Shortly after the 2024 election, the newly-elected government announced plans to means-test the Winter Fuel Allowance, a benefit previously given only to pensioners. Reactions amongst young people were mixed. Some celebrated the move as a step toward intergenerational equality, while others saw it as a harsh welfare cut. The reality, however, is more complex.
Whilst Starmer has failed so far to court young voters, several recent policies suggest they’re trying to address our concerns. These include means-testing pensioner benefits, setting national planning targets to lower housing costs for first-time buyers and renters, and exploring the reintroduction maintenance grants for poorer students. Policies such as these suggest a rebalancing of intergenerational inequality, which had tipped heavily in favour of pensioners under the previous government due to their reliance on older voters.
But there’s a deeper question here: why do the interests of different generations diverge so sharply?
On issues like housing, the reasons are clear. Younger people form ‘Generation Rent’, facing high-cost rentals, while pensioners enjoy high rates of home ownership. Home owners instinctively seek to preserve their property value, often opposing new reforms that could make housing more affordable for younger generations. On fiscal issues, however, this generational antagonism makes less sense. The erosion of the state pension (as well as repeated private pension tax raids since the Brown government) have left many pensioners more financially vulnerable, with pensioner poverty looking to increase rapidly. Young people have similar concerns in this regard. There is a growing fear we may never be able to retire – let alone comfortably.
Moreover, the ‘tighten your bootstraps and suffer’ attitude, common among members of the older generations, correlates with a failure of government to implement policies that expand education, welfare, and infrastructure investment. This lack of investment keeps incomes and therefore tax receipts down, which in turn erodes the safety net for pensioners. We are caught in a frustrating catch-22: a weakened social contract that harms both ends of the age spectrum.
What about the cuts to Winter Fuel Allowance? There should be no cause for celebration amongst younger voters. The aforementioned challenge of the weakened social contract will continue to lead to a crumbling social security net for those of all ages – and we too may one day need the state as pensioners. Crucially, we need to stop viewing intergenerational equality as an either-or situation. Both pensioners and young people are being shortchanged. Fighting for a better social security net together, rather than against one another, is the only way to secure better outcomes for all.
