BBC could cut free TV Licence for over-75s as it looks for ways to reduce costs
Options being considered include voluntary payments, charging pensioners who live with younger family or a new means-tested scheme
PENSIONERS could face paying for a TV Licence after a report found the wealth and life expectancy of older people has "improved significantly".
At present, around 4.55million over 75s do not pay the £150.50 license fee as part of a government scheme which was introduced in November 2000.
But in 2005 the government decided it would no longer provided the funding and the BBC would have to take it on.
The current deal is set to end in 2020 and the BBC is now consulting over the future of the scheme.
A report, carried out by Frontier Economics on behalf of the BBC published today, included options such as asking for voluntary payments, removing it from pensioners who live with younger family or a new means-tested scheme.
In 2017, Parliament gave the BBC the go-ahead to consult on what policy should be introduced for the population over 65 after June 2020.
How to watch TV legally without paying for a licence
IN the UK, any household watching or recording live television must hold a TV licence.
In recent years, this has been extended to include BBC programmes on iPlayer, whether they are live, catch up or on demand.
But does everyone really need a licence? Here’s the lowdown on how to avoid paying – legally.
- Watch on demand TV available through services such as ITV Player, All4, My5, BT Vision/BT TV, Virgin Media, Sky Go, Now TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
- Watch on demand movies from services such as Sky, Virgin Media, BT Vision, Netflix and Amazon Instant Video.
- Watch recorded films and programmes either via DVD or Blu-ray, or downloaded from the internet.
- Watch YouTube where you can view video clips and more.
The report also noted that over-75 households have grown more rapidly than expected and there has also been an improvement in living standards.
Pensioners are now the least likely age group to live in poverty and older households are more likely to be have a higher household income.
A BBC spokesperson said: “This is an important discussion paper which we are studying carefully.
"Their full report - which looks at a range of approaches the BBC could take - will be published shortly.
"As we have said, the Government concession ends in June 2020. We are going to be consulting on what then happens.
"It might be a concession on the same terms, it might be different concession. There are important issues to consider.
"We will do nothing without consulting with the public. Everyone who wants to contribute will be able to do so.”
In March, the licence fee went up to £150.50 from £147 a year.
Telly watchers have to pay the annual fee whether they're watching live TV or on BBC iPlayer on any device.
Almost 3.5million Brits have cancelled their TV licence fee in the last four years — a rate of almost one million a year.
Many are snubbing the BBC in favour of streaming sites such as Netflix, statistics reveal.
Last month, tens of thousands of TV Licence customers were urged to check bills after a data security breach.
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