Latest Columns
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Lisa Webster: Take the pension first? Think again
With the impending changes to tax treatment of pensions on death, there has been talk around the order of income in retirement being turned on its head.
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Tilley: Transfer reform welcome but SSAS governance is key
At first glance, DWP’s June 2026 consultation on proposed changes to the 2021 transfer regulations does something the industry has long asked for; it acknowledges that the current regime, while well intended, has created too much friction for some perfectly legitimate pension transfers.
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Lisa Webster: Good news from DWP for SIPPs but not SSAS
The DWP has just released its long-awaited consultation on the SIPP transfer regulations – and it’s largely encouraging news. As an employee of a reputable SIPP provider the changes are positive. SSAS providers may be less enthusiastic about some of the proposals.
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Lisa Webster: Should tax-free cash always be taken?
Since the Lifetime Allowance was abolished and replaced with the Lump Sum Allowance (LSA) and lump sum and death benefit allowance (LSDBA), we have seen an increase in SIPP members who want to take drawdown only – foregoing the right to take the associated pension commencement lump sum (PCLS).
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Tilley: Are we asking too much of pension savers?
Working in UK pensions, I’ve always accepted that the system evolves. Fiscal pressures change, demographics shift, and governments recalibrate policy objectives. But even allowing for that, the pace and volume of legislative change in the pensions space over the last few years feels unprecedented, and in my view increasingly problematic.
Popular News
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Pension transfer plans ‘won’t work’ – SPP
The Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) has warned that new measures designed to protect savers from pension scams could be undermined by legislative loopholes and are therefore unlikely to work as intended.
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Government urged to create retirement adequacy measure
The government has been urged to create a national framework for measuring retirement adequacy, built around a minimum income threshold and target replacement rates.
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62% of workers have multiple pension pots
More than three in five UK workers (62%) have more than one pension pot, according to research from workplace wellbeing specialist Wealth at Work.
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Advice market revenue up nearly 14% yoy to £6.5bn
The latest FCA report on the advice market has revealed a 13.9% year on year increase in retail investment intermediation revenue in 2025 to £6.5bn despite a decline in the number of investment advisers last year.
The pensions industry should drive small pension pots consolidation by 2030, trade body Pensions UK has urged.
New figures from the FCA published today have revealed that the total number of pension plans accessed for the first time rose by 8.6% to 961,575 compared to 885,455 in 2023/24.
The figures were included in the regulator’s latest retirement income data for 2024/25.
In particular the figures revealed a surge in people accessing pension pots worth more than a quarter of a million pounds.
The number went up in the six months between April 2024 and September 2024, coinciding with fears that the first Budget of the new Labour government would include measures such as capping or scrapping tax-free lump sums.
But the number went up again in October 2024-March 2025, in response to the Budget announcement that pensions would be included in the IHT net from April 2027.
In total, more than £53bn was taken out over the year in cases where pension pots were moved into drawdown but not fully emptied out.
Steve Webb, partner at pensions consultants LCP, said: “These figures show graphically how uncertainty about pensions and tax can move the market.
“Given that pensions should be a long-term business, it is deeply disappointing that consumer behaviour is being driven so profoundly by uncertainty around public policy.”
Jon Greer, head of retirement policy at Quilter, said: “The continued growth highlights how more people are leaning on their pensions earlier, often to meet rising living costs and fill income gaps elsewhere.
“Some of the increase will also reflect the demographic bulge of baby boomers reaching retirement age, so part of the rise is structural and will naturally continue in the years ahead. But the real concern is the scale of withdrawals and the lack of advice that accompanies them, which risks leaving many without adequate income later in life.”
The value taken from pension pots overall leapt by more than a third, rising 35.9% from £52.2bn in 2023/24 to £70.9bn in 2024/25. Drawdown products saw the largest increase in uptake, with sales climbing 25.5% to 349,992, cementing their position as the dominant choice for retirement income.
Mr Greer said: “While flexibility remains attractive, it also exposes retirees to the risk of depleting their savings too quickly if withdrawals are not carefully managed.”
Annuities continued their modest revival with sales up 7.8% to 88,430. Mr Greer said: “Higher interest rates have made annuities more competitive, and while volumes remain far below their pre-pension freedoms peak, more people are starting to recognise the value of securing a guaranteed income in retirement.”
Unless there is a big surge in inflation in the next two months, the state pension will rise by 4.7% next April.
More than a third, 36%, of Gen Xers aged between 44-59 are in the dark when it comes to knowing about their parents’ inheritance plans.
Fraudsters are using increasingly sophisticated impersonation techniques to access savers' pensions, according to the Pensions Regulator.
Pension and investment provider Aegon has launched a new app for workplace pension members, which it claimed will help people engage with their money and navigate key financial moments.