Money Box

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).

Major reforms are needed in workplace pensions to increase the amount people are saving for their retirement, but it will take the next 20 years to get there. That's according to Professor Nick Pearce, one of the people appointed by the Government to its Pensions Commission to look at the problem and find solutions. Government figures show that around 18 million working age adults are not saving into a pension and nearly half of those have a job. Professor Pearce talks to Paul Lewis about what they're looking at to tackle that problem.
Three of the UK's leading end-of-life charities have described the way bereaved families are being treated by the Capita-run Civil Service Pension Scheme as an "injustice". Last week the government published data showing more than 1,000 cases where loved ones had been waiting more than 100 days for survivor pensions and death in service payments. Capita has apologised many times already but faces the prospect of losing the contract of running the scheme, worth hundreds of millions of pounds, as the government looks to bring it back in-house.
More than a trillion pounds of our savings is sitting in accounts that pay little or even no interest, when it could easily be earning 4% or more elsewhere. Those figures come from the Bank of England analysed by the investment platform Lightyear. They show £1.2 trillion is sitting in UK bank and building society accounts and a quarter of that amount is earning no interest at all.
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Jo Krasner
Researcher: Amber Mehmood
Editor: Jess Quayle
Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson
(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 19th September 2026)

More than 320,000 households in England and Wales complained to their water supplier last year. A rise of 56% on the year before, according a report from the industry watchdog the Consumer Council for Water.
It also says the number of people escalating complaints to them has rocketed 84% - the biggest rise in the watchdog's 20-year history.
The topic of water is huge conversation right now, from who should control it, the price of bills and what happens when things go wrong.
Andy White, from the Consumer Council for Water, which represents water customers in England and Wales and Jeevan Jones, chief economist at Water UK, which represents the companies responsible for getting water to our homes join Felicity Hannah to get answers to some of your questions and comments.
Presenter: Felicity Hannah
Producer: Sarah Rogers
Editor: Jess Quayle
Senior Editor: Sara Wadeson
(First broadcast 3pm on Wednesday 16th of September 2026).