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Money Box: How having a flutter is about to get less attractive

How having a flutter is about to get less attractive

02/04/2016

BBC Radio 4 - Money Box, How having a flutter is about to get less attractive

A look at why having a flutter is about to get less attractive.

The latest personal finance news, including why having a flutter is about to get less attractive and why banks do not always press charges against staff involved in theft.

On Money Box with Paul Lewis: How having a flutter on the Premium Bonds is about to get less attractive. The notional interest rate earned by the £60 billion of Premium bonds which pays the prize fund is to be cut from 1.35% to 1.25% from the June draw. And the chances of winning per bond each month will be cut from 1:26,000 to 1:30,000. Jonquil Lowe Lecturer in Personal Finance at The Open University and Anna Bowes, Savings Champion join the programme.

Two men were given suspended sentences for stealing a total of £180,000 from elderly customers of NatWest Bank. An insider at the bank who gave them account details was never prosecuted as the bank formally withdrew the allegations against her. She no longer works for NatWest. The customers got all their money back. Are banks doing enough to tackle staff involved in taking money from their customers? Chris Skinner, from the Financial Services Club, speaks to the programme.


From 6th April the first £1000 of interest paid on savings will be tax free. It's called the Personal Savings Allowance. Another change from the same date means that the interest on savings will always be paid gross with no tax deducted. But what if your savings are massive and earn more than the allowance? HMRC will collect the tax it reckons is due by changing your tax code (if you have one). But many listeners are complaining that the estimates it uses for future interest received are little more than guesses. There is a different savings allowance for higher rate taxpayers. Anita Monteith from the ICAEW explains the tax coding implications.


Money saved in some auto-enrolment pension funds could be at risk if an employer uses a trust to run its scheme rather than what is called a group personal pension. They are called Master Trusts but their small size and limited regulation means that if they go bust the money saved up in them by employees for their retirement could be taken by creditors or at least used to pay for winding up costs. Pensions expert Henry Tapper, and Christine Hallett, Carey Pensions, debate the issues.

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