![\"Nikhil](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-1239802464-1.jpg\")
\t\tNikhil Rathi, chief executive officer of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (Hollie Adams\/Bloomberg via Getty Images)\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tTuesday 10 February 2026 1:17 pm
\n\t\t\t\t\t\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Updated:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\t\tTuesday 10 February 2026 7:04 pm\n\t<\/p>\n
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\t\tNikhil Rathi, chief executive officer of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (Hollie Adams\/Bloomberg via Getty Images)\t<\/p>\n
The head of the financial watchdog has suggested that the UK should have the \u201ccontentious debate\u201d about whether pension savings<\/a> could be put towards housing deposits.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nikhil Rathi<\/a>, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said there was greater scope for pension savings to support financial resilience, particularly among lower income households.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have an opportunity as pension reforms are taking shape to think very holistically about how these parts of the system fit together,\u201d he said at the Resolution Foundation\u2019s Unsung Britain conference in London.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCan we think about allowing modest access to pension funds for emergency rainy day savings to bolster resilience? A number of other countries already do this \u2013 South Africa, Singapore, Turkey, the US, New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBeing able to access \u00a31,000 from your pension pot for an emergency could take some pressure off.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen there\u2019s a more contentious debate, which does happen in other countries \u2013 but I think it is worth having here \u2013 about whether a modest portion of those pension savings can also be used to support housing deposits,\u201d Rathi said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s worth us having that discussion,\u201d he added, again pointing to New Zealand and Singapore.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pensions withdrawals tax charges<\/p>\n The UK has fairly inflexible rules about accessing pension savings before the age of 55. Withdrawals can incur a tax charge of 55 per cent if they do not meet the stringent eligibility rules, such as being unable to work or having a terminal illness.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rathi\u2019s comments reflect the challenging economic situation faced by many lower income households, detailed in the Resolution Foundation\u2019s latest report.<\/a><\/p>\n It found that 60 per cent of households in the lower half of the income distribution lack a buffer to cover three months worth of income \u2013 even though the savings rate has increased in the 2010s.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe fear that ordinary mishaps \u2013 the fridge or cooker conking out, say \u2013 could lead to debt or disaster casts a pall over the experience of day-to-day life,\u201d the think tank said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Homeownership has also fallen among lower-income households. Research from the think tank showed that while three-in-ten families in the lower half of the income distribution had a mortgage in 1994-95, that had fallen to 17 per cent by 2023-24.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n