You may have seen the advertisments on the television and in the press that the way state pension benefits are paid is going to change. In simple terms, a new direct payment system is being introduced whereby monies are paid directly into a bank account although there is still the option to collect using a benefits book as normal.
A report from a trade and industry committee has critcised the move saying that the needs of some pensioners are being ignored in that they may have difficulties either because they do not have a bank account or they may have difficulty getting to a bank and have someone else collect on their behalf.
Our view
Change is always difficult, if the new changes save the Government money to spend it elsewhere then great. The fact remains that the State have said, if somebody does not have an account, they can open a National Savings account at the Post Office or keep the benefits book for the time being.
In simple terms, you still get your money from the Post Office. The only issues that we see are if some pensioners get confused - care needs to taken to ensure that they understand what is happening and what they are doing. The flexibility of accounts are OK - but just a little caution please to help our older generation.