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We all dream about what we will do when we don't have to work anymore. The perfect retirement looks different for everyone, from travelling the world and luxury holidays to spending more time with family and friends, but the cost of stopping work can be bit of a wake-up call.
In this Money Box Live we'll look at how to make the most of the savings you have as retirement approaches to how to start planning for retirement at the start of your career.
Felicity Hannah is joined by Sangita Chawla, Managing Director at Standard Life and Zoe Alexander, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association to answer your questions - and offer tips on how to plan for a good retirement.
Presenter: Felicity HannahProducer: Catherine LundEditor: Jess Quayle
(This programme was first broadcast at 3pm Wednesday 12th February, 2025.)
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The Chair of the House of Commons Energy Security Committee has told Money Box that the behaviour of the energy firms is "outrageous" following our investigation into so called back-billing. That's when energy firms send out a new bill for gas or electricity which was used more than 12 months before. Last week we reported that thousands of people have complained that is still going on.
Energy UK, which speaks for the big suppliers said if customers think they are being asked to pay for energy covered by the back-billing policy, they should contact their supplier as soon as possible to resolve the complaint quickly and efficiently.
The Department for Work and Pensions asks executors and families to repay state pensions it has sent to people who have already died. It says it asks for it back to protect public funds, but do you have to pay?
And high interest rates means more people paying tax on interest savings, but how do you know and what are the rules?
Presenter: Paul LewisReporter: Dan WhitworthResearchers: Jo Krasner and Eimear DevlinEditor: Sarah Rogers
(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 8th February 2025)
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Paying for care in later life is something many of us will face. Unlike other NHS services, social care is not free at the point of use, the average annual care home cost is £60,000, if additional care is needed that price will go up.
After a recent special Money Box Live from Grange Care Residential Home in Sheffield we received so many questions that we simply couldn't get through them all on air, so we've raided the inbox and brought in the experts to return to the topic to answer as many was we can.
From how to plan to pay for care, what your money pays for, and how to challenge fees, Felicity Hannah, is joined by Tish Hanifan, the Founder of the Society of Later Life Advisors and Vic Rayner, CEO of the National Care Forum and Chair of the Care Providers Alliance.
Presenter: Felicity HannahProducer: Catherine Lund/Sarah RogersEditor: Sarah Rogers
(This programme was first broadcast at 3pm on Wednesday the 5th of February, 2025).
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Thousands of people have made complaints to the Energy Ombudsman related to so-called back billing, which is when customers are sent new bills for energy use longer than 12 months prior. The practice was banned by the regulator Ofgem in 2018 but is still causing consumers problems. In the cases investigated by Money Box customers had to complain multiple times before their suppliers recognised they'd broken these rules and cancelled the bills. Ofgem says it's committed to reviewing billing practices while the trade industry body Energy UK says suppliers are continuously working to improve practices.
Is the Lifetime ISA fit for purpose in 2025? That's the question being asked as Parliament's Treasury Committee calls for evidence about whether it is still an appropriate financial product nine years after it was created. We'll discuss how it works successfully for some, but also the problems some people face.
The price people in England and Wales pay for water and sewage services will rise sharply from 1st April. Figures announced this week revealed that households in England and Wales will pay on average £123 a year more for their water. What can you do if you're worried about affording your bills?
And thousands of people in Northern Ireland are still without power after Storm Éowyn last week - what help is available?
Presenter: Paul LewisReporters: Dan Whitworth and Eimear DevlinResearcher: Jo KrasnerEditor: Jess Quayle
(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 1st February 2025)
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Research from charity Scope suggests that disabled households have to find an extra £1,000 pounds a month to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households.
Extra costs include, heating, equipment and transport. Having a disability can also mean navigating the benefits system - a system that Chancellor Rachel Reeves said today would undergo reform by the spring, as the government struggles to manage the rising cost of claims.
Felicity Hannah is joined by Dan White from Disability Rights UK and Sarah Coles, Head of Personal Finance at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Presenter: Felicity HannahProducer: Sarah RogersEditor: Jess Quayle
(First broadcast 3pm Wednesday 29th January 2025)
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Over 1.4 million pensioners unexpectedly received a tax bill last year, according to exclusive data shared with Money Box. The mutual life, pensions and investment firm Royal London says its research suggests more than two thirds of those who'd retired paid tax on their pension income last year. But, also, that 1 in 7 of those didn't expect to do so. Pensioners can pay tax on anything that counts as income if it goes over the personal tax free allowance of £12,570 a year. We'll discuss how that works.
A record number of people in England and Wales who were overwhelmed by their debts took out what is called a debt relief order last year. DROs freeze people's debts for 12 months and then write them off. They're a cheaper, more straightforward alternative to bankruptcy although there are serious financial implications and strict criteria about who can apply for them. We'll find out more about what's behind that rise.
Savings rates are still high but there's £300 billion in bank accounts earning nothing, what's behind that?
And, unexpected mobile and broadband mid-contract price rises are now banned after a change by the regulator. What does that mean?
Presenter: Paul LewisReporter: Dan WhitworthResearchers: Eimear Devlin and Jo KrasnerEditor: Jess Quayle
(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 25th January 2025)
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Car, home, travel and life insurance are just some of the policies we might take out to protect ourselves if the worst happens.
This year we've already seen floods followed by freezing temperatures and property claim pay outs hit £4.1 billion last year according to industry figures.
So this week we look at whether insurance companies step up when we need them, and more widely at the rising costs of insurance, particularly for motorists.
Felicity Hannah is joined by experts Mark Shepherd from the Association of British Insurers, and Sam Richardson, Deputy Editor of Which? Money.
Presenter: Felicity HannahProducer: Sarah Rogers and Craig HendersonEditor: Jess Quayle
(This programme was first broadcast at 3p.m. on Wednesday 22nd of January 2025)
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A senior MP has backed calls to start automatically paying out hundreds of millions of pounds to young adults if they haven’t claimed government-backed child trusts funds by the time they turn 21. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, who is also chair of parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, says the move would help nearly half a million people born between 2002 and 2011 access one billion pounds of their own money that they don’t even know about. The government says the idea would be complex and costly.
There has been a lot of talk on the news about gilts and the bond market. We're joined by Russ Mould, the investment director of AJ Bell, to explain what a gilt is and whether you can buy one?
There's less than three months left to boost your state pension by to filling old gaps in your National Insurance record. At the moment people who have not yet reached pension age and those already on the new state pension can fill gaps in their record back as far as 2006. From this April that window will be shut. What should you do, if you think you've got gaps to fill?
And, the couple who boosted their income by more than a hundred pounds a week after listening to Money Box. Find out how they did it.
Presenter: Paul LewisReporter: Dan WhitworthResearchers: Eimear Devlin and Jo KrasnerEditor: Jess Quayle
(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 18th January 2025)
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1 in 5 parents say they're struggling with the cost of sending their children to school according to the National Parent Survey.
There're uniform costs, school trips, afterschool clubs and school dinners to consider, but is there a way to keep costs down?
Some changes are on the way with government plans to give every parent of a child in a state primary school in England the legal right to a half hour breakfast club, as well as limits on how many branded uniform parents have to buy.
This week Felicity Hannah will hear from parents and is joined by Jo Thurston, parenting coach from Action for Children’s Parent Talk service, Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at the investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown and Neil Renton, Head Teacher of Harrogate Grammar School.
Presenter: Felicity HannahReporter: Sarah RogersEditor: Jess Quayle
(This programme was first broadcast at 3pm on Wednesday the 15th of January 2025)
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The Government made a start this week on its manifesto promise to provide free breakfast clubs in every primary school in England. The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill got through its first big step in the House of Commons on Wednesday and will give every parent of a child in a state primary school in England the legal right to a half hour breakfast club for their children with food and childcare. Schools Minister Stephen Morgan speaks to Paul Lewis about the plans.
New research form the housing and homelessness charity Shelter, seen exclusively by this programme, suggests more than half of those facing housing worries have been kept awake at night over the past year due to concerns about things like high rents, poor conditions and the risk of eviction. What can be done to help them?
And millions of people who need to file a self assessment tax form have still not done it - and the deadline is less than three weeks away on January 31st. Listen for the Money Box guide on what you need to know.
Presenter: Paul LewisReporter: Dan WhitworthResearchers: Emma Smith, Eimear Devlin and Jo KrasnerEditor: Jess Quayle
(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 11th January 2025)
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Money Box Live broadcasts from Grange Crescent Residential Care Home in Sheffield for a special programme on the cost of care.
Unlike NHS services, social care is not free at the point of use. It costs an average of around £60,000 per year to live in a residential care home and considerably more if you need nursing care.
Last week the Department of Health and Social Care announced a new review into care costs, but the independent commission tasked with the job will not publish it's final report until 2028.
We'll be speaking to residents and family members about how they're paying their care bills and hearing from the care home manager about how it all works.
Joining Felicity Hannah is Claire Rintoul, CEO of the charity Sheffcare which operates Grange Crescent Residential Care Home as well as eight others in the city, Professor Vic Rayner, Chair of the Care Providers Alliance which represents independent and voluntary adult social care providers in England and from the Society of later life advisors, Independent Financial Advisor Jonathan Rowley.
Presenter: Felicity HannahProducer: Sarah RogersProduction Coordinators: Emma Smith and Molly PipeEditor: Jess Quayle
(This programme was first broadcast 3pm on Wednesday the 8th of January, 2025)
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Temperatures have fallen below zero in much of the UK this week, just as gas and electricity prices rose. From New Year's Day the price cap set by the regulator Ofgem on every unit of power we use will mean the price for heating, washing and cooking for a typical household will rise by just over one per cent. A typical bill will go up £21 a year to £1,738. But, that is in fact 10% or £190 lower than the price cap set a year ago. How are people coping with costs this winter?
From New Year's Day the fees private schools charge parents will be subject to VAT at 20%. Previously private school fees were exempt. The Independent Schools’ Bursars Association has told Money Box that schools are raising fees from this term by between 13% and 18%, though some are absorbing the whole cost while others pass on the full amount raising fees by 20%. What impact will that have on schools and parents? The Treasury says pupils numbers at independent schools have remained steady since 2000, despite fees increasing by around 75% in real terms since then. We'll speak to Rudolf Eliott Lockhart - CEO of the Independent Schools Association.
From 1st January catching the bus could cost you 50% more. Single fares in England which had been capped at £2 have risen by a pound to a maximum of £3. What impact will that have on passengers?
And 'tis the season to be - taking things back. What are your refund rights?
Presenter: Paul LewisReporter: Dan WhitworthResearchers: Emma Smith, Catherine Lund and Eimear Devlin.Editor: Jess Quayle
(First broadcast 12noon Saturday 4th January 2025)
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There are 36 million pets in the UK, which doesn't include fish and other aquatics, and the cost of owning one can add up.
One of the biggest bills a pet owner can face is the price of taking their animal to the vet.
The Competition and Markets Authority launched an investigation earlier this year into whether people are paying too much and whether they are getting information about treatment options. It says the 'unprecedented response' it's had shows the strength of feeling.
Aside from that, there's the general cost of care like food and heating bills.
This week Felicity Hannah is joined by Dr. Elizabeth Mullineaux, dog owner, vet and current president of the British Veterinary Association and by Lisa Webb, dog and cat owner and senior lawyer at the consumer organisation Which?
We also hear from an award winning dog breeder, a cat and rabbit rescue centre and even head to a dog Christmas party - although we must point out, a pet is for life, not just for the festive season.
Presenter: Felicity HannahProducer: Sarah RogersEditor: Jess Quayle
(This episode was first broadcast on Saturday the 28th of December 2024).
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Electricity and gas suppliers say they're offering hundreds of millions of pounds of additional support for customers this winter. Energy prices will rise again on New Year's Day and the latest figures from the regulator Ofgem show customers already owe suppliers a record £3.7bn in unpaid bills. We'll look at what help customers might be able to get if they're struggling to pay their bills.
On Thursday the Bank of England kept the Bank Rate unchanged at 4.75%. We'll ask a mortgage broker what buyers can expect in 2025?
As a deadline approaches for government funded childcare hours for some working parents – how does it work and how can they apply?
We'll look back at some of the help given to Money Box listeners this year and hear music from the Barton Road Choir.
Presenter: Paul LewisReporter: Dan WhitworthResearchers: Emma Smith and Jo KrasnerEditor: Jess Quayle
(First broadcast at 12pm Saturday 21st December 2024)
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Almost half of us are making money from side hustles according to the comparison site, Finder.
But how do they work, what do you need to do if you have one and when do you need to tell the tax office?
We will be meeting those using their hobbies to boost their bank balances this Christmas as well as clearing up the rules around selling on online platforms.
Joining Felicity Hannah is Helen Thornley from the Association of Tax Technicians and Vicks Rodwell of IPSE, the association for self-employed people. Presenter: Felicity HannahProducers: Sarah Rogers and Neil MorrowProduction Coordinator: Emma SmithEditor: Jess Quayle
(This episode was first broadcast at 3pm on Wednesday 18th December 2024)
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Some councils in England are offering vouchers or money directly to pensioners who've lost out on the Winter Fuel Payment this year. The money is being offered as part of the Household Support Fund, which is money given by the government to local councils to use to help residents who're struggling with essential bills, like energy and food costs. Winter Fuel Payment can be £200 or £300, but this year it's means tested, meaning millions of people will no longer get it. Money Box has found that some pensioners may still be able to get help with their energy bills via their council, if they've just missed on qualifying but are still struggling. The government says over a million pensioners will still receive the Winter Fuel Payment and that its drive to boost Pension Credit take up has seen applications more than double with over 40,000 more pensioners now receiving it.
The law relating to how couples split their assets and provide for each other and any children after divorce was last changed in England and Wales more than fifty years ago. On Wednesday the Law Commission which advises the government on how well laws are working will publish its findings on whether the current rules deliver fair and consistent outcomes. If it finds problems it will make suggestions for how they might be solved. We'll discuss what those options might be.
And, we often talk about how hard it is for young people to afford buy their first home - but how easy is to manage finances once you get on the property ladder?
Presenter: Paul LewisReporter: Dan WhitworthResearchers: Emma Smith and Jo Krasner
(First broadcast 12noon Saturday 14th December 2024)
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The British public is expected to donate close to £3bn to good causes over the festive season according to research from the Charities Aid Foundation.
If you are giving this year, how can you make sure all of your money gets to your favourite charity or if the charity is even real?
We'll be considering the different ways to give and giving advice on how to avoid scams as well as hearing from some charities about how they're faring.
Felicity Hannah is joined by David Holdsworth, CEO of the Charities Commission for England and Wales and Philippa Cornish, Head of Charities at the Charities Aid Foundation.
She also chats to best friends and super fundraisers Hughie and Freddie, who have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for Children's hospitals.
Presenter: Felicity HannahProducers: Sarah Rogers and Catherine LundResearcher: Emma SmithEditor: Jess Quayle
(This episode was first broadcast at 3pm on Wednesday the 11th of December 2024)
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Around 9 out of 10 charities have told a new report they've had at least one issue with banking in the past two years. The Charity Finance Group and National Council for Voluntary Organisations spoke to almost 2,000 charities in the UK and found more than three quarters had struggled to change the named signatories on their bank account and 4 in 10 said that the checks they were asked to complete weren't designed for voluntary organisations. We'll speak to one of the authors of that report and get reaction from UK Finance, which represents banks.
What were the key announcements in the Scottish Budget? We'll discuss income tax thresholds and a promise to lift the two-child benefit cap.
If you're a pensioner missing the Winter Fuel Payment this year - what other help could you get if you're struggling? We'll look at Attendance Allowance - who's eligible and how you can apply.
And, what's the best advice to make sure you're not inadvertently insuring the same thing twice?
Presenter: Felicity HannahReporter: Dan WhitworthResearchers: Emma Smith and Jo KrasnerEditor: Jess Quayle
(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 7th December 2024)
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Almost a million women are trapped in dangerous relationships because of economic abuse, figures from a dedicated charity suggest.
Economic abuse is now a legally recognised form of domestic abuse. It could include not allowing access to cash or bank accounts or the things money buys like food and clothing.
The charity Surviving Economic Abuse reports that 1 in 7 women in the UK have experienced this kind of control and coercion at the hands of a partner and we know that men can face it too.
Felicity Hannah is joined by Sam Smethers the CEO of Charity Surviving Economic Abuse and also solicitor Gary Rycroft.
Presenter: Felicity HannahProducer: Sarah RogersResearcher: Emma SmithEditor: Jess Quayle
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this programme then details of help are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline, or you can call for free, at any time to hear recorded information on 08000 155 947.
(This episode was first broadcast at 3pm on Wednesday the 4th of December 2024)
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A new report about the UK’s main financial regulator was published this week, concluding the Financial Conduct Authority is "seen as incompetent at best, dishonest at worst." The report was put together by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services, which is made up of cross-party MPs and members of the House of Lords. They spoke to victims of financial scandals who lost money in frauds and heard testimony from people who worked, and some who still do work, for the organisation. The FCA has said it sympathises with those who have lost out as a result of wrongdoing in financial services, however it strongly rejects the characterisation of the organisation. We'll hear from the co-author of the report and, in his first interview since its publication, we'll speak to Nikhil Rathi, the Chief Executive of the Financial Conduct Authority.
What deals can people expect if they’re re-mortgaging their homes over the next 6 months? We'll hear from listeners affected and get some advice from a mortgage broker.
And, the 9 year old coin collector who has found a special £2 coin and wants to know whether to spend it or save it.
Presenter: Felicity HannahReporter: Dan WhitworthResearcher: Emma SmithEditor: Jess Quayle
(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 30th November 2024)
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