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Money Box: Pension Wisdom Questioned, Energy Pricing Wrangles, Sunset for Solar Investors

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14/02/2015

Pension Wisdom Questioned, Energy Pricing Wrangles, Sunset for Solar Investors

BBC Radio 4 - Money Box, Pension Wisdom Questioned, Energy Pricing Wrangles, Sunset for Solar Investors

Free online pension help questioned. Energy pricing wrangles. Solar investors lose cash.

Presented by Paul Lewis. Pension Wise goes live, and a listener tests it out. Pensions minister Steve Webb on getting young savers into pensions. Energy wrangles. Plus solar bonds.

On Money Box with Paul Lewis: 

The third leg of the Government's Pension Wise guidance service went live online this week. And already it is being criticised by regulated advisers for omissions. A Money Box listener tests it for us.

Pensions Minister Steve Webb wants more tax relief for young pension savers to encourage them to put money away. Already millions more employees have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension. But with contributions of less than 2% of total pay going in - and less than 8% when it is fully in place in 2018 - will it provide enough? Money Box debates the issues with Katie Morley,
Daily Telegraph and Carl Emmerson from the Institute for Fiscal Studies. 

Energy regulator Ofgem is accused of making comparison websites exaggerate the savings made by switching supplier. The claim is made by comparison website, TheEnergyShop. The arithmetic is complex. But the estimate is that the method favoured by Ofgem inflates the savings people will make by up to £200. That makes it more likely they will switch. And every switcher means money for the comparison site. Ofgem and TheEnergyShop make their case. 

An investment in renewable energy which 'guaranteed' a 6.5% return for three years has gone into administration with large debts. The average loss to the 900 green investors is more than £8000. The firm apparently failed to keep its promise to protect their funds in a ring-fenced account. Investment expert David Kuo from The Motley Fool joins the programme to outline the potential risks of buying bonds that are not regulated by the City watchdog, the FCA.

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