UPDATE: Why Your Tax-Free Pension Lump Sum Is Under Growing Threat
Merryn Somerset Webb sits down with Mark Wood, Chairman of Everest Funeral Concierge, Chair of PensionBee, and former CEO off Prudential UK and AXA, to discuss how sweeping pension reforms could transform the way UK earners save and draw down their pensions.Update: We wanted to add clarification to a point made in the show. In the interview, it was suggested that taking your 25% tax-free lump sum at age 55 or later means you’ve “retired” and can no longer put money into your pension with tax relief. It is correct that from the normal minimum pension age (currently 55, rising to 57 in 2028), you can access up to 25% of your pension pot tax-free. The restriction only arises if you also start taking taxable income (for example, via drawdown or as a lump sum payment). At that point, the Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA) rules apply, and your future tax-relievable contributions are capped at £10,000 per year (current rules). However, withdrawing this lump sum alone does not mean you are treated as retired. You can continue to contribute to your pension and receive tax relief on those contributions, subject to the standard annual allowance.Thanks as always to those who wrote in seeking clarification.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
--------
23:38
--------
23:38
The Real Reason UK Energy Prices Are Skyrocketing
These days, UK energy policies arguably seem more ideological than anything else. But that doesn’t seem to be working, so perhaps it’s time for it to be practical instead? With that in mind we invited Dieter Helm, a professor of economic policy at the University of Oxford, to join this week’s Merryn Talks Money podcast. He discusses how the UK, which consistently ranks among the most expensive countries for consumer electricity prices, should address its energy problem. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
--------
32:18
--------
32:18
Gold vs. Bitcoin: What’s Driving the Safe-Haven Rally in 2025
In this week's markets roundup, host Merryn Somerset Webb, editor-at-large for Bloomberg UK Wealth, sits down with Noor Al Ali from Bloomberg Markets Live to unpack gold’s remarkable rally and its implications for global markets. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
--------
17:40
--------
17:40
How University Students Should Approach Their Finances
September signals the end of summer in the UK and the start of the school year. Gearing up to start university can be a daunting time for many young people, often catapulted into a situation of continuous firsts—first time living away, first time having to cook all their own meals and the first time having to manage their own money. On this personal finance episode of Merryn Talks Money, host Merryn Somerset Webb is joined by award-winning journalist Marc Shoffman to discuss all things student finance.https://www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2024-09-09/merryn-talks-your-money-paying-university-fees-podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
--------
15:06
--------
15:06
Odd Lots: Liz Truss on the 'Doom Loop' Engulfing the UK Economy
We'll be back next week with more Merryn Talks Money interviews, but for now we bring you an interesting conversation from the Odd Lots team. These days, everyone is talking about high interest rates across the rich, developed world, while warning of eventual fiscal disaster. But we may have gotten an early glimpse of this anxiety in October 2022, when then-UK Prime Minister Liz Truss unveiled her mini-budget that spooked the gilt market. Well today, rates at the long end of the British yield curve are even higher. So what's going on? Why all this angst now about UK fiscal sustainability and the economy itself? In this episode, we speak with Liz Truss about what she learned during her brief time as the PM. She talks about the political reality of fiscal consolidation, and how difficult it is on both the tax and spending side. And we also discuss what her economic vision was really all about, had she not been forced from the position so quickly. In addition, we talk about the general state of politics, the media, and free speech in the UK. Only Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox — now delivered every weekday — plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlotsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Merryn Talks Money with Bloomberg senior columnist Merryn Somerset Webb is your key to understanding how markets work – and how you can make them work for you. Every episode features a relaxed but in-depth conversation with a fund manager, a strategist, a Bloomberg expert or just someone Merryn finds particularly interesting in any given week. Listen in for the kind of insights and explanations everyone can use to help them make better saving and investing choices.
Netherlands