No 554
Monday, 26th January, 2015
Tel: 96 673 0057
THE THE GREA GREAT T WINTER WINTER FU FUEL EL ROBBERY ROBBERY
Following a 13-fold rise in the number of expats claiming the Winter Fuel benefit in the last decade it is not really surprising that the government is looking at the figures with a view to reducing or even discontinuing the benefit for those living overseas, and if any scrutiny were carried out in an evenhanded way I am sure that many of us would welcome its conclusions. Unfortunately, rather than fulfil such a study the Chancellor has simply announced ‘a
crackdown’ which those rather more cynical members of the expat society feel is simply a case of winning a few votes prior to the UK elections, rather than any real attempts at making monetary savings. This crackdown would disqualify an estimated 120,000 people and, according to Osborne, save £30million a year after 2015/16, when it is expected to come into force. There are other figures in circulation that suggest that the numbers could well be much, much lower. The latest information for Spain shows 33,815 pensioners living here receive the payment, worth £200 for the over-60s and £300 for those over 80. Continued on Page 2