Money Box

The State Pension age went up again this week as part of its gradual shift from 66 years old to 67. The law says it will rise again to 68 by 2046, but that may change. A State Pension Age Review, the third to be held, is considering whether the rules around state pension age are appropriate in the light of the latest life expectancy data and will recommend how state pension age should be determined in the future. We'll speak to Dr Suzy Morrissey, who was appointed by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions last year to prepare an independent report into the future of the State Pension age.Louise Botting, the former presenter of Money Box, has died at the age of 87 after a short illness. We'll pay tribute.Average mortgage rates hit a three year high this week affecting millions of homes owners looking to remortgage and people hoping to buy their first home. What's the best advice?And, the Bank of England has picked the animals to appear on the next series of bank notes. The hedgehog, barn owl, puffin and bumblebee were chosen after a public vote - with almost half a million people responding to a consultation. Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Jo Krasner Researchers: Catherine Lund and Eimear Devlin Editor: Jess Quayle Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 10th October 2026)

One of the biggest financial questions facing families as they get older is: who pays for care if it's needed? Costs can vary significantly depending on where you live. In England, the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham has promised a National Care Service which includes free personal care in the home. Personal care is already free at the point of use in Scotland, in Wales the cost is capped at £100 a week whilst in Northern Ireland it's means tested.When home help isn't enough, the next move might be care home, and figures suggest that costs £67,496 per year on average in the UK according to the directory carehome.co.uk.But who pays the bills and how do you find out what you're entitled to? In this episode, Felicity Hannah will be looking at what the rules are now and how they might change, as well as taking questions around selling the family home and care annuities. Joining the programme are Claire Rintoul, the CEO of Sheffcare, a charity which operates 9 care homes, Independent Financial Advisor Jonathan Rowley from the Society of Later Life Advisors, and Fiona Collie from the charity Carers Scotland.Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Sarah Rogers Editor: Jess Quayle Senior Editor: Sara Wadeson(This episode was first broadcast at 3pm on Wednesday the 7th of October, 2026)

It's six months until changes bringing unspent pension pots into Inheritance Tax come into force. From 6th April, any money left in pension pots will be added to the rest of the deceased’s estate and be liable for Inheritance Tax. This will be due if the total estate exceeds the threshold where the tax begins, which can be as low as £325,000. At the moment pension funds can be passed to heirs free of Inheritance Tax. The government has said that pension funds were being used not to live on in retirement but to pass wealth on to heirs tax-free instead. What might this mean for your plans?Criminals stole more than £900 million from tens of thousands of victims of investment fraud in the last financial year according to the latest report from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau. The amount stolen was up a fifth and the number of victims also jumped up - by a staggering 37%. This is why the National Crime Agency has this week started a campaign aimed at cutting this most devastating of crimes.And, why are some disabled people who already receive support through the government’s Access to Work scheme having their funding reduced or removed?Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporters: Dan Whitworth Researchers: Jo Krasner and Amber Mehmood Editor: Jess Quayle Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson(First broadcast on Radio 4 at 12pm Saturday 3rd October 2026)

Cohabiting couples are the fastest-growing family type in the UK. There are three and a half million couples living together without being married or in a civil partnership.Sharing a home, and perhaps a family and finances, is a huge commitment, you might assume that years of living like this would give you similar protection to a married couple. But in England and Wales, it doesn’t.However, big changes could be on the way, the government is planning to give cohabiting couples more rights when it comes to property and finances and has been consulting on what that might look like. There are already frameworks in place for those living in Scotland and Ireland. In Northern Ireland there are fewer protections.Felicity Hannah is joined by Hannah Saxe, a specialist family solicitor at Brabners law firm who also sits on Resolution’s National Cohabitation Committee and Laura Suter, director of personal finance at AJ Bell.Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Sarah Rogers Editor: Jess Quayle Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson(This episode was first broadcast on Wednesday the 30th of September, 2026)

Almost half of people in work don't know how much their employer is contributing to their workplace pension. That is one finding from a survey by the consumer group Which? It also found that people looking for a new job are more likely to value things like holiday allowance and flexible working than what the employer paid into their pension. What can be done to help the hundreds of thousands of low income pensioners who're missing out on benefits they're entitled to? We'll hear from one pensioner on the Isle of Wight who boosted her income by nearly £400 per month after finding out she qualified for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction.If you're a pensioner due to receive the Winter Fuel Payment in England, Wales and Northern Ireland you have until 20th September to opt out if you want to. And, the UK's biggest lenders put up mortgage rates. What’s the best advice for first-time buyers or those who need to refix their deal?  Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Jo Krasner Researchers: Catherine Lund and Eimear Devlin Editor: Jess Quayle Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson(First broadcast 12pm on Saturday 12th September 2026)

New research published this week found that free AI chatbots gave inaccurate answers to financial questions more than half of the time. This research was carried out by a company called Saturn AI which works with financial advice firms. It ran a series of financial questions through 18 different AI platforms more than 10 thousand times, checking them against key criteria to decide whether they passed or failed. The research identified errors relating to student loans, mortgages, pensions, tax, savings and debt. What's the best advice for using AI to help with your personal finance?The price of heating oil has risen sharply this month to around £1,100 to fill a 1,000 litre tank, £400 more than it cost in early July. The price spiked in March to as much as £1,340 because of the Middle East conflict. Before that prices were stable at around £600 for a tank. What should people do now as we head into winter? Is there enough information available when it comes to choosing your home or travel insurance?And, the government has paid out more than £300 million pounds since the start of a scheme designed to help those on low incomes to build up a savings pot. This week new figures show that more than 650,000 people are now using the Help to Save Scheme, which was set up in 2018. Who's eligible and how do you apply?Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Jo Krasner Researchers: Eimear Devlin and Amber Mehmood. Editor: Jess Quayle Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 26th September 2026)

There can be a lot of financial pressures when you're first starting out in your career, paying the rent, saving for a home and clearing student debt to name just a few.So the idea of saving for a retirement that's decades away can seem like a very low priority.Research fromthe People's Partnership suggests 1 in 8 young adults now say that engaging with their pension feels pointless because they don't think they will ever retire. Meanwhile others are saving hard into workplace pensions now, because they're worried there won't be a State Pension by the time they get there. We talk to Maisie, Rebecca and Ruaridh, who're in their late teens and twenties about their financial priorities and where savings and pensions fit into that. Felicity Hannah is also joined by Sarah Pennells, Consumer Finance Specialist at Royal London and Shantel Okello, Policy Researcher at the Pensions Policy Institute to answer your questions.Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Sarah Rogers Editor: Jess Quayle Senior Editor: Sara Wadeson(This episode was first broadcast on Wednesday the 23rd of September, 2026).

Major reforms are needed in workplace pensions to increase the amount people are saving for their retirement, but it will take the next 20 years to get there. That's according to Professor Nick Pearce, one of the people appointed by the Government to its Pensions Commission to look at the problem and find solutions. Government figures show that around 18 million working age adults are not saving into a pension and nearly half of those have a job. Professor Pearce talks to Paul Lewis about what they're looking at to tackle that problem. Three of the UK's leading end-of-life charities have described the way bereaved families are being treated by the Capita-run Civil Service Pension Scheme as an "injustice". Last week the government published data showing more than 1,000 cases where loved ones had been waiting more than 100 days for survivor pensions and death in service payments. Capita has apologised many times already but faces the prospect of losing the contract of running the scheme, worth hundreds of millions of pounds, as the government looks to bring it back in-house.More than a trillion pounds of our savings is sitting in accounts that pay little or even no interest, when it could easily be earning 4% or more elsewhere. Those figures come from the Bank of England analysed by the investment platform Lightyear. They show £1.2 trillion is sitting in UK bank and building society accounts and a quarter of that amount is earning no interest at all. Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Jo Krasner Researcher: Amber Mehmood Editor: Jess Quayle Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 19th September 2026)

More than 320,000 households in England and Wales complained to their water supplier last year. A rise of 56% on the year before, according a report from the industry watchdog the Consumer Council for Water.It also says the number of people escalating complaints to them has rocketed 84% - the biggest rise in the watchdog's 20-year history.The topic of water is huge conversation right now, from who should control it, the price of bills and what happens when things go wrong. Andy White, from the Consumer Council for Water, which represents water customers in England and Wales and Jeevan Jones, chief economist at Water UK, which represents the companies responsible for getting water to our homes join Felicity Hannah to get answers to some of your questions and comments.Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Sarah Rogers Editor: Jess Quayle Senior Editor: Sara Wadeson (First broadcast 3pm on Wednesday 16th of September 2026).

When someone you love needs financial help, lending them money can seem like the easiest way to support them. And when you're the one facing financial difficulties, turning to someone close to you for a loan can feel like the most natural solution.Around 1 in 4 of us borrow from family and friends when times are tight according to a survey from the not for profit, Fair4All Finance. It found many of those people were asking for smaller amounts of money of around £250 or less to help pay for essentials like food and bills. However, for some, it could be for a loan of tens of thousands of pounds, like children asking for money for a house deposit. The tension is, that if you don't get it right, you could damage relationships with people you care about.So what are the rules and what happens when things don't go to plan? Joining Felicity Hannah is Melinda Giles, a partner at the law firm Giles Wilson who specialises in family law and Peter Tutton, Director of Policy at the debt charity StepChange. Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Sarah Rogers Editor: Jess Quayle Senior Editor: Sara Wadeson(This episode first aired on Wednesday the 9th September, 2026).