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 Producer: Sarah Rogers Editor: Jess Quayle

(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 Producer: Sarah Rogers and Helen Ledwick Editor: Jess Quayle

(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 Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researchers: Eimear Devlin and Jo Krasner Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 12th July 2025)

It was a momentous day on Tuesday as the government and regulators announced major changes in the way investments will be sold. What's been proposed and what's the role of the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, in that?

Inflation rose to 3.6%, this week the highest it has been since January 2024 - what's behind that?

And two of the UK's leading end of life charities have told Money Box people given less than 12 months to live should not have to pay Council Tax before they die. The call from Marie Curie and Hospice UK comes just a few weeks after Manchester City Council became what's believed to be the first local authority in the UK to introduce such a scheme.

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Jo Krasner Researcher: Eimear Devlin Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 19th July 2025)

Unemployment recently rose to its highest level in almost four years. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the rate went up to 4.6 per cent in the three months to April, up from 4.5 per cent in the three months to March. That's the highest since the Summer of 2021 in which the country was in the depths of the Covid pandemic.

So today on Money Box Live we're asking what happens when you lose your job? What are your rights, what kind of payout might you get and how do you manage the money during a job hunt?

Felicity Hannah is joined by employment lawyer Rupa Mooker, Mike Fenn who's Head of Employee Relations at ACAS, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service and Sarah Coles who is the Head of Personal Finance at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producers: Sarah Rogers and Helen Ledwick Editor: Jess Quayle

(This programme was first aired on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday 9th of July 2025)

Reform of the state pension, auto-enrolment into company pensions and consolidation of small pensions spread across several providers are proposed this week in a major report on the future of pensions. It says major changes are are necessary to ensure today's workers have an adequate income in retirement. The conclusions come at the end of a two year study by the independent research organisation the Institute for Fiscal Studies, we'll speak to them about the report.

Hundreds of thousands of people whose homes are heated using communal heat networks are less than 6 months away from greater protection as the industry gets ready to come under Ofgem regulation for the first time. Up until now people in homes that are on heat networks, which use a single heat source to pipe hot water to multiple households, have not had the same rights as those on mains gas or electricity, but that is about it change. What difference could the new regulations make?

How could the way you get financial advice change in the future? We'll discuss new proposals by the regulator the Financial Conduct Authority aimed at helping more people get financial advice.

And, what would you like to see on a new bank note from the Bank of England? Email us now moneybox@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Jo Krasner Researcher: Eimear Devlin Editor: Jess Quayle

(audio credit British Pathé)

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 5th July 2025)

In this special programme Money Box Live has been given exclusive access to a centre working with former prisoners to find out how money works behind bars.

There are around 98,000 people serving prison sentences in the UK right now, but how does money work on the inside and why do offenders even need it?

Felicity Hannah meets former prisoners working in the centre as they rebuild their lives. They talk about so-called 'bang up' pay, how much you can earn in prison, and the struggle some ex-offenders have getting basic financial products like a bank account on release.

Around one third of ex-offenders will go on to reoffend costing taxpayers £18 billion a year as well as causing great distress to victims. So, what role can financial security play in reducing that?

Felicity Hannah is joined by Andrea Coady, Head of Policy at Nacro, a social justice charity that works with offenders and Ana Caldeira, in charge of Finance, Benefit and Debt Services at the charity Catch 22, which provides money advice and support to ex-offenders.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Sarah Rogers Editor: Jess Quayle

(This episode was first aired on Radio 4 at 3pm on Wednesday the 2nd of July 2025)

Six million people will have £150 knocked off one winter electricity bill this winter. The Government has announced an expansion of the Warm Home Discount scheme which will almost double the number getting it. Who is eligible and how will people get the payment?

Money Box has been receiving a steady stream of emails from members of the Teachers' Pension Scheme complaining about how their pensions are being managed. With more than 2 million members and liabilities of £278 billion the TPS is one of the largest in the UK. So what is going on? Dan Whitworth investigates.

Child maintenance is a regular financial payment made by a parent who doesn't live with their child to help support the child's living costs. This week the government has announced plans for some significant changes to the way those payments are collected and transferred. We'll explain what's changing.

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researchers: Eimear Devlin and Jo Krasner Studio Producer: Sarah Rogers Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 28th June 2025)

More people are living alone, in fact 3 in 10 households are made up of single adults, according to the latest government figures.

Research from the pension specialist Royal London also suggests single people are more likely to be in their overdrafts at the end of the month and have smaller savings and pension pots than married couples.

Today, we're looking at the impact of the single supplement, from travel costs to inheritance tax thresholds as well as hearing from those very much enjoying their financial freedom.

Joining presenter Felicity Hannah is Sarah Pennells, Consumer Finance specialist at Royal London and Laura Suter, Director of Personal Finance at the investment platform AJ Bell.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producers: Sarah Rogers and Helen Ledwick Editor: Jess Quayle

(This episode was first broadcast on at 3pm on Wednesday the 25th of June 2025 ).

Campaigners say more needs to be done to help the parents and carers of tens of thousands of disabled young adults access their own money held in Government backed Child Trust Funds. The Financial Inclusion Commission has told Radio 4's Money Box it wants the Government to officially endorse an informal process that some financial providers are already using to help grant access in days, instead of months or, in some cases, not at all.

The cost of insurance might be falling but if you choose to pay monthly then you could be paying an extra 20-30% more. The Financial Conduct Authority has been carrying out a study into the market but what can it do to help protect people who can't afford to pay the whole amount up front

And we also look why a record number of people are taking money out of their pension pot as soon as they're able to at the age of 55. What could be the impact on your financial situation later in life?

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth and Jo Krasner Researchers: Eimear Devlin and Catherine Lund Editors: Sarah Rogers and Justin Bones

Three quarters of financial firms are already using Artificial Intelligence, according to the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority, with more set to follow in future.

Last month a new inquiry by the Treasury Committee began looking into the potential impacts of AI in banking, pensions and other financial services.

So what does that all mean for your money? We speak to the experts about how it's being used, the rise of the chat bot and how to spot AI scams after one woman lost £10,000 to fraudsters.

Joining Felicity Hannah this week are Gbenga Ibikunle, Professor and Chair of Finance of Edinburgh University and Jana Mackintosh, Managing Director for Payments and Innovation at UK Finance.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Sarah Rogers and Catherine Lund Editor: Sarah Rogers

(This episode was first broadcast at 3pm on Radio 4 on the 18th of June 2025)

We'll discuss proposals to reform the bailiff industry, hearing from a man whose small parking fine ballooned into a debt of more than £400 once bailiffs got involved. Paul Lewis interviews the minister responsible for the planned changes: will they be fair on both creditors and debtors and will they bring rogue bailiffs into line?

Also, the Chancellor's changes to the Winter Fuel Payment have been broadly welcomed by Britain's pensioners, but how easy will it be for them to manage the payment when it comes to filling in their tax returns? With the help of a personal tax expert, we try to answer your questions.

And what are Premium Bonds and what are your chances of winning a prize? We've got the definitive guide with Sir David Spiegelhalter, Emeritus Professor of Statistics at the University of Cambridge.

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Eimear Devlin Researcher: Jo Krasner Editors: Jess Quayle and Rob Cave

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 14th June 2025)

New research, seen exclusively by Money Box, suggests a third of households in England and Wales are trying to cut the amount of water they use to help reduce their bills. The research comes from the Personal Finance Research Centre at the University of Bristol which worked with the Financial Fairness Trust to speak to 6,000 households about their money situation. On water bills, 34% said they're using less to try to cut their bills with around 30% saying their bills have increased "a lot" over the past 6 months. What can people do to bring their bills down?

Some major mortgage lenders have been relaxing their lending rules to make it easier for people to borrow the money to buy a home. They have been encouraged by a letter from the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, which reminded them that they had flexibility around what is called the stress test, which is supposed to ensure borrowers can meet their monthly payments even if rates rise or their circumstances change. What does that mean for the risks around lending?

The listeners puzzled by a 25p rise in their state pension because of a rule that started back in 1971.

And, how much do you know when it comes to savings? If you don't know your Premium Bonds from your ISA and where to put your money to make the most out of your cash, we'll give you a little bit of help.

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporters: Dan Whitworth, Peter Ruddick and Jo Krasner Researchers: Eimear Devlin and Rob Cave Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 7th June 2025)

Hundreds of millions of pounds was stolen from people in 2024 by thieves who tricked them, manipulated them, and then drained their bank accounts. The latest figures from UK Finance show that more than £450m was handed over to criminals in that way. That was slightly less than in 2023 but there were fewer cases - down 20% to just under 186,000. So those who were robbed lost more - an average of more than £2,400. What kind of scams were most common and what can you do to avoid them?

There have been several high profile cyber attacks on businesses recently. But apart from downed deliveries and empty shelves, what impact can they have on other areas of a business that weren’t directly attacked?

Major changes to the laws about making a will have been proposed to the government by the Law Commission. Its job is to recommend changes in the laws in England and Wales to improve or simplify them.

And what should people do if they think they’re owed compensation by their energy company following the prepayment meter scandal?

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Sarah Rogers Researcher: Eimear Devlin and Jo Krasner Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast at 12pm on Saturday 31st May, 2025)

Hundreds and thousands of sole traders and landlords are facing a significant change in how they file their tax returns. In less than a year 800,000 people with a turnover of above £50,000 who fill out self assessment tax returns will have to fill out summaries four times a year, and then do their final self assessment too. It's all part of something called "Making Tax Digital". Paul Lewis interviews James Murray who is the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury.

Hundreds of millions of pounds has been paid out to people who were underpaid their state pensions. We'll discuss who they are, and talk about another group of people who could be eligible but haven't claimed.

And, listeners who volunteer with community groups like film clubs, girl guides and charity fundraising groups have been contacting Money Box upset over new charges they're facing to use their bank accounts. What options are there for those affected?

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researchers: Eimear Devlin and Jo Krasner Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 24th May 2025)

The fight against what is called push payment fraud - when victims are groomed and manipulated into transferring money to criminals - took a huge step forward in October when new regulations for banks and other finance companies were introduced to make the banks involved liable for the losses. It was the result of years of campaigning which Money Box has reported on from the very beginning. Now the first set of figures since then shows it is working better, but still not perfect. We'll hear from David Geale the Chief Executive of the Payment Systems Regulator.

This week, some of Britain's biggest pension funds have pledged to invest more of the money they look after into UK assets. Seventeen major workplace pension providers have signed the Mansion House Accord, a voluntary initiative which commits them to invest at least 10% of the pension funds into what it calls 'private markets' with half of that invested in the UK. The Treasury says this commitment will drive more investment into infrastructure and businesses, while driving higher returns for savers and reducing risk through diversified asset holdings. We'll speak to the Chief Executive of The People's Pension which is the UK's largest workplace pension fund.

If you get child benefit for a child aged 16 or over it will stop on 31 August unless you tell HMRC to continue paying it. What do you need to know?

And are we becoming too reliant on digital banking when we should all have some cash for emergencies?

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporters: Dan Whitworth, Eimear Devlin and Catherine Lund Researcher: Jo Krasner Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 17th May 2025)

Earlier this spring the Financial Conduct Authority warned that some banks and firms lack empathy when dealing with bereaved customers and called for them to do more.

Money Box Live received a huge response from our listeners when we covered the story, with emails from listeners about how they coped with their grief while managing finances following the death of a loved one.

Felicity Hannah is joined by lawyer Gary Rycroft and Sarah Middlemiss, from the end of life charity Marie Curie, to answer those questions and hear those experiences.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Catherine Lund and Sarah Rogers Editor: Jess Quayle

(This episode was first broadcast at 3pm on Radio 4 on the 14th of May 2025)

Around 1 in 2 people living in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime according to Cancer Research UK. That stark statistic is a reminder how the disease can impact families up and down the country, but it's not just the health of people diagnosed that can forever be changed. The finances of those who survive the disease can also be devastating too. We'll hear from a man recovering from a cancer diagnosis about how it impacted his life, and speak to a charity that is calling for better financial support for cancer survivors.

As the Bank of England cuts interest rates to 4.25%, we’ll discuss what the best deals are at the moment. Data shows that while some lenders are offering deals at less than 4%, you’d need a big deposit and have to pay a fee, so what is out there and who can get it?

And investment platforms should be required to pass on voting rights to shareholders. That's the call from the trade body, the Association of Investment Companies. If you buy a share in a company you have the right to vote on corporate decisions. At the moment, some investment platforms pass on the right to vote, others require you to opt-in, some don't pass on the rights at all and some even charge to do it. The AIC wants that to change so that all platforms are required to pass on the rights, which would require a change in the law. In response, the Personal Investment Management and Financial Advice Association says a wholesale change to regulation to force this issue could result in significant costs to firms and an overwhelming level of paperwork for customers.

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researchers: Eimear Devlin and Jo Krasner Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast on Radio 4 at 12pm on Saturday 10th May 2025)

If your home isn't working for you, should you pack up and move or get the builders in and improve?

Moving is expensive, aside from the price of the house there's Stamp Duty and solicitors fees to think about. So, is it worth getting the builders in instead if you're desperate for an extra bedroom? Insurance firm Aviva predicts 7 million of us will renovate over the next two years, spending an average of £14,000 each.

But what happens if the renovations go wrong, you run out of money, or you're hoping to move but no-one wants to buy your home?

Felicity Hannah is joined by Beth Rudolf from the Conveyancing Association and Harvey Fremlin, Managing Director at The National Self Build & Renovation Centre.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Sarah Rogers/Helen Ledwick Editor: Jess Quayle

(This episode was first broadcast at 3pm on Radio 4 on the 7th of May 2025)

People over the age of 60 hold nearly £3 trillion of wealth in the value of their homes, almost all of it mortgage free. That is more than half of all housing wealth in the UK. Under 35s by contrast control only £600 billion and half of that is mortgaged. These startling figures were published recently by the upmarket estate agent Savills which has analysed housing data in Britain for many years. It says this disparity between young and old has never been bigger.

MPs, charities and free debt advice providers are calling for an urgent change in the law to help protect the finances of thousands of domestic abuse survivors. At the moment people, mainly women, who are left in debt after fleeing abusive relationships normally have to have their names and addresses published as part of the process of getting that debt written off. Something campaigners say not only puts their personal safety at risk, but can also put them off addressing financial problems altogether. The government has said its currently reviewing this matter and will update in due course.

And, annuities are a safe, regular income in retirement. You can use your pension fund to buy one and a growing number of people are doing just that. Sales of annuities have seen an 83% increase since 2020, based on figures from the Association of British Insurers. We'll discuss what's behind that rise.

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Jo Krasner Researcher: Catherine Lund Editor: Jess Quayle

(This programme was first broadcast at 12pm Saturday 3rd May 2025)