Consultation outcome

Early access to pension savings

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government
This consultation has concluded

Download the full outcome

Early access to pension savings: a summary of responses to the call for evidence

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Detail of outcome

Over 100 responses were received following the call to evidence, with more than 60 from organisations, including major pension providers and schemes, consumer bodies, think tanks and other financial service providers, and nearly 50 individual responses


Original consultation

Summary

Seeking views on early access to pension savings.

This consultation ran from
to

Consultation description

The Government pledged to explore the potential to give people greater flexibility in accessing part of their private pension fund early.  This reflects the Government’s commitment to considering ways to boost individual saving, and foster a culture of personal responsibility, particularly in encouraging saving for retirement. 

The call for evidence set out the existing arguments that suggest early access to pension savings could provide an effective incentive for individuals to start saving or save more into a pension, and also outlined some of the different models for how early access could potentially be offered. 

The Government asked for representations and evidence on the possible benefits and risks of any early access reform and also on whether current pensions tax rules could be made more flexible for individuals with small pension pots.

Documents

Call for evidence on early access to pension savings (PDF 349KB)

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If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email digital.communications@hmtreasury.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.
Published 13 December 2010