This piece first appeared in Saga Magazine in January 1999
The text here may not be identical to the published text

When more is less


Government plans for social security


Major changes in social security are planned by the Government and they will affect thousands of people over 50. Some will get more money - in some cases from April 1999. But others - including many people who are disabled or widowed in future - will get less.

WIDOWS
State benefits paid to men and women whose spouse dies after April 2001 will be very different from those that exist now. Under plans announced by the Government in mid-November there will be less help for people without dependent children but more help at the time of death and more help for the poorest widows. For the first time, men will have the same rights to benefit as women. Overall, the new rules will save money - £500 million a year eventually - but in the short term it will cost the Government more - an extra £100 million in 2001/02.

The main improvements are


But the changes are not all good.


DISABILITY BENEFITS
Major changes are also planned in the benefits paid to disabled people. In particular the Government hopes to reduce the number of people claiming incapacity benefit by 170,000 - about one in ten of the current number. It will do that by

However, it is not all bad news.

MINIMUM GUARANTEED INCOME
The Government has decided to make an big increase in the level of income support paid to pensioners from April 1999. The increase is three times what is needed to keep the benefit in line with inflation. It will set the minimum income for people aged 60 or more at £75 a week for a single person and £116.60 for a couple. Higher rates will apply at the age of 75 and 80.

But as we predicted in Saga Magazine in September, these plans fall far short of the guaranteed minimum income which the Government promised in July. Since we revealed that hundreds of thousands of pensioners would be excluded from the guarantee, the Government has come up with new figures which show the problem is even worse than we feared. Altogether more than a million people aged 60 or more will have an income BELOW the minimum level but will NOT get it increased to the 'guaranteed' amount.

Social security Minister John Denham has admitted that 600,000 pensioners will be excluded because of their savings. Anyone - or any couple - whose savings exceed £8000 cannot get income support. And in September Mr Denham told liberal democrat MP Steve Webb that 600,000 pensioners would be excluded from the guaranteed income by this rule. Age Concern has now called on the Government to review the savings limit which has not been increased since it was fixed at £8000 in 1990. To have kept up with inflation it should rise to more than £11,000 in April.

Another 300,000 older people will be excluded from the minimum guaranteed income because they live in a residential care or nursing home. After contributing to their fees they are allowed to keep just £14.45 a week. From April that will rise by a miserly 30p to £14.75 a week. That is their guarantee. And of course the 800,000 pensioners living abroad are excluded from any entitlement to a means-tested benefit. So they will not be able to claim any extra even if their income is below the minimum 'guaranteed' level.


WINTER FUEL PAYMENT
The Government is paying nearly all pensioner households either £20 or £50 to help with their fuel bills. This year the qualifying date for the payment is November 9 1998. The payment is at two levels


Some people cannot get the payment. They include people who have been in hospital for a year, people in residential care or nursing homes who get income support to help with their fees, and those who live abroad. If you have not received your payment or have any questions about it ring the winter fuel help line on 0645 15 15 15. Calls are charged at local rates.

The Winter Fuel Payment is separate from the cold weather payment paid to pensioners and some others on income support if the average temperature in an area falls to zero Celsius or less for seven consecutive days. Those payments of £8.50 are sent out automatically.

January 1999


go back to Saga writing

go back to writing archive


go back to the deadline front page

e-mail Paul Lewis on paul@deadline.demon.co.uk


All material on these pages is © Paul Lewis 1999