It’s a decade since former chancellor George Osborne made his bombshell 2014 budget announcement, drastically changing the retirement income market. The pension freedom reforms, implemented in April 2015, finally gave those aged 55 and over control of how and when they access savings.
More than £70 billion has been accessed flexibly since April 2015, according to the latest figures from HMRC. But data from the Financial Conduct Authority reveals just one out of in three accessing funds took regulated financial advice. This leaves huge numbers of people at risk of making choices that could negatively affect the rest of their financial lives. Regulated advice is vital to ensure people make good decisions.