Money blog: UK pint price map; bad news for NatWest customers; major change at Airbnb (2025)

Whenever our comments box is switched on, the topic we hear more about than any other is pensions.

It's a subject people young and old engage with - but the jargon can leave even the savviest Money blog reader scratching their heads.

Explained

Over the last few months, we've looked at the pros and cons of the two main options for getting your pension: drawdown and annuity...

One of the most common questions we are asked is why there are two kinds of state pension, depending on your age. Read the answer here...

We suggested at the top of this post that it isn't just older readers who care about this topic. This post, on how much temporarily pausing your pension contributions could cost you in the long term, was popular...

Another useful post from last year (a few of the figures are slightly out of date, but all the principles still apply) is all the discounts or freebies available to pensioners...

Further reading

A few weeks ago we brought you an exclusive on how a common error by employers could leave women who go on maternity leave out of pocket in retirement...

And earlier this year, we looked at how 2.3 million people are missing out on extra money for their pensions.

A total of 56% of workers who are paying higher or additional rates of tax pay into a personal pension - but 46% of those people do not claim pension tax relief on their contributions, investment platform InvestEngine found.

Read more here...

British Airways has used artificial intelligence to cut flight delays.

The airline has claimed the punctuality of its services from Heathrow Airport is more than two times better than in 2023 because of AI and other digital tools.

Two-thirds of departures from its west London base left ahead of schedule last month - more than double the rate achieved in the same month of 2023.

During the first three months of this year, 86% of flights from Heathrow departed on time - BA's best performance on record.

The airline said it has invested £100m in improving its operational resilience, using the money to develop digital tools and apps to help reduce delays.

One system proactively reroutes aircraft to avoid areas of poor weather, preventing some 4,050 hours of delays.

Rightmove and Nationwide Building Society have launched an online tool to help house-hunters see if they could get a mortgage on a specific home.

The "property lender check" gives potential buyers real-time information about their chances of getting a mortgage approved for a property before they view it or put in an offer.

Assessing typical risks on a listing, Nationwide can indicate whether it would be likely to lend on the property.

Stumbling blocks when looking for finance can sometimes arise with properties with short leases, those built from non-standard construction materials, homes in high flood-risk areas, and properties with structural issues.

It takes an average of five months to complete a sale, according to Rightmove, which is hoping the tool will make the process more efficient.

The checker has been launched alongside the property site's mortgage in principle - a feature that helps people to understand how much they are likely to be able to borrow.

People who own empty properties in London should pay "much more" than double tax, the city's mayor has said.

Sadiq Khan has called on the government to give councils in the capital more power to increase the amount of tax people pay on vacant homes.

Speaking to LBC, he said: "I think boroughs should be allowed to charge much, much more. We're lobbying the government to give councils more powers to dis-incentivise leaving a property empty."

In several boroughs of London, a 100% council tax premium has already been enforced on those who own second homes.

The power was granted to councils across England in the Conservatives' Levelling Up and Regeneration Act, which was enacted last month.

Khan said: "I am not being funny, if you can afford a flat and leave it empty, you can pay double council tax.

"That's not enough. I want councils to have the power to charge much more for leaving your property vacant."

Co-op is now in its "recovery stage" and has resumed online stock orders after suffering from a cyber attack.

It was forced to shut down parts of its IT system two weeks ago following the attack, which left stores with serious supply issues.

Customers around the country were frustrated by empty shelves, which we reported on last week.

Co-op is expecting stock availability to improve across its stores this weekend, and has said all forms of payment are now working.

In a statement to Money, it said its ordering system was now "fully online", with its normal supply processes back up and running.

"We are now in the recovery phase and are taking steps to bring our systems gradually back online in a safe and controlled manner," a spokesperson said.

"We'd like to thank all our colleagues, members, partners and suppliers for their support so far. We will provide further updates to our members as we continue to make progress from this cyber attack."

Origin Broadband will close next month, with all customers being transferred to another provider.

The company, which is a subsidiary of TalkTalk, told customers it will "exit the telecoms market" on 1 June.

Those affected by the changes will see their services taken over by Utility Warehouse, which provides broadband using TalkTalk's network.

Utility Warehouse started providing the services to customers from 28 March. All 95,000 will be switched over by the end of June.

According to MoneySavingExpert, the move will happen automatically and should not result in any outages.

It says there will not be a need for any new equipment, fees, or contract changes, and your broadband speeds will remain the same.

A TalkTalk spokesperson told Money: "TalkTalk and Utility Warehouse (UW) have enjoyed a long-standing partnership.

"As announced by UW recently, TalkTalk has agreed a partnership under which approximately 95,000 Origin customers will be transferred to UW.

"Impacted customers will be contacted ahead of migration. No decision has been taken on the future of the Origin brand."

Money has contacted Utility Warehouse for comment.

NatWest is reducing the rates across its easy access savings accounts.

In an email to customers, the bank listed the changes that were being made...

It said reductions to Direct Regular Saver and Flexible Saver accounts will begin on 30 May.

Rates on Primary Savings accounts will change from 15 July.

NatWest isn't the only one making the changes. We have also seen HSBC and Barclays announce similar moves.

It comes after the Bank of England cut the base rate last week from 4.5% to 4.25%.

Anna Bowes, savings expert from The Private Office, told Money: "As expected, the high street banks are quick off the mark to announce cuts to their savings rates.

"The easy access accounts are often already paying some of the lowest rates in the market, so don't wait for these latest reductions to come into force - switch now to earn more."

You can read all about what's going on with savings accounts in this week's Savings Guide.

Wherever you are when you buy a pint can have a big impact on the price you'll pay.

Data shared with Money by consultancy CGA shows that the average cost of a pint in Great Britain is £4.60.

A regional breakdown shows that, as expected, London comes in as the most expensive place to buy a pint at £5.44.

The South and the South East comes in at second place at £4.94, with the South West also above the national average at £4.63.

At the other end of the scale, Wales comes in as the cheapest place to buy a pint at £4.21.

Take a look at the full breakdown in our interactive map below.

Private chefs, spa treatments and makeup artists are some of the new services being offered by Airbnb.

Launched in 2008, the site has hosted two billion guests, but it has recently faced several challenges as popular holiday destinations look to clamp down on short-term lets.

In response, it has expanded its business offerings, giving customers access to luxury services and experiences.

Its new services will initially be available in 260 cities - and they're not restricted to people staying in Airbnbs.

There are 10 categories to choose from, including chefs, photography, massage and personal training, with prices starting at less than $50 (£37.52).

"People choose hotels for their services. People choose Airbnbs for the space. Now, we're giving you the best of both worlds", the company's chief executive Brian Chesky said.

Airbnb said the services are "vetted for quality through an evaluation of expertise and reputation".

"Services hosts have an average of 10 years of experience, have completed Airbnb's identity verification process, and are required to submit relevant licenses and certifications," it added.

Earlier this year, the Money blog examined whether the Airbnb bubble had burst...