Future of Pensions and Heat Networks

Money Box

BBC

Business

4.2 • 804 Ratings

🗓️ 1 August 2025

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Reform of the state pension, auto-enrolment into company pensions and consolidation of small pensions spread across several providers are proposed this week in a major report on the future of pensions. It says major changes are are necessary to ensure today's workers have an adequate income in retirement. The conclusions come at the end of a two year study by the independent research organisation the Institute for Fiscal Studies, we'll speak to them about the report.

Hundreds of thousands of people whose homes are heated using communal heat networks are less than 6 months away from greater protection as the industry gets ready to come under Ofgem regulation for the first time. Up until now people in homes that are on heat networks, which use a single heat source to pipe hot water to multiple households, have not had the same rights as those on mains gas or electricity, but that is about it change. What difference could the new regulations make?

How could the way you get financial advice change in the future? We'll discuss new proposals by the regulator the Financial Conduct Authority aimed at helping more people get financial advice.

And, what would you like to see on a new bank note from the Bank of England? Email us now [email protected]

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Jo Krasner Researcher: Eimear Devlin Editor: Jess Quayle

(audio credit British Pathé)

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 5th July 2025)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, welcome to this Moneybox podcast.
0:07.5	Hundreds of thousands of households have little control over the price of hot water and heating
0:12.2	and no freedom to switch the plier, but if they can't pay, they can be disconnected.
0:18.1	Are you overwhelmed with the financial choices you face? New plans may make it
0:22.4	easier to get help? And would you like flowers or buildings on the Bank of England's new banknotes?
0:28.5	But first, radical changes in pensions are necessary to ensure today's workers have an adequate
0:34.1	income in retirement. A report out this week proposes major reforms of the state
0:39.2	pension, auto-enrollment into company pensions, and the way that lots of small pensions are
0:44.6	brought together. The conclusions come at the end of a two-year study by the Independent Research
0:49.6	Organisation, the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Its report is based on some stark statistics, which reveal many people are simply not saving enough for their retirement,
0:59.5	and that will be made worse for the next generation of pensioners because they'll be less likely to have index-linked pensions from their job
1:06.6	and less likely to own the home they live in.
1:09.8	But how much to future pensioners, now just in their 20s or 30s,
1:13.8	even know about the state pension?
1:15.9	Joe Krasner went to find out.
1:17.9	So you're very young, and you're probably not thinking about pensions at the moment.
1:22.8	Do you know anything about the state pension?
1:25.4	I don't know anything about pensions at all.
1:27.4	I just know I'll be about
1:28.4	71 I get it, so too old for anything. Do you know how much money you'll receive? Nothing.
1:34.0	Probably not a lot. Yeah, not enough. I actually don't know anything about it. Is it like
1:40.6	60 something, isn't it? 65? Do you just have to earn a certain amount of money or I I don't know. I don't know anything about it, to be honest. I've got a pension but I don't know about the state one. Work all your life until you retire and then that's it. I don't know much about the state pension, sorry. Is it 65 for a female? I think I'll be working till I'm about 80. Time I get to 65. I think they were putting
	...

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