The number of people taking advantage of the pension freedoms has “hit an all-time high”.

New HMRC figures on flexible payments from pensions were released today.

They showed the number of payments for the last quarter of 2016 surged to 393,000 – a rise of nearly 70,000 from the previous quarter.

162,000 people accessed £1.56 billion flexibly from their pension pots over the last 3 months, according to HMRC.

There were over 1 million payments in 2016, comprising 550,000 individuals.

Total value of payments for 2016 was more than £5.5bn.

See table below for more.

Martin Palmer, Zurich's head of corporate funds propositions, said: “Nearly two years since its inception, these figures show that those taking advantage of the pension freedoms has hit an all-time high. They also demonstrates the variety of approaches that people are taking towards their retirement.

“That said, it is essential that the pension freedoms are not simply used to boost short-term spending power, and that people are empowered to make informed choices.

“We know that almost half of UK adults fear a lack of savings will prevent them from realising their life goals. However, we also know that those who set specific goals for life after 65 save more for the future, and could be over £30,000 better off than those who don’t.”

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Simon Kirby, said: “These figures show that people continue to take advantage of the choices on offer: choices ‎only made available since the government’s landmark pension freedoms were introduced in April 2015.

“We are working with our partners, including Pension Wise, the regulators and pension firms, so that savers have the support they need to understand the options available to them.”