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Universalism is good – big fan. This demographic are however, already, by almost every metric, "comfortable".
I don't quite grasp some on the left are being precious about reforming aspects of the"universal credit" system Labour inherited from the Tories. It's a strategic and political mess that needs urgent reform. If the WFP scheme was announced post 2019 more in current memory and closer to recent discource about the generational wealth gaps ... there would be a very different conversation happening.
Burning out the Tories welfare policy legacy should have been one Labour's first 100 day commitments. Save a bunch of cash on wasteful, mean policies and in it's place rebuild as a progressive and fair benefit and welfare system.
Politically speaking, in the current UC context, WFP postures more like a grant scheme (think furlough support scheme) that makes much more sense to shadow / complement an already qualified benefit (pension credits). I'm not sure there are convincing arguments why any grant scheme, for this particular demographic, shouldn't be qualified.
I dont think you can argue that the current scheme is fit for purpose. The Pension Credit niche is 1.4m pensioners, so I'd go further and say that DWP / HMRC should working proactively, in a targetted way to ensure any eligible pensioners get what they are eligible for.
Worth reminding yourself this demographic sits atop significant amount of hoarded and inactive capital. The fairest thing to do is surely give them every incentive to spend their own cash.
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@greytyke
I'm a great supporter of universal payments because it entrenches popular support for the welfare state. If you want to make people better off give them money. The tories know this and don't they know how to make their mates better off!