YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE: Taxed for Dying, Fined for Ageing

By Steve Conley | Founder, Academy of Life Planning

In memory of every forgotten pensioner—and every family grieving while being billed for the privilege.

This is not a tax system.
It’s a punishment mechanism—disguised in council logos and budget statements.

You lose your mum. You inherit her tiny retirement flat. You try to sell it, but nobody wants it—not because it’s ugly, not because it’s overpriced, but because it’s age-restricted, leasehold-strangled, and service-charge-poisoned.

And then?

They charge you DOUBLE council tax for the crime of not finding a buyer.

Let that sink in.
You’re grieving, you’re paying to keep a flat no one can live in—and the council calls it a second home.

They Tax the Dead. They Tax the Old. They Tax the Empty.

Meanwhile, pensioners in their 80s and 90s—those who paid in for a lifetime—are now being hit with a new “retirement tax.”
Why? Because the state pension finally creeps over the frozen personal allowance.
Not because they’re rich. But because the Government froze thresholds and called it fiscal responsibility.

You don’t even need private income anymore to be taxed.
Your reward for surviving into your 90s? HMRC through your letterbox.

Maybe You Should House Asylum Seekers Instead?

Here’s the kicker.

While you’re being hammered with double council tax for an inherited retirement flat you can’t give away, Serco—working hand in hand with the Labour government—is dangling a five-year guaranteed rent deal in front of landlords willing to house asylum seekers.

Think about it.

Your empty, unsellable property? Punished with endless fees.
But hand it over to the Home Office? Suddenly it’s a cash cow. Guaranteed income. No tenant checks. No questions asked.

It begs the question: is the only way to avoid these crushing penalties to join the government’s migration housing scheme?

You couldn’t make it up.
And if it weren’t so insulting, it might almost be clever.

What Message Does That Send?

To the grieving daughter? “Tough luck.”
To the 91-year-old taxed on their pension? “You’re still breathing—pay up.”
To the taxpayer? “There’s always another bill.”
To the landlord of Serco? “Here’s five years of guaranteed profit.”

How did we get here?

The Truth They Won’t Admit

This is not about fairness.
It’s not even about budgets.
This is about punishment for being born here, working hard, and playing by the rules.

They call it “housing policy.”
We call it what it is:

A betrayal.

Time to Draw the Line

We don’t need platitudes from MPs who’ve never lived in a leasehold.
We don’t need “consultations” from departments who don’t pick up the phone.
We need a movement.

A movement that says:

No more taxing grief.
No more punishing age.
No more rewarding chaos.
No more being quiet and compliant.

Because the louder we are, the harder it is to ignore us.

What You Can Do NOW

🔹 Write to your MP. Tell them this is not a second home. It’s a financial trap.

🔹 Speak out. Share your story with us at the Academy. We will make sure it’s heard.

🔹 Join the rebellion. Learn the GAME Plan. Reclaim your money—and your life.

Because if we don’t say no now, they’ll keep saying yes to punishing the people who built this country.

This is your money. This is your life. And both deserve more than this.