Money Box

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute is warning people to keep a close eye on their bank and credit card accounts after thousands of unsuspecting shoppers have said they're having money taken without their knowledge. Individual payments are usually quite low, but if not spotted, they can quickly start to add up. Trading Standards say it's "outrageous" these payments are being taken without explicit consent. How can you spot and stop these payments?

Two thirds of first time buyers are overpaying their mortgage and one in six hope to be mortgage free by the time they're 40 according to a report from TSB. Is it the same for other mortgage holders and what should you think about if you're considering overpaying on your mortgage?

More than half of adults in the UK do not have a will. So if they die they will have no say in how their money, property, and possessions are distributed. WillAid, where solicitors all over the UK make free wills and suggest a donation to charity in exchange. How does it all work and what happens if someone dies without a will?

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast at 12pm on Saturday 18th October 2025)

The government wants more young people to be offered "gold standard apprenticeships". The plan was unveiled at the Labour party conference as the Prime Minister ditched the ambition for half of young people to go to university.

So we're looking at the financial side of apprenticeships, from how much they pay to what they can mean for a family's finances.

Felicity Hannah is joined by Ben Rowland, the author of Understanding Apprenticeships and also the chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, a trade body for organisations that train apprentices. And also Rachel Kayes, community manager for the Association of Apprentices, an apprentice support body with around 50,000 members.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(This episode was first broadcast at 3pm on Radio 4 on the 15th of October 2025).

The Chancellor wants more people to invest in shares, UK companies and infrastructure projects in a bid to boost growth in the economy. Rachel Reeves argued in her recent Mansion House speech that it would make people better off, but this kind of investment involves risk and is making some people nervous. We put those concerns to Treasury Minister Lucy Rigby.

When is the best time to start a pension? Around 45,000 parents and grandparents seem to think saving should start when you're born. Figures from HMRC show nearly £80 million was invested in private pensions for children in 2022/23 that's up 15%.

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast at 12pm on Saturday 11th October 2025)

Money Box Live hits the road and heads to the heart of the City of London for this special programme on investing. We're live at the London Stock Exchange to look at the basics and weigh up the different options.

According to the Financial Conduct Authority, about a third of adults had some sort of investment last year, but Chancellor Rachel Reeves wants savers to put more money into investments, arguing it will bring better returns and help boost the economy. But is it really for everyone? And how do you actually do it?

Felicity Hannah is joined by Julia Sage-Bell, senior policy advisor at the Personal Investment Management and Financial Advice Association (PIMFA), Philippa Hann, chief executive of financial advice firm Paradigm Morton and Louise Claro, an independent financial adviser at Circle Financial Services.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

Cash now accounts for less than 10% of all the retail payments we make. New figures out this week UK Finance, which represents banks and others, show the latest in the long term decline of cash. Just over a year ago new rules from the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority said banks had to ensure customers had access to their cash and could take their money out in cash, but at the same time the number of shops putting up the card only signs has increased. What does that mean for the future of cash?

On Monday it will be 6 months until the state pension age begins to rise from 66 to 67. How will that transition work?

The price cap on electricity and gas went up this week - affecting millions of households across England, Wales and Scotland. The energy regulator, Ofgem, says gas and electricity bills will increase by an average of 2% but it's the costs of electricity that's rising, not gas.

And what can do to ensure that your pension is being invested ethically? 

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 4th October 2025)

More of us than ever before have access to private medical insurance. New data shared with Money Box Live shows that more than 8 million people were covered last year - that's about 5 million adults, plus their families. It's a rise of 4% on the previous year and comes after a series of sharp increases since the pandemic.

We find out what's driving the growth, who's buying the policies and hear from those who have used private health services.

We're joined by Tim Read, director of research at the health sector data firm LaingBuisson which is behind the numbers and has just published its annual study into the private medical cover market, and Tina Jennings, general secretary of the Association of Medical Insurers and Intermediaries, a trade body representing insurance companies and brokers working in this field.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

The National Association of Head Teachers has written to the Department for Education demanding it take action to address what it describes as the failing Teachers' Pensions Scheme. The union has told Money Box it's shocked at the number of members contacting it for help describing a litany of delays, miscommunication and the failure to carry out even basic services leaving many in financial disarray. The government says it understands these problems have caused frustration and it's continuing to work closely with Teachers’ Pensions to resolve these issue as soon as possible.

This year's Winter Fuel Payment in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is going to all pensioners but instead of everyone keeping it, those who have an income of more than £35,000 will have it taken back by HMRC. How will that work in practice?

Fake news stories about the state pension have been worrying many listeners. We'll have some advice on what to look out for.

And tens of thousands of motorists could be eligible for a share of £200m in compensation after insurers paid them too little on their claims.

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 27th September 2025)

Cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, are a type of digital money that has proliferated in recent years. They are mostly unconnected to governments or central banks. Some people treat them as an investment, some people as a bit of a flutter, and many more people don't yet know anything about them at all.

We look at how they work and how the regulatory landscape is changing with the UK's financial regulator the Financial Conduct Authority currently consulting on a range of proposals. It could mean crypto-related firms will be covered by the same requirements as traditional financial firms, boosting consumer protections.

It comes as Action Fraud, which is the UK's national reporting centre for cybercrime, says crypto-related scams jumped by 16% last year. In fact, it accounted for two thirds of all investment fraud reports.

Felicity Hannah is joined by Kate Baucherel, a digital strategy consultant specialising in emerging technologies like crypto, and Louise Abbott, a partner at Keystone Law with a focus on fraud, crypto and asset recovery.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(This episode was first broadcast at 3pm on Radio 4 on Wednesday the 24th of September 2025).

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 do not work and may trigger legal complications and huge financial costs in the future. Usually the products involve setting up some sort of 'trust' but they are often sold by people who are not lawyers and are not regulated. The Association of Lifetime Lawyers, asked over a hundred its own members and found 95% of those lawyers surveyed said they had seen such products being missold and more than 4 in 5 said they had clients who had been misled.

Buy-to-let mortgage rates have dipped to their lowest level in almost three years and there is more choice of mortgage products for buy to let landlords than ever before. The data, which comes from Money Facts, might be good news for any landlords coming to the end of a 2 year fix when rates were higher, but not for those who fixed 5 years ago when rates were much lower. What does it mean for the market?

The state pension looks set to increase by more than inflation in April - that would mean an extra £500 a year for many.

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 20th September 2025)

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 MPs have been asking too. The All Party Parliamentary Group for Hospice and End of Life Care has found that people can face real hardship because they often have extra costs combined with a loss of earnings.

Felicity Hannah is joined by Jamie Thunder, senior policy manager for financial security at the end of life charity Marie Curie and Nina Sperring, partner at Price, Slater, Gawne solicitors. She's also a member of STEP, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners which specialises in estates and wills. We also hear from Nathaniel Dye, a music teacher who was diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer at 36.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(First broadcast at 3pm Wednesday 17th September 2025)