Altmann: Roll pensioner freebies into one flat payment

She says the coalition Government's proposals to cut the fuel allowance, free TV licence and other benefits is tantamount to reducing the basic state pension by £10 per week. "It is an utter disgrace," Altmann says. "It is crazy to have so many add-on benefits anyway. The paternalistic notion of Government deciding how pensioners should spend money is long past its sell-by date. "Since the state pension is so low, I would urge the Coalition to simply roll the free benefits into the Basic State Pension and make it payable at a decent level; that would be truly radical pension reform. ...