Episodes

  • How Does the UK Pension Drawdown Work?
    Nov 19 2024

    Hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek speak with Bloomberg Opinion columnist Stuart Trow, author of “The Bluffer’s Guide to Economics,” about pension drawdown, which is a way to access your pension income when you retire while leaving the rest invested. Trow tackles how it works and offers suggestions on how best to manage it.

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    28 mins
  • Why AI-Driven Productivity Is a Decade Away in the UK
    Nov 15 2024

    Economist Diane Coyle, currently the Bennett professor of public policy at the University of Cambridge, analyzes artificial intelligence’s potential economic impact—from people’s jobs to their productivity—on this week’s episode of Merryn Talks Money.

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    31 mins
  • Everybody Relax. We're Talking About Crypto.
    Nov 13 2024

    In this week's roundup, Merryn and Money Distilled newsletter author John Stepek discuss the latest Bitcoin boom in the wake of Donald J. Trump’s confirmation as President Elect. Is there more room for Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and other cryptocurrencies to rise? What headwinds are in store? And how much Bitcoin do Merryn and John own?

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    20 mins
  • Is There a Smarter Way to Pay Your Taxes?
    Nov 12 2024

    In this week’s personal finance edition of Merryn Talks Money, hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek discuss a listener question about whether setting up a limited liability company is a good strategy to save on taxes in the UK.

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    17 mins
  • Why Trump’s Victory Is Musk’s ‘Tech-Bro Coup’
    Nov 8 2024

    On this episode of Merryn Talks Money, we discuss what the Republican’s second term means for the US, the UK and the Tesla CEO. Pippa Malmgren, economist, author and former adviser to Republican President George W. Bush and Helen Thomas, founder and chief executive of BlondeMoney join.

    They also discuss what UK-US relations will look like under Trump, how Britain’s exit from the European Union highlights the importance of the “special relationship” and how investors can profit from likely policy changes under the new US government—which includes the case for buying Bitcoin.

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    43 mins
  • A Dose of Cynicism from John and The Case for Becoming a Barrel Maker
    Nov 7 2024

    In this week's roundup, Merryn and Money Distilled newsletter author John Stepek chat about the unsurprising Bank of England decision to cut the UK's key interest rate to 4.75%. And they discuss the increase in the cost of university fees and once again explain why the student loan system is so broken.

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    13 mins
  • DC and DB Pension Schemes: What They Are and How They Work
    Nov 5 2024

    In this week’s personal finance edition of Merryn Talks Money, hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek discuss a listener question about the difference between UK defined benefit and defined contribution pensions.

    The listener, Mustafa, said he originally had a defined benefit pension but has since moved over to a defined contribution scheme. He wants more information about each of the pension types and is starting to question the change. Webb and Stepek help him understand the pros and cons of each scheme and make it very clear what they might prefer for their own pensions.

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    17 mins
  • Live Event: What Did Rachel Reeves Risk With Her First Budget?
    Oct 31 2024

    In a live-recorded episode of Merryn Talks Money, hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek are joined in London by Bloomberg Head of Economics and Government Stephanie Flanders and former UK Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) Chief of Staff Andy King to discuss the first budget presented by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves.

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    51 mins