Brits taken £70bn from pensions in decade since ‘freedom’

The reforms were implemented in April 2015 and ditched restrictions that previously applied to ‘drawdown’ and ushered in a new era of freedom and choice for savers aged 55 and over.

Tom Selby, director of public policy at AJ Bell, said the change was arguably the most significant pension tax reform in almost a hundred years and a reform which has revolutionised the retirement income market.

He said: “Brits can now build a retirement income plan to suit their needs, potentially combining the security of an annuity with the flexibility of keeping money invested through drawdown.

“Reforms to pensions death benefits have also been a game changer, allowing people to pass on their pensions completely tax-free to loved ones if they die before age 75.”

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He said that improving the support available to savers and retirees is critical. “The joint review being carried out by the Treasury and FCA on the advice guidance boundary is central to this, with the proposed ‘Targeted Support’ regime potentially enabling firms to offer more useful guidance to all.

“Promoting the benefits of regulated advice, which remains the gold standard when it comes to helping people make good financial decisions, is also crucial.”

The company has come up with ten key numbers that tell a story about retiring in Britain since 2015:

1. £72.2bn – The total value of pensions accessed ‘flexibly’ since the pension freedoms were introduced in April 2015. (Source: latest available HMRC data)
2. 705,666 – The number of pension pots accessed for the first time in 2021/22 (the most recent year official data is available). (Source: FCA data)
3. 205,641 – New drawdown policies entered into but not fully withdrawn in 2021/22 (the most recent year official data is available). (Source: FCA data)
4. 68,514 – Number of annuities purchased in 2021/22 (the most recent year official data is available). (Source: FCA data)
5. 4% – Proportion of plans accessed for the first time where plan holders took regulated financial advice in 2021/22 (the most recent year official data is available). (Source: FCA data)
6. 40% – Proportion of regular drawdown income payments withdrawn at a rate of over 8% of the pot value in 2021/22 (the most recent year official data is available). (Source: FCA data)
7. 6% – Proportion of people aged 55+ who were saving in a defined contribution (DC) pension in May 2022 who said they had fully encashed the pension, or taken out a lump sum, to cover day-to-day expenses. (Source: FCA Financial Lives Survey)
8. 26,619 – Total number of defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) transfers carried out in 2021/22 (the most recent year official data is available). (Source: FCA data)
9. £1.17bn – Amount of money reclaimed by savers overtaxed on their pension withdrawals since April 2015. (Source: AJ Bell analysis of HMRC data)
10. £3,216 – Average reclaim value in the latest quarter (Q4 2023). (Source: AJ Bell analysis of HMRC data)

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