Question Time: Can salary sacrifice cut student loan & savings tax cost? A Bridesmaid refund! And, state pension tax?
The Martin Lewis Podcast
BBC
4.4 • 929 Ratings
🗓️ 8 December 2025
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In our Question Time podcast, Martin Lewis gives you answers on anything and everything, including: can using salary sacrifice allow me to cut the amount of student loan and savings tax I pay? How will not paying tax if you only get the state pension work in practice? Help, I’m about to turn 50! Is there anything I should do with my finances? Plus, we have a bridesmaid dress return success story (including how Martin helped them find love), and would Martin rather do Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? or Celebrity Traitors?
If you want to ask Martin a question, you now can! His Question Time podcast lets you ask Martin absolutely anything and everything (within reason!) – so if you’ve always wanted to know his favourite tube line, if he’s a snorer or not, or have a very complicated question about your personal finances, email it to MartinLewisPodcast@bbc.co.uk.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:08.1 | It's certainly worth thinking at this point whether your pension provision is sufficient. |
| 0:12.8 | Nothing is completely rock-solid certain on the way that this will work. |
| 0:16.2 | You are in a grey area, if we're being really honest. |
| 0:18.8 | It's your fault that me and my chap actually met. |
| 0:21.5 | It's a brilliant question. |
| 0:22.8 | I hope you understood my answer. |
| 0:24.1 | It's a bit complicated. |
| 0:25.6 | Hello and welcome to the cunningly named the Martin Lewis podcast. |
| 0:29.2 | I do wonder what that's going to be about. |
| 0:30.7 | This is our question time edition, |
| 0:32.8 | in which I answer your questions about absolutely anything and everything within reason. |
| 0:38.6 | This week, you ask me, can boosting your pension contributions cut the cost of student loans and savings tax? |
| 0:46.5 | Then an inspiring tale of a successful refund on a bridesmaid. |
| 0:51.0 | Well, a bridesmaid's dress anyway. |
| 0:52.4 | How will not paying tax if you only get the state |
| 0:56.4 | pension work in practice? We've a man who's hitting 50 who wants to know what he should be looking |
| 1:01.8 | at financially. And we finish by you asking me would I prefer to do who wants to be a millionaire |
| 1:07.1 | or celebrity traitors? Play the theme tune. Right, I've got podcast producer Matt, now better known as the curator of the questions. Hello, sir. What questions do you have for me today? Hello. I've got a really nice mix of questions and a really good success story. I hope I have a nice mix of answers for you. That's so too. That's the difficult bit. |
| 1:45.0 | Right, what have you got? |
| 2:02.3 | We'll start with one from Colin if that works for you. Yeah, well, I have no idea what the question is. Colin sounds perfectly legitimate. Depends what he's going to ask me. He's emailed in to Martin Lewispodcast.bbc.com.com. Hi, Martin and Matt. Thanks for included me, Colin. He says, thanks for some really great advice. |
| 2:03.9 | I feel like I've benefited from it. |
... |
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