People owe more money for gas and electricity bills than ever before. New calculations from the energy consultancy firm Baringa reveal the average typical energy debt is £1,500 - that's up £300 in a year. The total owed to energy companies is 3.8 billion pounds, which is almost double what it was two years ago.

Energy prices are also forecast to rise by 5% from April, adding £85 a year to household bills meaning a household using a typical amount of gas and electricity would pay £1823 a year.

In this Money Box Live, we're finding out how to manage energy debts and how to avoid getting into the red in the first place.

Ruth Alexander is joined by Matthew Sheeran from the free debt advice provider, Money Wellness, and Eleanor Taylor from Baringa.

Presenter: Ruth Alexander

(First broadcast 3pm on Wednesday 19th February 2025)

The energy regulator Ofgem has been given less than two weeks to get answers for Parliament on the banned practice of back billing, which is when people are sent new bills for energy used longer than 12 months ago. In a letter written to the Chief Executive of Ofgem the chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero committee highlights Money Box's recent investigation into back billing, saying he considers there to be evidence of serious wrong doing on the part of energy suppliers and the need for intervention on the part of the regulator. Ofgem told Money Box it's reviewing supplier billing practices and "looking closely at supplier compliance with back billing rules to make sure customers get the service they are entitled to." For the first time since our investigation began Paul Lewis interviews Dhara Vyas, the chief executive of Energy UK, which represents energy suppliers.

State pensions paid to tens of millions of people will go up in April by 4.1%, but depending on how your pension is paid - weekly or monthly - some people may not get the extra money until May. How to make sure you get it as soon as possible.

And people who get into debt often find that it gets worse because of the high interest rates they are paying. Often they are only paying interest not reducing the amount owed at all. A new scheme by credit unions is trying to solve that by giving an affordable loan to people in debt at a low rates of interest so they can pay off their expensive debt and afford the repayments on their new debt. How will it work?

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 15th February 2025)

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 Hannah

(This programme was first broadcast at 3pm Wednesday 12th February, 2025.)

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 Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 8th February 2025)

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 Hannah

(This programme was first broadcast at 3pm on Wednesday the 5th of February, 2025).

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 Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 1st February 2025)

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 Hannah

(First broadcast 3pm Wednesday 29th January 2025)

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 Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 25th January 2025)

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 Hannah

(This programme was first broadcast at 3p.m. on Wednesday 22nd of January 2025)

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 Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 18th January 2025)