NO more free TV licence from today

[Andrew]

Anyone had the letter from TV LIcensing yet ?.

BBC Moneybox says they will send out letters, so any emails, texts or phone calls will be from scammers. Some folks will fall for a scammer though.

[Jim GM4 DHJ ...]

good...over 75s are loaded

[T i m]

But there are still free licences aren't there, over 75 and on pension credits, 1.5M of them?

Cheers, T i m

[Custos Custodum]

Don't pension credits stop when you reach pensionable age? (Assuming you haven't accumulated enough before then.)

[Bob Eager]

Of course, there may be unexpected consequences. Lots of eligible people, who haven't doen it until now, deciding to apply for pension credit.

[Farmer Giles]

Pension credits do, but Pension Credit is a top-up for those over 60 with no pension or otherwise on a low-income. That's what the poster meant.

[Brian Gaff (Sofa)]

Loads of scammers already onto this one of course. However what will they do? Take granny to court over unpaid tv licence. See that going down well. I just think folk will mostly ignore it. Brian

[Dave Liquorice]

(Assuming

What are "pension credits"?

The first eligibilty requirement for pension credit is to be over the state pension age. Which is some what variable dependant on your sex and date of birth as they gradually push it up to 68. With plans to push it even higher.

[T i m]

I did indeed and didn't think the two things were different (but understand how they can be etc).

Eg, initially they may be a top up *towards* your pension (unable to continue working near retirement age) and then it became a topup *of* your pension if you weren't above a specific threshold?

Cheers, T i m

[RJH]

I've just looked this up for someone - 70, but doesn't receive the full pension (he gets about £150) because, he says, he hasn't paid full NI.

According to the Age Concern Calculator, he should now get pension and savings credit, pushing his weekly income up to about the full pension. Plus other benefits, like council tax rebates.

So if that's correct, he could be a few thousand better off if he claims. Does seem a bit perverse to me - IIUC somebody on the basic 'full' pension with no other income wouldn't be entitled to these credit-benefits.

[T i m]

I think the real issue here is giving the licence free to some in the first place. People were paying and were ok with that (few other choices, good content, no advertising etc), just as all those who know if they want to watch Netflix or Amazon Video now they have to pay for it. The problem arises when you make it free to anyone and then decide to take that away again.

I think the biggest insult is what I remember being only a tiny discount to 'viewers' (as that's the primary interface of 'TV' (compared with radio)) who were registered blind?

I appreciate the impact would vary depending on what was on ... and how good the narration was, but still. ;-(

Cheers, T i m

[David Wade]

I think this was done, at least in part, by the BBC to "c*ck a snook" at the Government. Its been estimated that if every one who is entitled to pension credit claims it will cost the government more than it would to fund the licence.

Whilst the cost of the Pension Credit is less, it unlocks other benefits which push the costs up...

or shortened url

so guys and gals, get claiming. Its your right...

Dave

[T i m]

I'm 63, not working (never claimed anything in my life) but too young to retire, according to the current system ... but I think I have two small private pensions that matured when I was 60.

I believe I also have a couple more private pensions that are due to mature when I'm 65 and I think I did look into putting them all into one, but 1) not sure if that was a good idea and 2) I think that you might only be able to combing so many and didn't know which I should do if there were limits (or take the cash etc).

Cheers, T i m

[Max Demian]

The discount was the same as the radio licence on the grounds that blind people got that for free (£1.25). When that was abolished the discount continued at the same rate, as you can't remove a benefit that people are used to even if it doesn't make any sense or they will make a fuss; as the BBC/Government have discovered with the abolition of the over 75 free licence.

I never understood TV licence discounts for blind people before AD was introduced.

[Farmer Giles]

If that's the case, it's changed fairly recently then. It was certainly over sixty a few years back because I claimed it for someone who was that age.

[tim...]

and another 300,000 (or whatever) who would qualify, but are too proud to claim

don't weep all at once, you'll flood us out

[tim...]

but at any one point in time (such as today) is a fixed defined age

And in any case it's an irrelevance, as the requirement for the free licence is to be claiming "Pension Credit" and be over 75

[tim...]

that seems like more than a full pension to me. (for a single person)

funnily enough, I have just downloaded a help sheet for this

and that says

"Savings Credits have been closed to new applicants since 2010"

so Age Concern see somewhat out of date there

The payment is based around the concept of "Minimum Income Guarantee"

which is some way above the standard pension and assume that people have an earnings related top up

but not everyone earned enough to accumulate that top up

[tim...]

And assuming that you aren't living on fresh air now, presumably have significant savings.

Whilst PC does not have a savings level that forbids you from claiming, it does have an "assumed" income from saving which involve an assumption of "draw-dawn".

anyone with an OAP pension and more than about 50K is going to find the calculation for PC says "no"

tim

[tim...]

I think that's probably an unintended consequence