Is it time to dump your Premium Bonds?

The nation's favourite savings product has just got a little less generous. The prize rate on NS&I's supremely popular Premium Bonds will be slashed from 3.8 per cent to 3.6 per cent from the August draw - the fifth cut since March 2024. On this week's podcast, Helen Crane, Tanya Jefferies and Georgie Frost discuss why Premium Bonds are the Marmite of the savings world, and ask whether the latest cut will prompt devotees to jump ship.  We also look at where else they could stash their rainy day fund - and keep the tax-free benefits.  Elsewhere, the team ask why a Lloyds Bank customer was turned away from the counter when they asked to withdraw £600 in cash - and told they could only do it at the machine outside.  We also hear from a reader who has a moral dilemma. They are having £40,000 of work done on their home, and the builder has asked them to pay in cash.  It seems there may be some creative accounting at work - but our reader hasn't been told that in so many words, and it could of course be perfectly above board.  Could they get in trouble if it does turn out the builder is evading tax? Will the bank ask questions? And can you even take out that much money in one go?  Next, Tanya discusses the latest number crunching which reveals that opting out of your work pension in your twenties, even for five years, could leave you £40,000 poorer at retirement.  With younger people's budgets stretched in many directions, paying into a pension isn't always a priority.  So how can they ensure they save enough for a comfortable retirement, and is it possible to make up for lost time?  Finally, we look at what most people would spend the money on if they received an inheritance - or at least, what they say they would spend it on.

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