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Money Box: Child Trust Fund charges, Get Cash app re-launches, long-term care, pension liberalisation

Child Trust Fund charges, Get Cash app re-launches, long-term care, pension liberalisation

16/02/2013

BBC Radio 4 - Money Box, Child Trust Fund charges, Get Cash app re-launches, long-term care, pension liberalisation

Child Trust Fund charges spark a row, and Money Box saves a man from a pension mistake.

Parents are angry over increased Child Trust Fund charges, Money Box saves a man from making a costly pension 'liberation' mistake and NatWest re-launches its Get Cash app.

Children with Child Trust Funds could find the whole of the money the Government put in has disappeared by the time they can use the money at 18. F&C is just one provider who has begun to charge a flatrate fee of £25 a year to look after a shareholder Child Trust Fund. The initial Government contribution was £250 - so between now and 2020 when the first children reach their maturity at 18, they may find their fund's maturity value is zero. Darius McDermott, Managing Director of Chelsea Financial Services, joins the programme.

Last week Money Box reported that individuals have given illegal "pension liberation" schemes an estimated £400m since 2008. Within hours of broadcasting the warning we were contacted by Martin from West Yorkshire. Martin has lost his job and wanted early access to his pension cash. He received a text from a pension liberation firm and was about to sign on the dotted line. Bob Howard takes up the story.
　　
NatWest has relaunched its Get Cash app which allows customers to withdraw £100 cash without a bank card. GetCash was closed down four months ago after thousands of customers lost hundreds of pounds to sophisticated fraudsters who impersonated them. Head of mobile services at NatWest,
Ben Green, speaks to Money Box.


The Government has announced plans to reform long term care funding. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt confirmed that a cap of £75,000 will be introduced alongside an increase in the means testing threshold from £23,250 to £123,000. The Health Minister Norman Lamb speaks to the programme.

Uganda is 4000 miles from the UK but its personal finance issues are very close to home - inflation, interest rates, loans, banks' behaviour, pensions. Paul shares more insights from his trip to the Pearl of Africa.

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