Would you take a £1m lump sum or £1,000 a week for life?

This is Money Podcast

This is Money

Business, Investing, News, Business News

4.4 • 732 Ratings

🗓️ 29 May 2026

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It's the sort of theoretical question you might discuss at the pub with your mates. If you won the lottery and had the choice, would you pick a £1million lump sum, or take £1,000 a week for life?

Pollster YouGov posed the question to 7,000 Britons recently, and it is fair to say opinions are divided. According to two money experts, there is a right answer - so which is the best strategy, and why is likely to make you much richer? Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Helen Crane discuss.

Easy access savings rates have barely budged in recent weeks, but fixed-rate deals are becoming much more attractive. We look at some of the best - and Helen explains why a number of HSBC customers are feeling disgruntled after Isa transfers to the bank were hit with a raft of delays.

The team also looks at Volvo's chaotic EV recall, and what drivers who have been told their car is a potential fire risk can do.

It has been confirmed that the energy price cap will rise by 13 per cent in July, with costs for the average household climbing by £221. So is it worth thinking about fixing your tariff?

And in this week's heatwave, we discuss data which reveals exactly how expensive it is to keep cool. Are new-fangled air cooler devices worth it, and is air conditioning as pricey as many assume?

Follow us on Instagram @dmgnewmedia.Follow us on TikTok @dmgnewmediaFollow us on X @dmgnewmedia. Email us hello@dmgmedia.co.uk. Text us 020 7938 6000.Hosts: Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce, Helen Crane. Producer: Georgie Frost. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Email us hello@dmgmedia.co.uk

Text us 020 7938 6000.

Hosts: Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce, Helen Crane

Producer: Georgie Frost

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to This Is Money podcast sponsored by Trading 212. Download the Trading 212 app and open a cash-yser with promo code T-I-M to get the 12-month bonus promo rate of 4.76% terms apply.
0:17.3	I'm Georgie Frost and joining me and Lee Voiced today is Helen Crane.
0:21.1	And coming up, the question dividing Britain.
0:24.3	Not whether to get a fan or aircon, we'll get to that later.
0:27.9	No, a one million pound lump sum or a thousand pounds a week for life.
0:33.6	Which would you choose?
0:35.2	Also today's savings rates rising, energy bills are too, and exploding cars?
0:41.6	Don't be getting to step to date with all the latest breaking money news, just go to this ismoney.com.
0:45.5	UK or download the app. But first, it's a sort of theoretical question you might discuss with your mates down at the pub.
0:54.1	Well, Lee, Helen, no alcohol being consumed, but if you won the lottery and had the choice,
1:02.1	would you pick a million pound lump sum or take £1,000 a week for life?
1:06.7	Now, that was a question posed to nearly 7,000 Brits by pollster UGov recently.
1:11.9	And it's fair to say opinions were somewhat divided.
1:16.0	It got people talking on X.
1:18.3	This is money looked into this with the help of a few savings experts.
1:21.4	But before we get to what they say, I absolutely know what I would answer to this.
1:27.0	But Lee, Helen, what would you answer?
1:31.5	Hi, Georgie.
1:32.2	Can I just say when I saw this on social media,
1:34.5	it had that, do you remember that white dress, gold dress thing
1:37.9	where some people saw that it was a white dress,
1:39.7	some people saw it with a gold dress.
	...

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