As Oldtone says, what constitutes a "well off pensioner"? Are they going to consider anyone retired who still has an income over the bare minimum, or anyone not claiming pension credits, as not being deserving of the current extras!
Some so-called universal benefits will not be taken up anyway as they are not wanted / not available / or are totally unsuitable for the person concerned.
I put down these few thoughts from my parents' point of view - I know that they are luckier than many but are hardly "well off":
1) Because of the lack of buses where we live, unless you are pretty fit and able, the free pass is of no use;
2) The free dental check ups .... there was no NHS dentist when we moved down here so we had to register with a private one;
3) Winter fuel allowance - they do receive it because they refuse to leave it to the government's tender mercy but each year choose a local charity. Last year they gave it to our cottage hospital who have a cancer outreach programme and were raising money for another "chemo chair";
4) Free Prescriptions - my mother would get them anyway because she is insulin-dependent diabetic etc.
I would add that those who are currently retired (my father is in this mid-70s) often paid very high levels of taxation during their working lives, during the 1970s income tax rates ranged from 35% to around 83% ... yes 83%. None of this namby-pamby 50p and I am pretty sure on unearned income it was over 90p in the £1. Those who took up apprenticeships, became articled clerks or took on other training often had to pay for it themselves and their equipment too (a bit like student loans - just not as expensive!).
So no, even if the benefits are not always taken up, and even if they are not always necessary financially, I do not believe that they should be made means tested. It will be a slap in the face to those considered "wealthy" who aren't; if they have to be applied for, many who really need them may not do so because they are ashamed; and, at its simplest, will generally annoy everyone and will add yet another layer of expensive administration to the financial machinery of the Inland Revenue. >erm<
Just how many of these benefits are someone very wealthy to take up? >doh< Are they going to use a bus pass anyway - no. Neither are they going to go to an NHS dentist or optician, and a lot of their hospital time will be spent in the private sector anyway.
(Prescription costs are something else and I do fear that, sooner or later, many of us with "medical exemptions" will find ourselves liable to pay once more and, not only that, we will then be faced with huge increases in the annual pre-payment certificates if they even remain in existence.)
I worry that once you start means testing what are currently universal benefits for one group of people it may have a knock-on effect and could well lead to questions about AA, DLA (PIP) and so on.
T.Loopy