Video: 'Granny tax' campaigners protest outside Parliament One campaigner said that the government was sending out mixed messages by encouraging pensioners to stay fit and well whilst refusing to give them the money to do so. You need sufficient money to buy good food. You need heating, you need warmth and you need to be able to go and do a little bit of socialising to keep the brain active. All of these things require just that little bit of money. George Osborne's plan to freeze the age-related tax allowance - a valuable perk for pensioners which allows them to earn more before being liable for income tax - has overshadowed pension reforms and been dubbed the "granny tax" by the Labour Party who also said the tax is "not right and it's not fair" when the Government is also proposing cutting the top rate of income tax from 50 percent to 45 percent.