Pensions white paper

BBC Radio 4's Money Box Saturday 27 May, 1204 BST Sunday 28 May, 2102 BST On Radio 4 and online Programme transcript

The age at which people qualify for a state pension will rise to 68 in 2044 as part of the biggest pensions shake-up in 50 years.

The long-awaited white paper was published on Thursday following the Pensions Commission's proposals last year.

As well as a gradual rise in state pension age, the link with earnings is to be restored within the next Parliament.

Plus the number of years people must work before they qualify for a full state pension will reduce to 30 for men and women.

New rules will mean people who care for children or the disabled will be entitled to a state pension without having to make a minimum level of National Insurance contributions.

And there will be a new way for people to save to supplement any money from the state - the National Pensions Savings Scheme.

We discussed what it means for you with Malcolm Mclean, chief executive of the Pensions Advisory Service, Christine Farnish, chief executive of the National Association of Pension Funds, and Tom McPhail, pensions expert from advice firm Hargreaves Lansdown.

Further information:

State pension age to rise to 68

Q&A: How it affects your pension

External internet links and helplines

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Pension losses

ASW workers hope to benefit from the new scheme

Thousands more people who lost out when their pension scheme was wound up or their firm went bust are to receive compensation.

The Financial Assistance Scheme was set to make up some of the pension shortfalls of workers close to retirement.

But in Thursday's white paper the government announced that people up to 15 years from retirement age will also get some money.

However, that still leaves around 35,000 people with no prospect of compensation for their losses.

We heard from one worker who will benefit from the expansion and discussed the development with Andrew Parr of the Pensions Action Group.

Further information:

Help for bust pensions increased

Pension help for steelworkers

External internet links and helplines

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Online shopping

More and more people are now choosing to shop online

Online purchases now make up 10% of all retail sales, according to research by the Interactive Media in Retail Group.

And an increasing number of "cash back" websites are springing up, offering money or shopping points each time you spend.

This week has seen the high profile launch of one such shopping portal promising cash back on purchases from about 700 retailers.

But there are costs. So are these sites worth using? We spoke to Chris Percival from Mrs Cashback and Richard Yendall from Rpoints.

Further information:

'Cash back' sites lure online shoppers

External internet links and helplines

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Women and money

Ruby Wax was the guest speaker at Making Your Money Work

There are now more female millionaires in the UK between the ages of 18 and 44 then there are male ones.

And by 2025 women will own more than 60% of personal wealth in the UK.

With the pressure on for all women to become financially literate, a new series of events was launched this week.

Making Your Money Work was staged in London with the aim of demystifying the world of personal finance.

It featured comedienne Ruby Wax who was forced to learn the hard way when her parents became too ill to manage their own affairs.

Heather Payton reported.

Further information:

The growing wealth of women

External internet links and helplines

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Producer: Jennifer Clarke
Presenter: Chris A'Court
Reporter: Heather Payton