Pension freedom withdrawals hit record £2.3bn in Q2

A record £2.3bn was withdrawn from pensions under Freedom and Choice in the second quarter of this year, according to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The period also saw the highest number of people access their pensions via the largest amount of withdrawals in a quarter since the freedoms were introduced in 2015. More than a quarter of a million people, across 574,000 payments, withdrew an average of £8,600 between April and June. The figure is up 34% on the previous quarter when withdrawals amounted to £1.7bn. Barnett Waddingham senior consultant Malcolm McLean said the figures demo...