Money Box

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 their tax-free lump sum out of their pension over the past year. Since 2015 people over the age of 55 could take 25 per cent of their pension pots tax-free and then use the rest as they wished. These figures from the regulator the Financial Conduct Authority show tens of thousands more people made that choice - why?

Millions of people are missing out on tens of billions of pounds worth of help ranging from benefits to social tariffs from utility companies. That's according to the latest analysis Policy in Practice suggests. What type of benefits are people missing out on?

And the £100 limit on contactless card payments looks set to be scrapped. The regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, published plans this week to let banks set their own limit - or indeed have no limit at all.

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm on Radio 4 on Saturday 13th September 2025)

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 of different funding models across the UK, but for students in England and Wales tuition fees have gone up for the first time in eight years. We take a look at how tuition and day-to-day costs are funded across the UK, and hear from students about their housing - another major cost that has been increasing.

Debt is also now a major part of the university experience, with students in England graduating with an average debt of £53,000. One graduate explains how she has struggled to make a dent in her debt over the past 10 years despite holding well paid jobs.

Felicity Hannah is joined by Tom Allingham from the student money website Save the Student and Clare Dickens, director of the Student Life team at the University of Wolverhampton.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(This episode was first broadcast at 3pm on Radio 4 on the 10th of September 2025).

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 up any confusion around the changes. We also look at speculation around what might be in the Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Autumn Budget, which she announced this week will take place on November 26.

His Majesty's Revenue and Customs tells Money Box it's deploying hundreds of staff to bring down waiting times for people making claims about missing state pension payments. It's already written to 370,000 people, mainly women, who took time off work to care for children and now might be getting less money than they should be because of an error in their National Insurance records. But given that HMRC has already admitted it's been, in its words, "inherently challenging" to try to fix the problem it might come as little surprise the vast majority of people still missing money, haven't been paid what they're owed.

Just a few weeks ago thousands of would-be university students found out whether they had achieved the right grades to get into the university of their choice. Now comes the reality check, when many wonder how they will afford to pay for it. Some argue that the level of Government maintenance loans only covers half the true cost of student living. The Higher Education Policy Institute has just conducted a study into maintenance loans in England and reckons they only cover half of the true costs of student life.

Presenter: Paul Lewis

Being a tenant can be pricey — and it’s only getting pricier.

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 often worth tens of thousands of pounds for each individual.

Scammers have been sending texts pretending to be from the government to try and trick pensioners into applying for the Winter Fuel Payment. That's a payment that can be worth up to £300 off energy bills over the colder months. It's prompted the Department for Work and Pensions to issue a warning, telling people to beware of the texts, which ask people to click on link which could be used to steal money from victims.

How are the rumours about changes to stamp duty affecting the housing market?

And a reminder that if you’re the parent or carer of a 16-19 year old you’ve got until Sunday to renew your child benefit claim.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 12pm Saturday 30th August 2025)

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. Others regret not understanding the power of compound interest or what to do with a workplace pension after changing jobs.

Dave Fishwick, founder of Burnley Savings and Loans, sets out his top tips and explains his biggest money mistake. And maths teacher and broadcaster Bobby Seagull stresses the importance of financial education. They're also joined by financial planner Kirsty Stone from the financial advice firm The Private Office.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(This programme was first broadcast at 3pm on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday 30th of July 2025)

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 remit. The second is a review into the state pension age. We'll speak to Pensions UK, which represents pension schemes that together provide a retirement income to more than 30 million people.

From September working parents of children aged 9 months to school age will get 30 hours of childcare funded by the Government. It simplifies the present system which has different rules at different ages and means working parents of children under three will potentially save thousands of pounds on the cost of childcare. Who is eligible and how does it work?

Thousands of people who were retained firefighters are being urged to claim pension payments worth thousands or tens of thousands of pounds. Retained or on-call firefighters generally work part-time. Sixteen thousand of their colleagues have already claimed but a further 10,000 could be eligible to buy back pensions after two legal changes in the past few years.

And some money saving tips for anyone going abroad for their summer holiday.

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 26th July 2025)

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 or just the best rate on a credit card, the information on your file can have a big impact at any stage of life, so what does it all mean and if you want to improve yours, how can you do it?

We'll hear from someone battling to rectify his score after fraudsters took over his credit card and we hear from a man with an excellent credit rating who is struggling to get any credit at all.

Felicity Hannah is joined by John Webb, a credit expert at the credit reference agency Experian, and Lisa Webb, a senior lawyer and consumer champion at Which?

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(This programme was first aired on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday 23rd of July 2025)

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 25% less than men.

This week on Money Box Live, we're looking at the reasons behind is as well as what can be done to boost savings.

Find out more about a little known pot of money the government has set aside mainly for women, who didn't work because they were looking after children, between 1978 and 2010 - which is largely going unclaimed. We also hear the struggle of a woman who struggled after the state pension age for women was raised from 60 to 66 and what might happen next with the campaign against it.

With Felicity Hannah is Sir Steve Webb, former pensions minister and and now partner at pensions consultancy Lane Clark and Peacock and Daniela Silcock who has her own pensions research company.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(This episode was first broadcast on Wednesday the 16th of July 2025)

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 consumers in England and Wales. It comes after record April price rises for water with average bills rising more than £120 to over £600 per year.

Cash ISAs appear to have been reprieved - at least for now. Until Friday morning there was widespread speculation that the Chancellor might announce on Tuesday that the amount you could put into a cash ISA would be slashed from £20,000, perhaps to as little as £4000. The idea was that would fit in with government plans to encourage investment by nudging people with £20,000 to spare to use the rest of their tax free ISA allowance to invest in shares instead. However, Money Box understands that won't happen - certainly not on Tuesday when Rachel Reeves gives her annual Mansion House speech to the City of London. We'll look at what that might mean.

And what does a major ruling on a divorce case in the Supreme Court mean for how wealth is split between couples in the future?

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 12th July 2025)