Older savers should avoid making rash decisions about their pension cash based on “fear and rumour”, personal finance experts have warned.
Pensioners urged not to withdraw money in ‘panic’ before November change
Pensioners have been urged not to withdraw money in a “panic” before November. Older savers should avoid making rash decisions about their pension cash based on “fear and rumour”, personal finance experts have warned.
Data from the Financial Conduct Authority showed that UK pension savers withdrew more than £70 billion from their retirement pots in 2024-25.
That is up almost 36 per cent on the £52bn taken out the year before. Of this, £18.3 billion was tax-free cash, according to the figures from the FCA. That marks an increase of 62 per cent on the £11.3bn the previous year.
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Many financial experts say “budget jitters and fiscal rumours” are driving this trend ahead of the Labour Party Budget on November 26.
Eamonn Prendergast, a chartered financial adviser at Palantir Financial Planning, said pension pots were “meant to last decades, not be raided in panic. The government must do more to quash rumours early and give clarity.”
Rachel Vahey at the investment platform AJ Bell said the concern is “people aren’t making decisions based on what’s best for them but because they are worried about possible changes to pensions tax incentives”.
Stephen Lowe at the retirement specialist Just Group said the Treasury may view tax-free cash as “an easy target”.
Writing into the Guardian, one pensioner wrote this week: “I am 83 next birthday and, so that my descendants escape the potential inheritance tax bill of £6m-plus, I’ll have to survive until October 2032.
“My firm is property-based. In the event of an earlier demise, sites will require disposal within six months, cruelly affecting investment, growth and employment.
“In my case the tax has turned into an ageist lottery. At the moment plans are afoot to rig up a life-support unit at home with an instruction to pull the plug on the appointed day, seven years hence. Any suggestions for relief, Rachel?”