Wage --

Link to online petition

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/700113

Would be very nice but alas with the cold wind of socialism & Wokeism blowing through the UK, one doubts if it will see the light of day. Wish it luck, though.

Oh come off it. Nothing to do with socialism or wokeism. It is a ridiculous proposition which hasn't got a cat's chance in a supernova of being implemented. I am only surprised the petition wasn't posted on April Fools Day.

clive of payia wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2025 7:25 pm Would be very nice but alas with the cold wind of socialism & Wokeism blowing through the UK, one doubts if it will see the light of day. Wish it luck, though.

Do you still check under your bed every night ? just in case theres a soviet hiding under there?

Not now I am retired, but it used to be my job to monitor them. We found them in surprising places.

clive of payia wrote: ↑Sat Jan 11, 2025 9:34 am Not now I am retired, but it used to be my job to monitor them. We found them in surprising places.

Have you found any on this forum, may be Dominic might hire you to root the buggers out ?

clive of payia

I have to say that I quite agree with you.

The shower in power are doing their utmost to rob pensioners, not reward them. God help us, what's next I wonder.

Who exactly is going to fund all that? The only way it would work is if you moved the pension age to something like 90.

They have enough to fund thousands of illegal immigrants, send money abroad, pay dole scroungers, and pay themselves huge allowances, perhaps a stoppage of all that might help.

I agree that the figures are untenable, but the basic state pension is an insult, after years of paying into the pension pot. As for moving the retirement age, I expect the state pension will cease to exist at all, if the shower in power aren't removed soon.

Yes but thousands or even hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants is nowhere near the 12.9 million expecting nearly 30K a year. And a proportion of that 12.9 million will also have been dole scroungers in their time.

I'm all for having an objection to the current status quo. But this petition is just nonsense.

Dominic, I quite agree that the petition is pointless, even if the present lot were intending to raise the state pension.

That said, the cuts made to the elderly, and disabled are inhuman, any pension rise next year will be well overtaken by taxes, and the cost of living. I'm fortunate in my financial affairs, but many are not, the state pension, (not benefit, as it's laughingly known) is no longer sufficient to survive on, in the UK at the present time.

They do have pension credit for pensioners on less than, I think £12,700 per year. I believe that being below that figure can entitled you to things like lower council tax and other benefits, however even if you have a very modest occupational pension that would take you over the threshold , and you could well be worse off than someone on pension credit. A sad state of affairs

When you apply for Pension Credit your income is calculated. If you have a partner, your income is calculated together.

Pension Credit tops up:

your weekly income to £218.15 if you’re single
your joint weekly income to £332.95 if you have a partner
If your income is higher, you might still be eligible for Pension Credit if you have a disability, you care for someone, you have savings or you have housing costs.

Copied from the government website. I would love to see an MP live on that.

I think anyone who relies on this is living in cloud cuckoo land.

Given the total financial mess the previous Government has left the UK in, it's not going to happen at all. Not helped by the fact they froze the standard personal tax allowance, which meant any pension increases pushed everyone closer to the tax threshold, except those who were able to circumnavigate it.

But come on, £28k a year - based on the standard living wage is a ridiculous amount. The majority of retirees in UK are living quite comfortably on their government pension and private pensions.

However, those who don't own their own property and are renting, or those who still have a mortgage to pay as well as increased energy bills - are the ones who need the extra assistance and it's why there are big advertising campaigns making sure they know they need to claim the extra allowances they are entitled to.

UK facebook groups are full of people complaining about how hard done to they are - that the WFA (maximum of £300 per couple - per annum) was taken away from them, for this year. Equivalent to about 3 loaves of bread per week.

People I know personally with additional private pensions who have 3 times the amount I am currently receiving after recently becoming in receipt of my UK New State Pension (reduced due to not enough contributions during the time I lived and worked in Cyprus, 11 full years and part of the 12th), happily handed over their WFA to their grandkids as a gift every year, voluntarily hand over cash amounts to their own kids for home improvements - and are now crying poverty over their 'stolen WFA'.

They're also the ones who retired from living all of their working lives in mill towns but ended up in bungalow land by the sea, with their private pensions and early retirement in their early 50s. Suddenly the all went from labour voters to 'middle class' conservatives. But now following the sheep into reform land.

Those pensioners who still need it are the ones being encouraged to make sure they have all of the extra benefits available to them. CAB are helping, there are adverts on TV and Radio and in my area there have been Help Groups set up for anyone who does not have the technical skills or the equipment to apply themselves.

There are definitely people on the breadline and below it - these are the people who should be shouting about it. The majority of them don't, they are the ones who are cutting their cloth accordingly.

It's all typical UK - jumping on the bandwagon. Very reminiscent of the June 2016 referendum where suddenly the EU was Devil itself - look where that got us.

Another way that our disposable income will be well reduced, will be by the knock on effect of the increase in employers National Insurance contributions, that's if their businesses can survive.

My grandson's partner, has her own business, she doesn't know if she will be able to stay in business this year. As it's a children's nursery, obviously big price hikes, are not possible.

The pensioner have been hit hard by Labour, and there is more to come, I have no doubt, but those put their heads in the sand, will no doubt deny it. I don't know why Labour supporters can never see any faults in their own party.

It probably won't take much more of Labours harmful policies for a sufficient number of MP's from all parties to formally notion or petition the King to withdraw his support for Starmer. If the King and his Privy council agree, Starmer is summoned informed the sovereigns support is withdrawn which SHOULD mean Starmer calls an election, but would he?
It's not as if Starmer is flavour of the month in the political ratings.

While you are at it why not petition for there to be a Hair Loss Fairy, so all of us slapheads can get 1000 quid for each follicle that has gone for a burton. That is an equally sensible notion.

And I am no fan of Starmer, but it is standard practice for newly elected parties to do all the unpopular stuff at the start of their tenure so that the benefits of the tough decisions will have materialised before the next election. All this squeeling for new elections is undemocratic and, dare I say it, rather childish. They won. Get over it. I didn't like Brexit, but I had to deal with that. But there are still people faffing on about it on Social Media as if a new Labour Government were automatically going to result into a re-entry of Europe.

The World has gone mad.

And while we are all having a moan, why do kids need to go to expensive nurserys, send them up chimneys I say,
didn't do them any harm back in the day.

If Starmer had stated the truth about his policies, if elected, he wouldn't have been.

He misled the country, and is still doing it, he's a liar and hypocrite, and as such, is unfit to lead our country.

I have often been pulled up on CL and PL, for having opinions on Cyprus, as I don't live there anymore. Food for thought.

When was the last time you were pulled up on PL for having opinions on Cyprus?