Money Box

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…

17 Oct 24 min

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…

14 Oct 29 min

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…

10 Oct 26 min

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…

7 Oct 29 min

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…

4 Oct 24 min

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…

1 Oct 28 min

Firefighter Wins and Winter Fuel Scams

Hundreds of former retained firefighters have come forward to claim millions of pounds in missing pension payments after Money Box covered the story earlier this summer. We'd reported how their union, the Fire and Rescue Service Association, had warned thousands of its members risked missing out on the payments very…

26 Sep 25 min

Money Box Live: What You Wish You'd Known

Dragons' Den investor and entrepreneur Deborah Meaden joins Felicity Hannah to look at the money wisdom and advice you wish you'd known when you were starting out. They hear from listeners who say they wish they'd known more about everything, from how to budget to asking for a pay rise…

26 Aug 29 min

Pensions, On-Call Firefighters, Childcare

When will you retire? And will you have enough money to live comfortably? Big questions and this week the government announced two major reviews to study them after concerns that today's workers will be poorer in retirement than their parents. The first is a revived Pension Commission with a wide…

23 Aug 25 min

Money Box Live: How to Improve Your Credit Score

Every adult has a credit score but you've been telling us the factors affecting it can be mystifying and frustrating. So in this edition of Money Box Live we've been digging into the inbox to answer your questions on credit scores. Whether you’re trying to get a mortgage or loan…

19 Aug 29 min

Money Box Live: Why Are Women Retiring with Less?

For every £1 a man has in his private pension pot a woman has just 42p according to research from pension company Royal London. When it comes to the State Pension, the gap has closed considerably for people retiring today. But women in their 80s are still getting up to…

12 Aug 29 min

Water Meters and Cash ISAs

Money Box can exclusively reveal there has been a sharp rise in the number of people applying to have water meters fitted to try to bring their bills down. The data has been shared with this programme by the Consumer Council for Water, the CCW, the which speaks for water…

8 Aug 25 min

Money Box Live: Losing Your Job

Unemployment recently rose to its highest level in almost four years. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the rate went up to 4.6 per cent in the three months to April, up from 4.5 per cent in the three months to March. That's the highest since the Summer of…

5 Aug 29 min

Future of Pensions and Heat Networks

Reform of the state pension, auto-enrolment into company pensions and consolidation of small pensions spread across several providers are proposed this week in a major report on the future of pensions. It says major changes are are necessary to ensure today's workers have an adequate income in retirement. The conclusions…

1 Aug 26 min

Money Box Live: Behind Bars

In this special programme Money Box Live has been given exclusive access to a centre working with former prisoners to find out how money works behind bars. There are around 98,000 people serving prison sentences in the UK right now, but how does money work on the inside and why…

29 Jul 29 min

Warm Home Discount and Teachers' Pension

Six million people will have £150 knocked off one winter electricity bill this winter. The Government has announced an expansion of the Warm Home Discount scheme which will almost double the number getting it. Who is eligible and how will people get the payment? Money Box has been receiving a…

25 Jul 25 min

Money Box Live: Does Being Single Cost You More?

More people are living alone, in fact 3 in 10 households are made up of single adults, according to the latest government figures. Research from the pension specialist Royal London also suggests single people are more likely to be in their overdrafts at the end of the month and have…

22 Jul 30 min

Mansion House and Council Tax for Terminally Ill

It was a momentous day on Tuesday as the government and regulators announced major changes in the way investments will be sold. What's been proposed and what's the role of the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, in that? Inflation rose to 3.6%, this week the highest it has been since…

19 Jul 24 min

Child Trust Funds and the Cost of Insurance

Campaigners say more needs to be done to help the parents and carers of tens of thousands of disabled young adults access their own money held in Government backed Child Trust Funds. The Financial Inclusion Commission has told Radio 4's Money Box it wants the Government to officially endorse an…

19 Jul 26 min

Money Box Live: AI and Your Money

Three quarters of financial firms are already using Artificial Intelligence, according to the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority, with more set to follow in future. Last month a new inquiry by the Treasury Committee began looking into the potential impacts of AI in banking, pensions and other…

15 Jul 35 min