{"id":75416,"date":"2016-10-26T09:29:02","date_gmt":"2016-10-26T09:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=81ef1421f5561722c88ef8028ff54420"},"modified":"2016-10-26T09:29:02","modified_gmt":"2016-10-26T09:29:02","slug":"news-story-pension-freedoms-used-over-a-million-times-to-access-7-6-billion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=75416","title":{"rendered":"News story: Pension freedoms used over a million times to access \u00a37.6 billion"},"content":{"rendered":"
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New HMRC<\/abbr> figures<\/a> show that 1.1 million payments have been made since the pension freedoms were launched, with 158,000 people accessing \u00a31.54 billion flexibly from their pension pots over the last 3 months. This brings the total amount of money withdrawn from pensions to \u00a37.65 billion since April 2015.<\/p>\n

Last year the government brought in the most significant pension reforms for a generation, giving people who\u2019ve worked hard and saved their entire lives the ability to access their savings how and when they want.<\/p>\n

Recent research from the ABI<\/abbr> shows that the vast majority of pension savers are using the new freedoms well and making sustainable long-term retirement income decisions.<\/p>\n

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Simon Kirby, said:<\/p>\n

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Today\u2019s figures prove that allowing people to do what they with their hard-earned savings, whether it\u2019s buying an annuity or taking a cash lump sum, is the right thing to do.<\/p>\n

The freedoms remain a popular choice as people consider the different ways to fund their retirement.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

People accessing their pensions are also benefiting from the government\u2019s free and impartial pension\u2019s guidance service, Pension Wise, which has already had over 3 million visits to the website and nearly 90,000 appointments to date.<\/p>\n

The government has also announced plans to protect consumers by capping early exit fees, allowing earlier access to Pension Wise guidance, and working with industry to build a Pensions Dashboard prototype by April 2017.<\/p>\n

Further information<\/h3>\n