Civil Service Pension Loans and Pokémon Cards

Civil Service Pension Loans and Pokémon Cards

From Money Box by BBC Radio 4

March 28, 2026 · 25 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the inadequacies of civil service pension loans and the rising trend of Buy Now, Pay Later among older adults, alongside the appeal of collectible Pokémon cards.

The number of emergency hardship loans issued to former civil servants who are facing long delays for pension payments is "pitiful" according to a senior MP. Clive Betts, the deputy chair of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee, has told Money Box the loan system is "not adequate" after figures published for the first time earlier this week show fewer than 600 have been issued - compared to many thousands of people who are missing money. The Cabinet Office says an urgent recovery plan is underway and its immediate priority is to stabilise the service. Capita have previously apologised for the delays. Nearly one in five adults now use Buy Now, Pay Later - instead of paying the whole cost upfront with a debit or credit card you can spread the cost interest free over three or four monthly payments. At one time it was young people driving the rise. But some new research from the Personal Finance Research Centre at the University of Bristol (commissioned by the Aberdeen Group Charitable Trust) suggests Buy Now, Pay Later is now spreading to older people. The number using it in their forties and sixties has grown by a third, with the biggest rise in the last two years among people in…

People in this episode

Host: Paul Lewis

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cabinet Office, Capita, Personal Finance Research Centre, Aberdeen Group Charitable Trust

Products: Buy Now, Pay Later

Books & works: Pokémon card

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