Money Box

It's six months until changes bringing unspent pension pots into Inheritance Tax come into force. From 6th April, any money left in pension pots will be added to the rest of the deceased’s estate and be liable for Inheritance Tax. This will be due if the total estate exceeds the threshold where the tax begins, which can be as low as £325,000. At the moment pension funds can be passed to heirs free of Inheritance Tax. The government has said that pension funds were being used not to live on in retirement but to pass wealth on to heirs tax-free instead. What might this mean for your plans?
Criminals stole more than £900 million from tens of thousands of victims of investment fraud in the last financial year according to the latest report from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau. The amount stolen was up a fifth and the number of victims also jumped up - by a staggering 37%. This is why the National Crime Agency has this week started a campaign aimed at cutting this most devastating of crimes.
And, why are some disabled people who already receive support through the government’s Access to Work scheme having their funding reduced or removed?
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Dan Whitworth
Researchers: Jo Krasner and Amber Mehmood
Editor: Jess Quayle
Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson
(First broadcast on Radio 4 at 12pm Saturday 3rd October 2026)

Cohabiting couples are the fastest-growing family type in the UK. There are three and a half million couples living together without being married or in a civil partnership.
Sharing a home, and perhaps a family and finances, is a huge commitment, you might assume that years of living like this would give you similar protection to a married couple. But in England and Wales, it doesn’t.
However, big changes could be on the way, the government is planning to give cohabiting couples more rights when it comes to property and finances and has been consulting on what that might look like. There are already frameworks in place for those living in Scotland and Ireland. In Northern Ireland there are fewer protections.
Felicity Hannah is joined by Hannah Saxe, a specialist family solicitor at Brabners law firm who also sits on Resolution’s National Cohabitation Committee and Laura Suter, director of personal finance at AJ Bell.
Presenter: Felicity Hannah
Producer: Sarah Rogers
Editor: Jess Quayle
Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson
(This episode was first broadcast on Wednesday the 30th of September, 2026)

Almost half of people in work don't know how much their employer is contributing to their workplace pension. That is one finding from a survey by the consumer group Which? It also found that people looking for a new job are more likely to value things like holiday allowance and flexible working than what the employer paid into their pension.
What can be done to help the hundreds of thousands of low income pensioners who're missing out on benefits they're entitled to? We'll hear from one pensioner on the Isle of Wight who boosted her income by nearly £400 per month after finding out she qualified for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction.
If you're a pensioner due to receive the Winter Fuel Payment in England, Wales and Northern Ireland you have until 20th September to opt out if you want to.
And, the UK's biggest lenders put up mortgage rates. What’s the best advice for first-time buyers or those who need to refix their deal?  
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Jo Krasner
Researchers: Catherine Lund and Eimear Devlin
Editor: Jess Quayle
Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson
(First broadcast 12pm on Saturday 12th September 2026)

New research published this week found that free AI chatbots gave inaccurate answers to financial questions more than half of the time. This research was carried out by a company called Saturn AI which works with financial advice firms. It ran a series of financial questions through 18 different AI platforms more than 10 thousand times, checking them against key criteria to decide whether they passed or failed. The research identified errors relating to student loans, mortgages, pensions, tax, savings and debt. What's the best advice for using AI to help with your personal finance?
The price of heating oil has risen sharply this month to around £1,100 to fill a 1,000 litre tank, £400 more than it cost in early July. The price spiked in March to as much as £1,340 because of the Middle East conflict. Before that prices were stable at around £600 for a tank. What should people do now as we head into winter?
Is there enough information available when it comes to choosing your home or travel insurance?
And, the government has paid out more than £300 million pounds since the start of a scheme designed to help those on low incomes to build up a savings pot. This week new figures show that more than 650,000 people are now using the Help to Save Scheme, which was set up in 2018. Who's eligible and how do you apply?
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Jo Krasner
Researchers: Eimear Devlin and Amber Mehmood.
Editor: Jess Quayle
Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson
(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 26th September 2026)

There can be a lot of financial pressures when you're first starting out in your career, paying the rent, saving for a home and clearing student debt to name just a few.
So the idea of saving for a retirement that's decades away can seem like a very low priority.
Research fromthe People's Partnership suggests 1 in 8 young adults now say that engaging with their pension feels pointless because they don't think they will ever retire. Meanwhile others are saving hard into workplace pensions now, because they're worried there won't be a State Pension by the time they get there.
We talk to Maisie, Rebecca and Ruaridh, who're in their late teens and twenties about their financial priorities and where savings and pensions fit into that.
Felicity Hannah is also joined by Sarah Pennells, Consumer Finance Specialist at Royal London and Shantel Okello, Policy Researcher at the Pensions Policy Institute to answer your questions.
Presenter: Felicity Hannah
Producer: Sarah Rogers
Editor: Jess Quayle
Senior Editor: Sara Wadeson
(This episode was first broadcast on Wednesday the 23rd of September, 2026).