Money Box
The latest news from the world of personal finance plus advice for those trying to make the most of their money.
Episodes
New Chancellor, New Plans? and Inheritance Gifts
This week has seen a new Prime Minister and a new Chancellor of the Exchequer. As soon as John Healey was appointed the announcements began. First came the announcement to cut VAT on household energy bills from October, next a plan to cap bus fares in England from January, then a 20% cut to business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues in England starting from April. But what about that m
Money Box Live: House Sale Nightmares
Major reforms are planned to shake up house selling in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The government hopes the plans could end gazundering and gazumping and make buying and selling homes faster, cheaper and less likely to fall through.Gazumping happens when a seller switches buyer at the last minute, usually because someone else can pay more, gazundering is where a buyer suddenly drops t
State Pension Age Rise, Gazundering and Air-Con
Urgent action is needed to help people in their sixties on low incomes who face a delay of up to a year before they can claim their State Pension. That is the main recommendation of a new report from the Work and Pensions Committee. Pension age rises over the next two years from 66 to 67 and the committee of MPs fears some of the people affected by that delay face poverty unless the benefit rules
Money Box Live: Buy Now, Pay Later Shake-Up
New regulations begin today (Wednesday July 15th) for shoppers using Buy Now Pay Later. Consumers using services like Klarna and Clearpay will now be given more protection but also a greater risk of rejection, as new affordability checks begin. BNPL schemes often provide interest free payment options over several months and have proved immensely popular. Experian estimates that a 100mn transactio
Making Tax Digital Deadline and Cheques
A deadline approaches for 860,000 self-employed people and landlords who must start reporting their income and expenses in a new way. It is called Making Tax Digital and it affects small businesses with a turnover or gross income above £50,000 a year. They have until 7th August to report their income and expenditure to HMRC. What do they need to know?It is “unacceptable” that the government has r
Money Box Live: Would you let AI manage your money?
We look at whether artificial intelligence is a help, or a hazard when it comes to helping you with your personal finances.One in five adults in the UK - around 11 million people - are already open to the idea of using AI to manage their finances, according to the Financial Conduct Authority. But using AI to manage our money is not without risk. The FCA, the organisation tasked with keeping us fin
Child Trust Fund "Injustice" and Pension Opt-Outs
Parliament was asked this week to help tens of thousands of young adults get access to their own money. It is sitting in the state-backed Child Trust Funds set up more than 15 years ago with contributions from the government, parents and other relatives. However, because these young people have learning disabilities the legal process for getting hold of their own money can cost more than the coupl
Buying a flat: stepping stone or millstone?
Buying a flat used to be a stepping stone to owning a house – but has this all changed?Research is telling us that the gap in price between flats and houses has hit a 30 year high. According to the property platform Zoopla, so far this this year two-thirds of one and two-bedroom flats listed for sale still haven't been sold. The leasehold system in England is being blamed, in large part, for the
Chair of the Banking Review and Winter Fuel Payments
More than 15,000 people have responded to a Government review into access to banking services in just three weeks since it opened. The review comes after a decade which has seen almost 7,000 bank branches close, with hundreds more happening this year and some announced in just the past few days. Richard Lloyd, a former Director at the consumer group Which?, gives his first interview since being ap
Money Box Live: The Future of Banking
We’ve seen a big fall in the number of bank branches over the last decade. Around 6,700 bank and building society branches have closed since the beginning of 2015, according to Which? With more due to close this month. Now the government is carrying out a review following concerns about the reduced access to face-to-face banking, and how this affects banking customers both in towns and in rural ar
Pension delays and fraud figures
Capita chiefs promised MPs on the Public Accounts Committee it would fix long-running problems with its administration of one of the biggest pension schemes in the country by the end of this month.
Tens of thousands of retired and serving civil servants have been reporting long delays to payments, leading to serious financial hardship to pensioners and their families.
But Money Box has learned th
Renting in Retirement and Wildlife Bank Notes
Six million people who expect to be paying housing costs once they've stopped working say they don't know how they'll be able to afford it. That's according to new research from pensions and investment firm Royal London. It surveyed 4,000 people and says the findings suggest around 1 in 3 UK adults are already paying, or expect to pay, rent or a mortgage once they've retired. What can be done t
AI scams, cohabiting and student loans
Scammers are using increasingly convincing AI generated videos to steal people's money. We hear from a victim who had £165,000 stolen and ask an expert how to spot the warning signs before it's too late.The government has promised new financial rights for cohabiting couples. We examine what the plans could mean for the three and a half million couples in the UK who live together without being marr
Civil Service Pension Debacle and Cheaper Energy?
The PCS union is calling for Capita to lose its contract to administer the Civil Service Pensions scheme six months after it took over. It follows problems which have seen thousands of retired civil servants waiting months for pension payments. The Union says it would like the contract to be managed by the government instead. Capita says it is making progress on getting things 'back to normal le
Carers' Pensions and Face-to-Face Banking
Newly released research seen exclusively by this programme suggests a quarter of the UK's nearly 6 million carers have paused or stopped paying into their pension because of the financial pressures of caring for a loved one. Most often, that loved one has complex needs and the costs of caring for them can be high. In the same research, from Carers UK, three quarters of carers said they're worrie
Money Box Live: Invest or Save?
If you’re fortunate enough to have set some money aside for a rainy day the Government wants you to invest more rather than keep it all in cash savings accounts.The Treasury, has appointed the Investment Association, alongside 19 financial services firms, to lead an industry initiative to persuade people with savings to move at least some of that money into shares. As a nation, we invest much less
Lack of Wills and "Savvy Squirrel"
Millions of adults across the UK, have not told their families what they want to happen to their money and property when they die. STEP, the Society for Trust and Estate Planners, reported this week on a survey which found 8 out of 10 adults had kept their loved ones in ignorance of their wishes. A third of them did not even have a will, leaving its distribution to complex legal rules rather than
How to Live Long and Prosper
We may be living longer, but are our finances in the best of health?On today’s Money Box Live we take a stroll through the decades and examine the kind of financial challenges that living longer might throw at us.A growing number of people in the UK are reaching 100 – Sir David Attenborough among them - and there are now more than 600,000 people in their nineties, but are we sufficiently prepared
Claims management inquiry and bank account switching
Since lenders were ordered to repay billions to consumers who signed up to unfair car finance deals, millions of people have been sent adverts exhorting them to claim compensation through claims managers or law firms. But now the Financial Conduct Authority is to investigate the industry amid concerns of sharp practice and misleading marketing. Paul Lewis asks if the regulator has acted quickly en
Money Box Life: Teenagers talk money
Teenage years are formative in many different ways – and being able to handle finances is one of them.In this programme - one of our special Money Box Life episodes – presenter Felicity Hannah talks to teenagers from varied backgrounds about their early experiences of handling money.We get their views on the guiding role of parents. We hear how making mistakes can prove helpful – if you learn fro
NS&I Delays and Youth Unemployment
Some bereaved listeners whose relatives had money put away with National Savings and Investments are facing weeks and months of delay in getting their own money. It comes as NS&I works to track down the accounts of tens of thousands of people who had died, after it admitted keeping nearly half a billion pounds in its coffers that should have been passed to their estates. The state-owned bank
Renters and Landlords: Your Questions Answered
A huge amount is about to change for anyone who rents their home or who owns a rental property in England. The Renters' Rights Act comes into force on May 1 and there's a lot in it, from ending so-called 'no fault' evictions to limits on rent increases. It will make a big difference to 11 million private renters and their 2.3 million landlords. After all, for tenants it involves their homes while
Renters Rights, Energy Fixing and the £5k Typo
In just a few days time the biggest shake up to renters rights in a generation will come into force in England. It will mean no more than one rent increase a year, an end to bidding wars an end to no fault evictions. The Renters' Rights Act will significantly change the current system not just for 11 million private renters in England but also their 2.3 million landlords. How will it work in prac
Money Box Live: Your Summer Holidays
Are you worried about whether the global disruption could affect your global travel plans? Whether you've booked a foreign trip, are planning a staycation or simply unsure of what to do, this is the programme for you.Holidays may not be the most important thing in the world, especially when you consider what's happening in Iran that's causing all the uncertainty, but that doesn't mean they don't m
Energy Bill Fear and Council Tax Arrears
Are we at the start of a deepening cost of living crisis as nearly half of all adults fear they might not be able afford their energy bills?And from next year, councils in England will be banned from demanding householders pay their council tax in full if they are only late with one payment.HMRC warns of scammers as it begins taking back Winter Fuel Payment from more than two million higher income
Money Box Live: How to Handle Global Shocks
The conflict in Iran has very grave human costs for the Middle East. But it also has economic costs and they are being felt around the world and here in the UK.Just this week the Resolution Foundation think tank said higher energy bills could mean typical British households are £480 worse off this year. From heat pumps to pensions and solar panels to savings - what changes have you made because of
Teacher's Pension Delays and Best Savings Rates
The National Union of Headteachers says the government "must step in" to help teachers in England and Wales who have retired but are facing long delays before their pension is paid. The Teachers' Pension Scheme is one of the biggest in the country with two million members. The Department for Education which has overall responsibility for the scheme says it’s working closely with Capita who admin
Money Box Live: Changes to Rights at Work
The Employment Rights Act has been called the most significant change to workers rights in a generation, so what does it mean for your money?The new law will introduce a raft of new rules for employees and employers over the next 18 months. From April 6th statutory sick pay has been enhanced and will be available from the first day of illness. Also, fathers will have a right to paternity leave on
Pension Age Rise and April Tax Changes
Millions of people in their sixties will now wait up a year longer before they can claim their state pension. From Easter Monday the current state pension age of 66 will gradually increase over the next two years until it reaches 67 affecting everyone born on 6th April 1960 or later. How will it work for those affected?Rent arrears, council tax debt and unpaid utility bills are the main reason mo
Money Box Live: Making Tax Digital Guide
Making Tax Digital for income tax is HMRC's biggest shake-up of self assessment for decades, but are you ready? The new system will involve filing quarterly updates as well as a final return via third party software. This year it'll affect 860,000 sole traders and landlords with a turnover of £50,000. In the coming years the threshold will fall, bringing a total of nearly three million people into
Petrol Price Rises and NS&I
The cost of filling up your car has risen every day over the past three weeks as the conflict continues in the Middle East. Diesel is now averaging £1.78 per litre - a price last seen on Christmas Day 2022, 10 months after Russia invaded Ukraine. Petrol is up 17p and has just tipped over £1.50 per litre. Those figures are UK averages from the RAC. What can you do to bring down the cost?The b
Heating Oil Guide and Banknotes
The government has promised more than £52mn to help people in the UK hit by huge rises in the price of heating oil. Around 1.5 million households in rural areas and particularly in Northern Ireland rely on heating oil for their central heating and the price has more than doubled since the Middle East conflict began. The help will be targeted at vulnerable households but how will it work in practi
Mortgage Rates and Banknotes
It's been a turbulent week for the mortgage market - as lenders adjusted their rates amid fears of a rise in inflation and what that will mean for interest rates. Average mortgage rates for a 2 and 5 year fix tipped above 5% for the first time since the summer this week, and they've been climbing since. In just a few days time the Bank of England will make its next interest rate decision, but a
Middle East Conflict and Crypto Scams
Just seven days has passed since the USA and Israel began their attacks on Iran. As the attacks become heavier and more destructive, the ripples of war are already spreading around the globe. There was an immediate jump in the price of oil and gas, now worsening, as processing plants and facilities are attacked and transport routes disrupted. Petrol prices at the pump have been creeping up too
Civil Service Pension Loans and Pokémon Cards
The number of emergency hardship loans issued to former civil servants who are facing long delays for pension payments is "pitiful" according to a senior MP. Clive Betts, the deputy chair of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee, has told Money Box the loan system is "not adequate" after figures published for the first time earlier this week show fewer than 600 have been issued - compared to many
Motor Finance Claims and Pay by Bank
Claims management firms have been warned by regulators to treat their customers fairly over compensation claims for mis-sold car finance. The financial regulator is set to announce its own free-to-use scheme for the millions of people who could be due compensation because the car finance deals they signed up to were mis-sold.
Private claims management firms, which have already taken on many claim
Money Box Live: Starting Out
How hard is it for young people to find a job and once they do how can they make it pay? Some 16.1% of people aged 16 to 24 are not able to find work according to the latest government figures, the highest level for 10 years. Without a job, being able buying a home, paying into a pension or just pay the bills can seem impossible.So what's the best way to go? Graduate job, apprenticeship or workin
Pension Delays Apology and Romance Scams
The Chief Executive of Capita Public Services has apologised for the serious delays thousands of civil servants are facing simply to get paid their pensions. Richard Holroyd was speaking to MPs on the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday when he admitted his service was "overwhelmed" when it took over the running of the civil service pension scheme in December. We'll get reaction from people aff
Money Box Live: How to Pick a Mortgage
Mortgages are one of the most important financial products most of us ever come across, but they're also complicated. With more than 7,000 products on the market, how do you pick the right one for you?It can feel pretty overwhelming and hard to choose the best product at a time when rates are held at 3.75% but expected to fall, and relaxed lending rules mean some people can borrow 6.5 times their
Credit Card Debt and Civil Service Pensions
Debt charity StepChange says its research suggests around 2.5mn people who have debt on a credit card have paid more in interest, fees and charges over the past 18 months than they have repaid off the debt itself. Its survey of 6,000 adults, done by the polling organisation YouGov, found 1 in 20 adults had this persistent credit card debt. Its calling on the regulator, the Financial Conduct Autho
Money Box Live: Student Loan Debate
Student loans and their impact on graduates’ finances have dominated the news recently. The average student debt in England for 2024 graduates was approximately £53,000, with repayments being made when salaries hit a certain threshold set by the government.But, the finer details on who gets what and how it's all repaid varies vastly depending on when and where students study. Rules also differ v
Report Fraud and Student Loans
Billions of pounds is lost each year to fraud, be that by criminals simply stealing someone's money or by thieves tricking victims into giving them their details before draining their bank accounts. It's a crime that is massively under-reported, with very low conviction rates too. To tackle this, a new agency's been created called 'Report Fraud'. It replaces the problematic "Action Fraud" which
Money Box Life: Working for Longer
The number of people working past retirement age is growing. New analysis of tax data found a 12% rise over the past five years. It was carried out by the specialist employment law firm, Littler, which says official estimates for the last financial year show 2.1 million workers and self-employed people are over state pension age.
For some people carrying on working is a positive choice. They
Energy Ombudsman Powers and Cheques
The chair of Parliament’s Energy Select Committee has told Money Box it’s “vital” the Energy Ombudsman is given new, stronger powers as quickly as possible. Bill Esterson says that it is too easy for energy suppliers to simply ignore ombudsman decisions leaving consumers powerless. Energy UK, which represents suppliers, says customers have the right to expect a good service and, in the vast majo
Money Box Live: Do Electric Cars Add Up?
Buying a new car last year increasingly meant going electric. Around one in four new car buyers made that choice with almost half a million electric cars registered over the year, according to industry figures. That means there are more than 1.8 million fully electric cars driving around the UK, which is still only just over 5 per cent of cars on the road. But in the next few years, more motorists
Energy Bill Battle and Restrictive Covenants
When it comes to keeping our homes warm nearly all of us rely on just a handful of big energy suppliers. And during the winter, especially with the cold temperatures, we rely on those suppliers to do their job. When they don't customers can firstly complain to their supplier but, if they're still not happy, they can take their complaint to something called the Energy Ombudsman. It's a free, impart
Money Box Live: Inheritance Tax
There's a topic that often appears in the Money Box inbox, inheritance tax.It's money paid by the estate of someone once they die, as long as the total value of all their property, possessions, cash and soon pensions are worth more than a fixed threshold set by the government.At the moment Government figures say just 5% of estates actually pay the tax, so relatively low, but there are changes comi
Child Benefit and Credit Cards
More than 60% of parents who lost their child benefit because the tax office believed incorrectly they'd moved abroad, were in fact eligible for the benefit, which is worth at least a hundred pounds a month. As we've reported on this programme before, the mistakes were made after travel data was used to conclude parents had permanently left the UK, but actually many of them had simply been on hol
Money Box Live: Women's Finances
It's 50 years since the Sex Discrimination Act meant all women could take out mortgages and loans without needing a man to approve it.In this programme we'll take a look at how things have changed for women's finances since then and what challenges they still face. From the cost of childcare to lower wages and pension pots. Felicity Hannah is joined by Penny East, Chief Executive of the Fawcett So
Making Tax Digital and Savings Rates
"A big change" - that's how HMRC has described a major transformation starting in April, which affects the way sole traders and landlords report their income and expenses. The tax office has told Money Box that self assessment has to be modernised to reduce errors and allow them to collect more of what's owed to the Treasury.
It's called Making Tax Digital and this first wave is going to affect a
Can You Make a Creative Job Pay?
The creative industries add around £124 billion to the UK economy according to government figures, but for actors, painters, or even influencers, making it pay can seem impossible.The actor Christopher Biggins joins the programme to share how he's managed to work in the arts for more than 50 years as well as exactly what you can earn from Christmas Panto. We'll also discuss how there's more than
Mortgages, Silver Marriages and Warren Buffett
This week the Bank of England cut interest rates to the lowest level for more than two years. The decision to cut Bank Rate to 3.75% came after new figures also showed inflation had slowed, falling to 3.2% in the year to November. What will that mean for mortgages in 2026?Financial advisors say there's been a rise in older couples getting married because of changes to the rules around inheritance
Money Box Life: Blended Family Finances
Life can sometimes get very complicated and messy so can our finances, so we're doing something a bit different to our usual Money Box Live. Introducing Money Box Life where we're looking at the finances of blended families. What we mean is family groups with some children from one parent, some from another and maybe a child or children together thrown into the mix as well.The number of families l
Investment Changes and Women's Financial Rights
Sweeping changes to the way investments are recommended across the UK will start in April. This week the Financial Conduct Authority set out its plans. The regulator hopes they will encourage more people to invest their savings rather than keep them in cash. From April it will bring in what it calls 'targeted support'. That would allow firms to suggest how customers in different groups should man
Money Box Live: Impulse Spending and Debt
It’s December, a time of year when there’s pressure to say yes to every night out, buy the perfect presents and spend without really thinking. All that can lead to snap decisions we later regret, whilst for others, impulse spending can be a real issue all year round.In this programme, Felicity Hannah discusses the psychology behind impulse buying, why do we do it, what are the triggers, and who is
Energy Costs for Families and Salary Sacrifice Pensions
New research suggests there are 6 million children across the UK living in fuel poverty, according to the charity National Energy Action. It defines fuel poverty as when a household has to spend at least 10% of its income to keep their home warm. It says the impact on children of living in a home which parents and carers struggle to keep warm can be significant. We'll hear more about what it woul
Money Box Live: Making Sense of Your Pay
How much do we really understand about our pay?From frozen tax thresholds to salary sacrifice and minimum wage increases, a number of changes made in the Chancellor's budget might have left you looking a bit more closely at your payslip.So, what do all those figures mean, what is your employer legally obliged to provide and what can you do if you think your pay is wrong?Joining Felicity Hannah to
Cash ISA Change and Carers Allowance
The Chancellor announced dozens of changes in the Budget that will affect the money in your pocket from wages and energy bills to savings. Many of them won't happen for some time - years in some cases - so we look at the more imminent tax changes. That will include the freezing of tax thresholds that will see higher taxes for many and changes to the Cash ISA limits.A "bewildering system" of benefi
Money Box Live: Autumn Budget 2025
For months we’ve heard speculation about what the Autumn Budget might bring - now we know. The Chancellor has delivered her statement, setting out plans for taxes, benefits, and spending. But what does it mean for your money? Our panel of experts break down the key announcements and explain how they could affect you. Felicity Hannah is joined by David Dodgson, a partner at the independent financia
Life-changing Scams and Child Benefit
Money Box takes a special look at how victims of fraud are treated by those supposed to help them in the weeks and months afterwards. How are they helped in their fight for justice by the police, their banks and the courts? Or are they all too often left struggling to deal with both the financial and mental impact on their own? We also hear how a small regional charity in the UK has partnered with
Water Bills and Graduate Jobs
A record number of households across England and Wales are now getting social tariffs from water suppliers to help cut their bills. Two million households now get support according to a new report from the Consumer Council for Water, which is up by 22% on last year. It comes as nearly 3 million are now in debt to water companies, owing an average of £744. What's behind that rise?If you're a rece
Suspended child benefit and the cost of school trips
MPs on the Treasury Select Committee are seeking answers from HMRC after thousands of parents have had their child benefit stopped because they took a holiday abroad. The mistakes happened during a fraud crackdown on people emigrating from the UK but still claiming the benefit for their children. Now, among all the financial pressures of recent years the costs faced by parents for school trips has
Funeral insurance cancelled and not-so-simple assessment?
Thousands of people who've paid millions of pounds into an insurance plan they thought would cover their funeral costs face getting nothing in return. The insurer has told them their policies are being cancelled. Some had paid into the plan through their credit union for decades expecting a cash payment to go to their families when they died. But the cover will now come to an end as the insurer s
Money Box Live: Beating the squeeze?
Inflation may not be in double digits anymore, but it is still almost double the Bank of England's target. That means prices are rising twice as fast as they should be. So we might have come through the cost of living crisis - but many people are still feeling its impact.Today we're asking: how are you beating the squeeze? And, in this week of trick or treating, how are you making sure you can sti
Infected Blood Compensation and Standing Charges
Lawyers acting for victims of the infected blood scandal have written to the Chancellor demanding urgent action to avoid families and loved ones having to pay £100,000s in tax. The government has previously said compensation payments would not be subject to Inheritance Tax. But with around 3,000 victims having already died they say a change in the rules is needed to avoid their loved ones facing h
Money Box Live: First-Time Buyers
For some it's the dream, for others it's the plan, for most it's an effort. On this programme we look at buying a first home. It's rarely easy but plenty of people are making the jump. The property site Zoopla says first time buyers accounted for 40% of sales in the first half of the year.But the picture can be so different depending on where you live and how much family support you can tap into.
Unauthorised Recurring Card Payments and Overpaying Mortgages
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute is warning people to keep a close eye on their bank and credit card accounts after thousands of unsuspecting shoppers have said they're having money taken without their knowledge. Individual payments are usually quite low, but if not spotted, they can quickly start to add up. Trading Standards say it's "outrageous" these payments are being taken without ex
Money Box Live: Apprenticeships
The government wants more young people to be offered "gold standard apprenticeships". The plan was unveiled at the Labour party conference as the Prime Minister ditched the ambition for half of young people to go to university.So we're looking at the financial side of apprenticeships, from how much they pay to what they can mean for a family's finances. Felicity Hannah is joined by Ben Rowland, th
Investing and Car Finance Compensation
The Chancellor wants more people to invest in shares, UK companies and infrastructure projects in a bid to boost growth in the economy. Rachel Reeves argued in her recent Mansion House speech that it would make people better off, but this kind of investment involves risk and is making some people nervous. We put those concerns to Treasury Minister Lucy Rigby.When is the best time to start a pensio
Money Box Live: At the London Stock Exchange
Money Box Live hits the road and heads to the heart of the City of London for this special programme on investing. We're live at the London Stock Exchange to look at the basics and weigh up the different options.According to the Financial Conduct Authority, about a third of adults had some sort of investment last year, but Chancellor Rachel Reeves wants savers to put more money into investments, a
Paying with Cash and Pension Age Rise
Cash now accounts for less than 10% of all the retail payments we make. New figures out this week UK Finance, which represents banks and others, show the latest in the long term decline of cash. Just over a year ago new rules from the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority said banks had to ensure customers had access to their cash and could take their money out in cash, but at the same time t
Money Box Live: Private Healthcare
More of us than ever before have access to private medical insurance. New data shared with Money Box Live shows that more than 8 million people were covered last year - that's about 5 million adults, plus their families. It's a rise of 4% on the previous year and comes after a series of sharp increases since the pandemic.We find out what's driving the growth, who's buying the policies and hear fro
Teachers' Pensions and Car Insurance Compensation
The National Association of Head Teachers has written to the Department for Education demanding it take action to address what it describes as the failing Teachers' Pensions Scheme. The union has told Money Box it's shocked at the number of members contacting it for help describing a litany of delays, miscommunication and the failure to carry out even basic services leaving many in financial disar
Money Box Live: Understanding Crypto
Cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, are a type of digital money that has proliferated in recent years. They are mostly unconnected to governments or central banks. Some people treat them as an investment, some people as a bit of a flutter, and many more people don't yet know anything about them at all. We look at how they work and how the regulatory landscape is changing with the UK's financial regul
Warning over Trusts and Landlord Mortgages
Top lawyers have told Money Box that people across the UK are being misled into paying thousands of pounds for products which they are told will protect the value of their home from inheritance tax or being taken to pay for care home fees. In reality, they say, these schemes do not work and may trigger legal complications and huge financial costs in the future. Usually the products involve setting
Money Box Live: Navigating a Terminal Illness
This week on Money Box Live we're looking at a topic that's very difficult but very important. What happens to your finances when the worst happens? How do you plan for your financial future when you've been diagnosed with a life-limiting or terminal illness? It's a question a group of MPs have been asking too. The All Party Parliamentary Group for Hospice and End of Life Care has found that peop
Mortgage Charter and Unclaimed Benefits
New figures reveal that more than a quarter of a million homeowners have temporarily reduced their mortgages payments, or extended their mortgage term, since lenders agreed to offer better support to customers in June 2023 through what was called the Mortgage Charter. There's been a sharp rise in people taking their tax-free lump sum out of their pension over the past year. Since 2015 people o
Money Box Live: The Cost of University
About a quarter of a million 18-year-olds in the UK secured a university place this summer and are now preparing to head off to their chosen institution. The numbers increased by about 5% at a time when the costs associated with getting a degree are also rising. There's a patchwork of different funding models across the UK, but for students in England and Wales tuition fees have gone up for the fi
Inheritance Planning and State Pension Underpayments
We look at changes which the Government has announced – and the speculation around those it hasn’t. Pension inheritance rules will change in 2027. It may seem a long time away, but people are making plans now. We hear from some of those pension planners as they try to clear up any confusion around the changes. We also look at speculation around what might be in the Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Autumn
Money Box Live: Rising rents troubling tenants
Being a tenant can be pricey — and it’s only getting pricier.
Private rents rose by almost six per cent in the year to July, and while the pace may be slowing, the average UK rent still stands at over £1,300 a month. So what does that mean for the millions of people living in private rented homes?
This week on Money Box Live, we're looking at the cost of renting — and what it’s doing to your fin
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