FCA proposes new pension freedom rules

The FCA says it expects firms to “challenge themselves on the level of charges they impose on investment pathways” and could consider imposing a cap. The FCA is consulting on new measures to stop consumers losing out on pension income when they access their pension freedoms. The regulator has previously expressed concern about consumers moving into drawdown and holding their …

HMRC publish latest Pension Freedom withdrawal payments

HMRC has today published its latest update on flexible payments from pensions > Official statistics can be found by clicking here. 574,000 withdrawals were made by 264,000 people in quarter 2 2018, with total withdrawals in this quarter exceeding £2.2 billion. Since pension freedoms, 3.7 million withdrawals have been made by 1 million people, totalling £17.45 billion (April 2015 – …

No rethink of pension freedoms tax despite £37m in overpayments

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has said there will be no rethink of controversial emergency taxes on the pension freedom withdrawals made by millions of savers, despite pressure from the industry to change its approach. The current rules require providers to charge emergency tax the first time someone uses the pension freedoms to access their pension savings. As a result, …

Scam fears prompt new parliamentary inquiry into pension freedom

Concern over the rise in scams is among the reasons prompting a new Work and Pensions Select Committee inquiry into whether the pension freedom reforms have achieved their objectives and if policy changes are needed. The committee, which is chaired by Birkenhead MP Frank Field, said this would follow up an inquiry it conducted shortly after the reforms were introduced …

Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA) reduction confirmed

The government has confirmed it will implement the reduction of the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA), originally due to take effect in April, retrospectively. In the second version of the 2017 Finance Bill, out last Friday, the Treasury said savers who have accessed their pension will see their annual tax-free allowance cut from £10,000 to £4,000 for the 2017/18 tax …

Drawdown regrets for savers ‘putting pension freedoms at risk’

Drawdown regrets for savers are putting pension freedoms at risk. Savers who invested in drawdown are unhappy with their choice while others admit they did not understand the risks before buying, new research* from MetLife shows. – More than one in five admit they did not understand the risks of conventional drawdown and more than one in 10 are unhappy …