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Money Box: New pension advice service, energy prices, savings bonds for those who are 65 plus

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17/01/2015

New pension advice service, energy prices, savings bonds for those who are 65 plus

BBC Radio 4 - Money Box, New pension advice service, energy prices, savings bonds for those who are 65 plus

Paul Lewis with the latest on pension reforms, savings and energy prices.

The Pension Freedom Guidance Guarantee - will it help people make the right choice? Also discussed are 'plus 65 bonds' and the link between wholesale and domestic gas prices.

Alongside its pension reforms, the Government last year announced a Guidance Guarantee, promising free, impartial, face-to-face advice to those now having to make choice about what to do with their pension pots from April. It was rebranded this week as Pension Wise, with its own logo. But how just how "expert" will the face-to-face guidance be? The Economic Secretary, Andrea Leadsom MP, tells Money Box what to expect.

Wholesale gas prices are now a third lower than their peak, but domestic energy bills remain stubbornly high. Are the Big Six's hedging strategies the cause? Energy UK explain why their member companies are not (yet) passing on price reductions.

Thursday saw the launch of the much-anticipated National Savings & Investments Plus 65 Bonds, paying up to 4% interest. But within minutes the NS&I website had crashed and the telephone helpline was overwhelmed. Are there bonds any left? And if you haven't managed to get hold of any, are there any savings products with comparable rates?

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