Open Letter to The Chancellor of the Exchequer

 

Dear Chancellor

 

My name is Albert Venison, living in Axminster in Devon and 81 years old.

 

On D-Day 6th June 1944 I was a 19 year old Artillery Officer landing on Sword Beach. As trite as it may sound today to most politicians, I and thousands like me were doing our bit for our country.

           

I was demobbed in 1948 and returned to a country that was economically bankrupt. I and again thousand like me, sought to rebuild our lives and in doing so established what is now boasted as the 4th strongest economy in the world. I paid my national insurance, contributed to a private pension and managed to put away some savings. I wasn't expecting to live in luxury in my retirement, but at least be able to enjoy life. I ran my own small business until I retired at 69 and then invested in an income bond to provide a small monthly income to go towards holidays

           

Your actions over the past 10 years have resulted in my council tax increasing from ?752 a year to ?1574 a year and the prospect of a further increase of 5% in April 2007. Two years ago I changed my oil fired central heating boiler to a gas fired one. The cost was ?2000 which had to come out savings, never to be replaced. In the last 6 months my cost of gas has risen by ?7.50 a month. Electricity charges have gone up by 35% costing ?25.00 a month. After paying the highest water charges in the country, my water over the next 5 years, is to cost me another 35% from April 2006. All charges rise by well over the rate of inflation, the figure used to increase my pension that over the past 10 years has gone up by about 37%.

 

Your Pension Credit scheme is a complete nonsense. Yes, you have lifted over 2 million pensioners out of poverty but the scheme discriminates against 70% of pensioners who fall outside the threshold and do not qualify. You are causing these people to become poorer and poorer every year. A second pension and savings should not be taken into account when judging the level of what is required to exist on.

 

 

Pension credit and the associated benefits amount to ?154 a week

 

In reality you yourself are saying that this is the minimum required for a single pensioner to exist on. This should be the minimum basic state pension for all, regardless of any other income derived from other sources because of actions taken by the individual.

 

I and many other pensioners regard you as the worst Chancellor we have had in our life time since you destroyed a pension system which was the envy of many other countries. Your pre-election promise and I quote ?I want the next Labour Government to achieve what in 50 years of the welfare state has never been achieved- the end of means testing for our elderly people?, is an empty boast

 

At 81 I feel that there is no chance of this happening and feel it is poor reward for the efforts of my fellow pensioners and myself.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Albert Venison