Energy Bills

[Blackpowder]

Heard earlier in the radio news that people earning £45000 a year are going to need assistance in paying their domestic fuel bills.   What chance has anyone dependant upon state pension?  Looks like either heat or eat.

Blackpowder

[Newbie to this]

3 minutes ago, Blackpowder said:

Heard earlier in the radio news that people earning £45000 a year are going to need assistance in paying their domestic fuel bills.   What chance has anyone dependant upon state pension?  Looks like either heat or eat.

Blackpowder

That's a majority of the population in trouble then

[ditchman]

what a mess..........

sometimes i think that everything needs a big "re-set"...something that the govt's of this world are incaperble of carrying out due to a lack of balls.........something im very worried about ...like a big war....frightening thought

Edited August 27, 2022 by ditchman

[marsh man]

God help some of us if we get a hard Winter , with mortgage and rents going up along with just about everything else like food , water and sewage charges , council taxes and fuel , both in heating and motor fuel .

Pubs are already closing every day of the year and very soon you will have a job finding one that is still open , in a way we are one of the lucky ones , no mortgage and no debt but with only the state and a very small private pension to rely on you don't need a degree in finance to work out the amount of money going out will easily be more than the amount coming in , we will survive , but a lot of people won't .

[old'un]

if I were only on state pension I would not go cold, I would have the heating on and when the bills come in tell them I cannot pay for it.

[GingerCat]

Was having this discussion with the wife earlier, between us we bring in a fair bit, certainly over 70k before tax.  We have two small kids. A mortgage (not a silly one) and no other debt. Between the mortgage,childcare, pensions and food there is little left over in reality. I've never been taxed so much for seemingly so little and compared to others feel positively privileged. Don't get me wrong, we don't want for anything we need but despite earning a lot more than I did 15 years ago I'm not actually any better off for it.  

 

[old man]

59 minutes ago, old'un said:

if I were only on state pension I would not go cold, I would have the heating on and when the bills come in tell them I cannot pay for it.

Where someone is unable to pay yjey should immediately contact there supplier and tell them. I think by law they can't be cut off and discussions made? Need verification?

55 minutes ago, GingerCat said:

Was having this discussion with the wife earlier, between us we bring in a fair bit, certainly over 70k before tax.  We have two small kids. A mortgage (not a silly one) and no other debt. Between the mortgage,childcare, pensions and food there is little left over in reality. I've never been taxed so much for seemingly so little and compared to others feel positively privileged. Don't get me wrong, we don't want for anything we need but despite earning a lot more than I did 15 years ago I'm not actually any better off for it.  

 

No but certainly someone somewhere will be?

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, £45,000 and help with energy bills, 🤔 is that for civil servants in parliament ?, Teachers now having to go to food banks, ? Basic starting salary around £26/28, 000, how would they manage on a  pension 🤔, even pensions fall into different categories depending on circumstance, if it's less than about £750 a month and only income your get financial help, if a pension of about £1000 a month your get sweet FA, future generations who cannot afford to save for a pension I dread to think of their lives,  if only I was on £45, 000 🤔

Edited August 27, 2022 by oldypigeonpopper

[Newbie to this]

16 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, £45,000 and help with energy bills, 🤔 is that for civil servants in parliament ?

Don't be silly, they wouldn't get out of bed for a measly salary like £45,000.

You should see some of their pensions, read an article this morning, some of the figures were eye-watering.

https://dailypolitics.live/2022/08/27/civil-service-chiefs-staggering-pensions-revealed-40-mandarins-pots-worth-more-than-1m/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Edited August 27, 2022 by Newbie to this

[Jaymo]

1 hour ago, Newbie to this said:

Don't be silly, they wouldn't get out of bed for a measly salary like £45,000.

You should see some of their pensions, read an article this morning, some of the figures were eye-watering.

https://dailypolitics.live/2022/08/27/civil-service-chiefs-staggering-pensions-revealed-40-mandarins-pots-worth-more-than-1m/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

You need to differentiate between your lower tier Civil servants who work in Government, to those on the upper echelons, where of course where of course the salaries will be commensurate with the responsibility the position entails. 
 

‘Pension pots’ of a mill is not the same as  receiving a mill. Currently that would afford an annual pension of around £56k from memory. Of which you will pay zero NI and around £9800 income tax should you be over state pension age. 
 

Once you get to over 107% of your lifetime allowance then tax rates rise dramatically too, cutting the pot right down. 
 

PS, I’m no pension expert but I’m life there are those who get paid more than others. We live in a Capitalist society and not a Socialist one.
Even if we did live in a Socialist/Communist one, there would still be a divisional tier of wealth.  

[Yellow Bear]

2 minutes ago, Jaymo said:

Even if we did live in a Socialist/Communist one, there would still be a divisional tier of wealth.  

Yup - you just change one born to it "upper class" (aristocracy) for another (party apparatchik)  

[mchughcb]

As the Italian politician said.

 

We are sanctioning a country that earns more than us. Who exactly is meant to feel the pain?

[Newbie to this]

31 minutes ago, Jaymo said:

You need to differentiate between your lower tier Civil servants who work in Government, to those on the upper echelons, where of course where of course the salaries will be commensurate with the responsibility the position entails. 
 

‘Pension pots’ of a mill is not the same as  receiving a mill. Currently that would afford an annual pension of around £56k from memory. Of which you will pay zero NI and around £9800 income tax should you be over state pension age. 
 

Once you get to over 107% of your lifetime allowance then tax rates rise dramatically too, cutting the pot right down. 
 

PS, I’m no pension expert but I’m life there are those who get paid more than others. We live in a Capitalist society and not a Socialist one.
Even if we did live in a Socialist/Communist one, there would still be a divisional tier of wealth.  

Some are over £100,000 a year.

The civil service is awash with scum living off the tax payer. Most wouldn't cut it in the world of business, but rake in the same sort of money, with overinflated pensions curtesy of the hard working tax payer.

Cummings had one thing right, that was the civil service needed massive overhaul with many people gone.

Edited August 27, 2022 by Newbie to this

[JohnfromUK]

The issue here is what you are used to.  Most people on low to 'moderate' salaries/pay (and I'm mainly thinking of those on sub 50K) tend to enjoy a lifestyle that uses most of their income.  They have a decent house usually on a mortgage, probably 2 but almost certainly 1 car, often on lease/contract/hp, usually nicely furnished and decorated house, well equipped with latest appliances and gizmos, couple of significant holidays a year, plus weekends away, subscription services, club memberships, eat out etc.

By the time tax, NI, pension contribution, utility bills, council tax, mortgage, loans/leases are paid, a bit put aside for the next holiday, there is very little left.  To sum up, a nice income coming in, and a lot going out.  Now, several of the outgoings (mortgage, energy mainly) are going to go up - and up a LOT.  Either there will be a deficit, or something will have to be cut back.

It applies at all levels, but the very wealthy have plenty of things on which they can relatively easily cut back, and the least wealthy are going to find it hard, but the state will help.  Those in the middle are going to find it hard, and the state won't help (much).

We are in a 'wartime' scenario, even if we ourselves are not at war, the way life is 'globalised' now means that it will be felt way beyond the actual theatres of engagement.

We also live on a planet where everything (food, energy, housing, space) is being placed under pressure by ever increasing populations wanting ever higher living standards - and all exacerbated by probable "climate change" which no one really knows quite what to expect in the future climate and local weather wise.  Inflation (which is largely global on the rise, but to different degrees as local demand and supply issues are players) is also likely to get worse everywhere.

I'm afraid we (or at least many of us) are going to have to get used to a rather more spartan lifestyle.

Edited August 27, 2022 by JohnfromUK

[oowee]

@JohnfromUK spot on.

👍

[Mice!]

3 hours ago, JohnfromUK said:

The issue here is what you are used to.  Most people on low to 'moderate' salaries/pay (and I'm mainly thinking of those on sub 50K) tend to enjoy a lifestyle that uses most of their income.  They have a decent house usually on a mortgage, probably 2 but almost certainly 1 car, often on lease/contract/hp, usually nicely furnished and decorated house, well equipped with latest appliances and gizmos, couple of significant holidays a year, plus weekends away, subscription services, club memberships, eat out etc.

By the time tax, NI, pension contribution, utility bills, council tax, mortgage, loans/leases are paid, a bit put aside for the next holiday, there is very little left.  To sum up, a nice income coming in, and a lot going out.  Now, several of the outgoings (mortgage, energy mainly) are going to go up - and up a LOT.  Either there will be a deficit, or something will have to be cut back.

It applies at all levels, but the very wealthy have plenty of things on which they can relatively easily cut back, and the least wealthy are going to find it hard, but the state will help.  Those in the middle are going to find it hard, and the state won't help (much).

We are in a 'wartime' scenario, even if we ourselves are not at war, the way life is 'globalised' now means that it will be felt way beyond the actual theatres of engagement.

We also live on a planet where everything (food, energy, housing, space) is being placed under pressure by ever increasing populations wanting ever higher living standards - and all exacerbated by probable "climate change" which no one really knows quite what to expect in the future climate and local weather wise.  Inflation (which is largely global on the rise, but to different degrees as local demand and supply issues are players) is also likely to get worse everywhere.

I'm afraid we (or at least many of us) are going to have to get used to a rather more spartan lifestyle.

That's better than I could have put it.

7 hours ago, Blackpowder said:

Heard earlier in the radio news that people earning £45000 a year are going to need assistance in paying their domestic fuel bills.   What chance has anyone dependant upon state pension?  Looks like either heat or eat.

Blackpowder

Whether that is individual or combined salary,  someone earning that PA should be able to manage easily,  it's the simple fact that many people have have borrowed far more money for a house than they should,  so a rise in their mortgages hits them hard.

Houses are massively overpriced,  the only people who benefit are the banks, while ordinary people have higher bills and mortgages for a very very long time.

A lot of people need to seriously look at their outgoings before claiming they cannot pay gas/electric. 

I think it will be the fixed income,  low earners who will be hit the hardest, they have likely already cut back any sort of unnecessary spending so it will be them who struggle to find extra money. 

[Taileron]

3 hours ago, Newbie to this said:

Some are over £100,000 a year.

I work with a great number of civil servants and they are on nowhere near that sum. E,D and C grades are on less than 30k per year and like us Military types, have had no real pay rise for years.

The clowns on the £100,000 salaries are the ones in Whitehall, the “upper echelons” of the civil service. The big money in the civil service is paid to contractors, an example of which is my neighbour. He is a department head of 60+ staff and earns £34500 per annum, his contractors are currently on between £500-£750 per day doing the exact same job. Surprisingly enough they leave the civil service and come back as contractors very quickly.

Between my wife and I (and our 2 kids) we are comfortable but have had to cut back on all non necessities to keep us out of the red, we bought a house that could be paid for on 1 wage and the only other thing we owe for is the car. It’s pensioners I really feel sorry for, a fixed income and no way of getting extra money other than savings or equity release from their homes to heat and eat, it’s absolutely appalling.

I can’t comprehend why it’s actually happening when Wales is virtually made of coal, the North Sea has years of gas but the imbeciles in charge are telling us all to “ration as there is a war on” ( new chancellor yesterday ) whilst claiming expenses to heat their stables.

For the first time in my life I face the reality of having no party to back or vote for that actually gives a **** about the working masses and pensioners.

[Newbie to this]

1 hour ago, Taileron said:

I work with a great number of civil servants and they are on nowhere near that sum. E,D and C grades are on less than 30k per year and like us Military types, have had no real pay rise for years.

The clowns on the £100,000 salaries are the ones in Whitehall, the “upper echelons” of the civil service. The big money in the civil service is paid to contractors, an example of which is my neighbour. He is a department head of 60+ staff and earns £34500 per annum, his contractors are currently on between £500-£750 per day doing the exact same job. Surprisingly enough they leave the civil service and come back as contractors very quickly.

Between my wife and I (and our 2 kids) we are comfortable but have had to cut back on all non necessities to keep us out of the red, we bought a house that could be paid for on 1 wage and the only other thing we owe for is the car. It’s pensioners I really feel sorry for, a fixed income and no way of getting extra money other than savings or equity release from their homes to heat and eat, it’s absolutely appalling.

I can’t comprehend why it’s actually happening when Wales is virtually made of coal, the North Sea has years of gas but the imbeciles in charge are telling us all to “ration as there is a war on” ( new chancellor yesterday ) whilst claiming expenses to heat their stables.

For the first time in my life I face the reality of having no party to back or vote for that actually gives a **** about the working masses and pensioners.

[Stonepark]

1 hour ago, Taileron said:

I work with a great number of civil servants and they are on nowhere near that sum. E,D and C grades are on less than 30k per year and like us Military types, have had no real pay rise for years.

The clowns on the £100,000 salaries are the ones in Whitehall, the “upper echelons” of the civil service. The big money in the civil service is paid to contractors, an example of which is my neighbour. He is a department head of 60+ staff and earns £34500 per annum, his contractors are currently on between £500-£750 per day doing the exact same job. Surprisingly enough they leave the civil service and come back as contractors very quickly.

Between my wife and I (and our 2 kids) we are comfortable but have had to cut back on all non necessities to keep us out of the red, we bought a house that could be paid for on 1 wage and the only other thing we owe for is the car. It’s pensioners I really feel sorry for, a fixed income and no way of getting extra money other than savings or equity release from their homes to heat and eat, it’s absolutely appalling.

I can’t comprehend why it’s actually happening when Wales is virtually made of coal, the North Sea has years of gas but the imbeciles in charge are telling us all to “ration as there is a war on” ( new chancellor yesterday ) whilst claiming expenses to heat their stables.

For the first time in my life I face the reality of having no party to back or vote for that actually gives a **** about the working masses and pensioners.

ReformUK

[Jaymo]

5 hours ago, Newbie to this said:

Some are over £100,000 a year.

The civil service is awash with scum living off the tax payer. Most wouldn't cut it in the world of business, but rake in the same sort of money, with overinflated pensions curtesy of the hard working tax payer.

Cummings had one thing right, that was the civil service needed massive overhaul with many people gone.

Scum living of the tax payer!!!!

The while if the Civil service is paid for by the tax payer isn’t it? 
so how do you differentiate between who is ‘scum’ and who isn’t? 
Sounds a bit general and what about this? ‘Person’ enters the service from school and gets promoted along the way, they excel at their job - maybe they are head of Social services providing some fantastic support to those that need it. For this they are paid say, £100k and yet you think they are scum? 
 

Personally, that word is not one that I have or will, use. 
Think it has been hijacked and it’s inappropriate use expanded beyond need. 
 

Haven’t read further replies yet, so may come back to edit or add. 

[Jaymo]

1 hour ago, Taileron said:

I work with a great number of civil servants and they are on nowhere near that sum. E,D and C grades are on less than 30k per year and like us Military types, have had no real pay rise for years.

The clowns on the £100,000 salaries are the ones in Whitehall, the “upper echelons” of the civil service. The big money in the civil service is paid to contractors, an example of which is my neighbour. He is a department head of 60+ staff and earns £34500 per annum, his contractors are currently on between £500-£750 per day doing the exact same job. Surprisingly enough they leave the civil service and come back as contractors very quickly.

Between my wife and I (and our 2 kids) we are comfortable but have had to cut back on all non necessities to keep us out of the red, we bought a house that could be paid for on 1 wage and the only other thing we owe for is the car. It’s pensioners I really feel sorry for, a fixed income and no way of getting extra money other than savings or equity release from their homes to heat and eat, it’s absolutely appalling.

I can’t comprehend why it’s actually happening when Wales is virtually made of coal, the North Sea has years of gas but the imbeciles in charge are telling us all to “ration as there is a war on” ( new chancellor yesterday ) whilst claiming expenses to heat their stables.

For the first time in my life I face the reality of having no party to back or vote for that actually gives a **** about the working masses and pensioners.

Because we are going down the Green route which means that coal is perceived to be ‘dirty’ ( well it is). 
We closed so many inefficient coal fired power stations due to their inefficient nature and the cheap imports of gas available. 
 

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, unfortunately too many have been decommissioned and others, would take too long or too much, to be commissioned. 
 

It’s large scale solar and wind ( plus nuclear) that will provide future needs. Bit it takes time/ investment and willingness for people to accept some bloody great windmill in the field next door. 
 

I hope a resolution to the conflict will arise for the people of Ukraine, global stability and cheaper energy as gonna miss my hot tub. 

[armsid]

Stupid scenerio Iceland has an active volcano which they use to generate power could we not share some by dropping a cable across the ocean floor and link it to our grid?

[Weihrauch17]

13 hours ago, ditchman said:

what a mess..........

sometimes i think that everything needs a big "re-set"...something that the govt's of this world are incaperble of carrying out due to a lack of balls.........something im very worried about ...like a big war....frightening thought

We need an end to totally clueless MP's running the country.

[Jaymo]

8 minutes ago, Weihrauch17 said:

We need an end to totally clueless MP's running the country.

Labours answer would be??????

[ditchman]

51 minutes ago, Weihrauch17 said:

We need an end to totally clueless MP's running the country.

really .................if you think about it..........WHO with any brains and morals would want to be any MP ?