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Most of the ex pats where I live don´t qualify for the payment in spite of the fact that they lived, worked, paid taxes etc in Britain for 40 years or more. THey don´t qualify because they left the country & retired abroad before the payment came into being.
Last winter, where I live, the temperature didn´t rise above 10c for more than 2 months. The first falls of snow in Spain are invariably by November & it´s often still snowing in April. It´s a myth that we sit on the terrace sipping cocktails at Christmas.
Don´t know what it´s like in other European countries, but Spanish houses are freezing in winter. They are built to keep the heat out, not the warmth in. They have tiled floors, no central heating, flimsy doors & windows no form of insulation etc. Moving from one room to another in winter is to be avoided at all costs & the bathroom is sheer torture.An ex pat friend used to describe living in his house in winter as being like living in a garage.
I don´t agree that all expats should be paid the winter fuel allowance regardless. There´s nothing wrong with having to qualify, but for those of us who live on the basic state pension, with no pension credits, bus passes etc, it´s a lifesaver especially sice the exchange rate has lost 30% of it´s value over the past couple of years.
Have a go at the rich pensioners in England who claim it & use it for anything but paying their fuel bills.
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in short,
Yes and their pension can be taken with them.....but 99.9 % sure its only if EU countries..
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They shouldn't get it because they are not buying their goods/food in the UK and paying VAT which would at least add some funds back into the UK coffers!
Plus don't even start me on NHS tourism with the ex-pats!
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a few years back I recall expressing surprise that ex pats living in warmer climes received winter fuel allowance and came in for a load of flak - apparently it does get cold even in these warmer climes!!! and ex-pats argue that they have paid into the system so why shouldn't they get it :-S
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Ex-pats get winter fuel allowance: UK pensioners lose out
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By Sarah Coles, Aug 24, 2012
Filed under: Retirement
Government plans mean that pensioners in the south of England could lose their winter fuel allowance because the weather is too mild - while expat pensioners still coin it in.
So how can this be right?
Temperature test
The government announced plans yesterday to introduce a 'temperature test' for the winter fuel payment.
At the moment if you are over 60, you receive a payment of up to £200 to help meet the higher cost of heating your home over the winter (for families with someone over the age of 80 this can be up to £300). The payment is usually made in November or December, and is paid to everyone regardless of their income or location.
It has long-been contentious because European laws mean that expats who turned 60 before leaving the country, and left after the payment was introduced in 1998, are entitled to receive the allowance. To make matters even more expensive, the European Court of Justice has thrown this out and said that in order to qualify, pensioners only need "a genuine and sufficient link" to the UK. It means around 440,000 expat pensioners get the payment - at a cost of £100 million.
The test is designed to ensure that the payment isn't paid to pensioners sitting on balmy beaches in the sunshine, to avoid wasting the cash on people who don't need it.
Twist
However, in an odd twist, the test will apply in the UK too, which will create a strange situation, where milder parts of the UK may miss out, while ex-pats in relatively warm parts of the world keep receiving the cash. So, for example, in Plymouth, the average low temperature for February is around 41F. This is warmer than Madrid, Rome and Frankfurt at this time of year.
We will have to wait and see how exacting the tests are, and how much of the UK misses out. Ideally, only those areas where their climates are unusually mild, will miss out, and these people should be relatively comfortable in their homes at higher temperatures.
Worst case
In the worst case scenario, the south of England could be shivering this year - with record high fuel bills and no assistance.
Michelle Mitchell, Age UK's Director General, said: "The winter fuel payment is an important income boost for many people on a low state pension, providing a lifeline to many vulnerable older people and allowing them to worry less about their fuel bills. Winter fuel payments are simple to understand and generally do not need to be claimed, avoiding the complexity of means-testing. While the introduction of a temperature test could allay concerns about ex-pats in hot countries receiving the payment, it is important that proposals for change do not complicate the system or result in those in need losing out."
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