Clive Couter, Ryde:

Surely you have to balance the outcry about the cancellation of the winter fuel payments for more well off pensioners, against the fact pensioners enjoy the 'triple lock', and that many pensioners own their own property and are not affected by exorbitant rents and very high property prices.  

The working population has to finance pensions and winter fuel payments — and a lot of the population are on their knees already.  

To balance my argument — cherry-picked by many pensioners, that if you can’t afford kids, don’t have them, but in a roundabout way favour us — I also think the two-child limit for family allowance is understandable.  

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Any 'across the board' benefit, by its very nature, does not take account of people's differing circumstances and, many pensioners previously in receipt of winter fuel payment, would simply spend it on a nice meal out or something.

Family Allowance is paid to the family, of say, multiple kids that all go to private school.  

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It doesn’t make sense to me, when other sections of society rely on food banks, whereas for some, the Family Allowance just goes toward filling up the Range Rover with fuel.

(Image: Pixabay) But to means-test Child Benefit and winter fuel payments, would possibly cost more than it saved in administration costs and, the only way to cut down on expenditure in this area, was to use an already means-tested cohort, in the form of those receiving Pension Credit.  

Seems sensible to me. That being said, I don’t know if people are aware, we are very low down in the league table in Europe for the value of pensions paid — and even the retirement age.

Spanish pensioners get about twice the subsistence level in pension payments, whereas we get just above subsistence.  

We could learn from Europe as to how they manage their finances, including how they fund their health services, which are available to all, given that again, in the league table of outcomes, Spain is above us, as are many others.  

Incidentally, this does not come from some 'woke' 20-something. I am a pensioner. 

Sorry folks, but I don’t agree with the across the board "poor us” diatribe that gets wheeled out all the time.