freedom and choice

This week's stop stories including British Airways' pension scheme members demanding a meeting with trustees over the time taken to decide whether to appeal a recent court judgment.

A record £2.3bn was withdrawn from pensions under Freedom and Choice in the second quarter of this year, according to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

One in 10 of this year's retirees will take their entire pension pot as a lump sum, Prudential's 'Class of 2018' research finds.

Some 95% of defined benefit (DB) trustees and sponsors are concerned about the consequences of members getting inadequate support for their retirement options, according to Hymans Robertson research.

In this week's Pensions Buzz, we want to know if you think it is fair that The Pensions Regulator can seize assets from fine dodgers, and how schemes should deal with pension overpayments from contracting-out discrepancies.

HMRC figures published on Friday suggest almost £17.5bn has been flexibly withdrawn since the inception of pension freedoms, but that figure is not reflective of 'the bigger picture', according to one industry expert.

Savers are not squandering their tax-free lump sums under Freedom and Choice but are taking a more cautious approach to retirement, according to Prudential research.

The Treasury has reaffirmed its decision against rolling out freedoms to the annuity market, arguing it would be impossible to balance consumer protections with a functioning market.

Soon-to-be and recent retirees significantly underestimate their longevity, expecting a lower chance of survival to old age compared to official estimates, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).

Around one in ten (11%) workers aged over 55 say pension freedoms have encouraged them to save more since the rules came into effect in April 2015, Prudential has found.