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Withdrawals from pension funds surged in the quarter to June
Withdrawals from pension funds surged in the quarter to June, indicating a continuing aptitude for strategic tax planning by beneficiaries.
Data from HMRC showed payments increased by about one-third compared with the previous quarter, up from £1,697m to £2,269m. This comes after a couple of years of rising numbers of payments but relatively flat overall pay-outs by value.
Tom McPhail, head of policy at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: ‘Withdrawals are spiking around the end of tax years, suggesting investors are planning their income to make the most of their allowances and tax thresholds. We don’t think the surge over the past few months is down to any one factor, but we know concern about Brexit is an increasing issue for some investors.
‘Another factor that may have caused the jump in recent months is the relatively high volume of transfers out of final salary pension schemes.’
