HMRC has reported that  £2.3 billion was withdrawn from pensions flexibly in Q2 - a 17% fall year-on-year from the £2.8 billion seen in Q2 2019.

Savers withdrew £2.75bn flexibly using the pension freedoms in Q2 2019, up 21% compared to a year earlier, new figures have revealed.

The number of pension withdrawals continued to soar in the third quarter of 2018 leading to suggestions that some pensions savers are treating their pensions like bank accounts, tapping them for cash when they need it.

Royal London director of policy Steve Webb has called for an end to what he called the “absurd” way pension withdrawals are taxed.