Money Box

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 working your way up from an entry level job and what support is there for those struggling whilst on the hunt?

The Department for Work and Pensions told Money Box Live, "We’re determined to tackle youth unemployment, which is why we’re investing £1.5 billion through our Youth Guarantee in work experience, apprenticeships and subsidised jobs."

Joining Paul Lewis today is Barry Fletcher, Chief Executive of the Youth Futures Foundation, a charity focused on reducing youth unemployment. And Lizzie Crowley a skills advisor at the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development.

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(This episode was first broadcast on Wednesday the 18th of February 2026)

Picture credit BAE Systems

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 affected and hear from Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the Conservative Chair of the Public Accounts Committee.

Love might be in the air for some today - but with the roses and candlelight, comes a warning about criminals working in the shadows to trick people into giving away their money. Romance scams are types of fraud when a scammer pretends to be in a relationship with someone to gain money or personal information from them. They often start online or on social media. More than twenty million pounds was lost to romance scams in the first half of last year, up more than a third compared to 2024. We'll hear from one listener who says he lost £30,000 to a romance scam.

How will a planned replacement to the Lifetime ISA work and what will it mean for people who’ve already got one?

And what to do if you think you might be eligible for the Warm Homes Discount this winter but haven't had the payment yet.

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 14th February 2026)

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 salary over longer terms.

We'll answer listener questions about trackers, what term you should pick, and what to do if you're a first-time buyer.

Paul Lewis is joined by Sally Mitchell, a mortgage advisor at Versed Financial, and Paul Broadhead from the Building Societies Association.

Presenters: Paul Lewis and Felicity Hannah

(First broadcast 3pm Wednesday 11th February 2026)

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 Authority, to improve the lending rules to stop debt building up and and ensure banks are intervening sooner to support customers in difficulty. The FCA says its rules mean that lenders should only provide credit to people who can afford to repay.

The government has started a hardship fund because thousands of newly retired civil servants have been kept waiting months for their pensions to be paid. The Public and Commercial Services union, which represents many civil servants, has described the situation as "catastrophic" and is calling for urgent action to put things right. In a joint statement Capita and the Cabinet Office said they are "deeply sorry for the worry, frustration, and distress this has caused." Adding they both take this responsibility "very seriously and are urgently working together to put this right."

New figures show that banks are refunding more of the money stolen from customer accounts, following new rules which force them to do so.

And as the big lenders offer mortgages worth six times people’s salary, what does this mean for borrowers?

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 7th February 2026)

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 vastly across the UK.

Recent campaigns have highlighted 'Plan 2' loans which focused on students in England who studied between September 2012 and July 2023 and the Chancellor's decision to freeze the salary threshold for repayments on these loans for three years, which means some graduates will now have to pay even more.

In this episode we'll discuss the rules for current students, past graduates, as well as how maintenance loans are worked out and what support might be available.

Joining Felicity Hannah is Tom Allingham from student money website, Save the Student and Graham Wright from the University of the West of England Bristol and National Association of Money Advisors.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(This episode was first broadcast on Wednesday the 4th of February 2026)

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 had been the place for victims to report fraud for over a decade. Paul Lewis interviews Chief Superintendent Amanda Wolf who's the Head of Report Fraud.

There are calls for a cut in the interest rate on some student loans. In recent weeks some graduates have been saying they feel they were missold their loans, because they're only paying off interest on what they owe, despite high levels of payments. The Department for Education says that its making what it called "tough but fair" decisions to protect taxpayers and students. We'll discuss that with the Higher Education Policy Institute.

There is growing pressure from charities and MPs for the government to introduce statutory regulation of the bailiff sector in England and Wales as a matter of urgency. Campaigners say it's about making sure people who are in debt aren't on the receiving end of bad practice form bailiffs breaking the rules.

And half a million households on heat networks now have new protections when it comes to their heating bills.

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast on Radio 4 12pm Saturday 31st January 2026)

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.

But, how flexible are employers when it comes to older workers and what are the tax implications of collecting your state or private pension while still working?

To talk it all through Felicity Hannah is joined by Zoe Alexander, Director of Policy at Pensions UK, Morgan Vine, Director of Policy at charity Independent Age and Julie Dennis, Head of Inclusive Workplace Strategy at ACAS.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(This episode was first broadcast on Wednesday the 28th of January 2026)

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 majority of cases, suppliers are able to work with the Energy Ombudsman to resolve cases within 28 days.

As people live longer healthier lives more and more are working longer - often well past the state pension of 66. A new analysis of HMRC data found a 12 percent rise in the number of people working past the state pension age over the past five years. What's driving that increase?

Top tips for filing your self-assessment ahead of the deadline next week.

And as the number of payments made by cheque drops, what does the future look like for their usage?

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 24th January 2026)

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 will start navigating the change because by 2030 the UK government is banning the sale of new petrol and diesel, with hybrids allowed until 2035. So how much do electric cars to buy and run, and how easy is it to travel long distances in them?

Joining Felicity Hannah are Stuart Masson from the website The Car Expert and Melanie Shufflebotham from Zap Map, which is an app and website showing where public charging points are.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(This episode was first broadcast on Wednesday the 21st of January 2026)

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, impartial service and gets thousands of complaints every year. In most cases, when the ombudsman makes a decision, that decision is followed to the letter, quickly, by suppliers. But in some cases that doesn't happen - we investigate one listener's battle over a £1,700 bill.

HMRC has told MPs it's going to take more care in how it handles its effort to crack down on fraud and error, after a mistake which led to thousands of families wrongly losing their Child Benefit.

It was the Scottish government's Budget this week and there were quite a few changes promised for people's pockets, we'll round up the details.

And, there's a huge amount to think about when buying a home, from sorting the mortgage to getting quotes for removal companies, but one thing you might not be expecting is that your new home might come with rules telling you what you can and cannot do with it. Restrictive covenants are binding conditions written into the actual property deeds or contracts. What can you do to protect yourself from any financial impacts?

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 17th January 2026)