logo
episode-header-image
Oct 17
24m 58s

The Future of Pensions and Bereavement "...

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

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)

Up next
Oct 13
Money Box Live: Rising Water Bills
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 rocke ... Show More
29m 28s
Oct 7
Money Box Life: Lending to Loved Ones
When someone you love needs financial help, lending them money can seem like the easiest way to support them. And when you're the one facing financial difficulties, turning to someone close to you for a loan can feel like the most natural solution.Around 1 in 4 of us borrow from ... Show More
28m 15s
Oct 3
Numeracy Review and Petrol Prices
A new survey has suggested nearly a third of people in the UK believe they lost money last year because of their poor maths skills. One estimate puts the cost of innumeracy at £25 billion per year. To try and tackle this the government has asked a House of Lords committee to inve ... Show More
25m 2s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2024
Mortgage Special: Time To Fix? Will Rates drop further? How to find top deals
The main topic the week is everything you need to know about mortgages. There is also an update for savers and Martin explains a legal challenge to the UK and Scottish Governments' decision to cut the winter fuel payment.And the Tell Us got a huge response looking at what people ... Show More
1h 8m
Dec 2021
Business Weekly: 25/12/2021
On this edition of Business Weekly, we’re looking at the rising cost of energy across Europe, and hear from Emma Pinchbeck of Energy UK on how producers and consumers are coping, plus Tom Wilson from The Financial Times analyses the causes behind the price hike. We hear about how ... Show More
50m 2s
Aug 2017
Power of Attorney - a sensible piece of financial planning, or something that could leave you vulnerable to abuse?
FT Money Show presenter Claer Barrett and guests on lasting powers of attorney, whether employers are paying enough into company pensions and asks her guest how long he would spend trying to extract a pound coin if it got stuck in a supermarket trolley. Hosted on Acast. See acast ... Show More
21m 30s