She’s not just angry at the decision to stop 10million pensioners getting vital support towards their heating bills. She’s outraged by claims they don’t need the money because they’re too wealthy.
Age UK says two million pensioners who find paying their energy bills a real stretch will be seriously hit by Labour’s cut. Waspi woman Elizabeth Latham, 68, is one of them.
Like 3.5 million women born in the 1950s, she expected to get her state pension when she turned 60. “I only learned when I was 57 that I would have to wait another five years.”
Instead, she had to work on, despite family caring duties and a lifetime of poor health that started when her kidneys stopped growing at the age of two.
Liz, who lives in Wolverhampton with husband Peter, worked in a series of poorly paid jobs, mostly in shops, and had a kidney transplant in 1990.
The next 13 years “was just a blur”, as she had constant treatment, which is why she missed news about the state pension hike.
She worked whenever she was fit enough but never earned much. “My first job in 1972 paid just £30 a month and that was full time. My last one paid just £240 a month, also full time. That’s just £2,880 a year.”
Ill health finally forced her to stop work altogether in 2018. “I scraped by on my meagre savings and husband’s pension until I finally got the new state pension two years ago.”
Luckily, husband Peter worked as a telecoms engineer. She dreads to think what her life would be like without him. “If I hadn’t got my hubby, I’d be using a food bank.”
Liz calculates that increasing the retirement age for women to 66 cost her £43,000 in lost state pension.
Today, she gets well below the maximum new state pension of £11,502 a year.
She gets £741 a month which works out at £8,892 a year. Like millions of pensioners, the couple live a frugal life where every penny counts.
“We relied on our £200 winter fuel payment coming through every year, and now we’ve lost it.”
New Labour chancellor Rachel Reeves scrapped it for all but the very poorest pensioners, those claiming means-tested state benefit Pension Credit.
The claims threshold is £11,343.80 for single people, or £17,313.40 for couples
Liz could claim Pension Credit based on her own income, but when combined with Peter’s they’re a whisker over the threshold for couples.
“The Government deemed me not to qualify for the allowance because I’m too mega wealthy, apparently.”
Like many missing out on winter fuel payments, Liz and Peter aren’t rich. Their money disappears on everyday bills, with little left over.
Liz is also furious at Rachel Reeves’ new tax advisor Sir Edward Troup, a former head of HMRC.
“We were both born in 1955, but our lives couldn’t be more different. While I was earning £2,880 a year, he was on £175,000. He’s probably got a gold-plated pension, too.”
Sir Edward jokingly refers himself as a “codger” and “baby boomer”, but Liz doesn’t see the funny side at a time when many people think the older generation have it easy.
“He thinks all pensioners born in the 1950s don’t need their winter fuel payment and should contribute more. That’s just not the case.”
Liz added: “He’s now advising Rachel Reeves who has just taken away a benefit most pensioners rely on. How on earth is this justified? So angry. Sir Edward Troup: this is planet reality for most of us.”
Liz is just one voice among many shocked at the move to scrap the winter fuel payment.
More than 50 charities have written to complain while a petition by Age UK has attracted almost 300,000 signatures. Liz’s name was one of the first on there.
