Flexible withdrawals from pensions hit record lows

Latest statistics show that 327 000 people made 828 000 withdrawals totalling £2.23bn between October and December 2019. The average withdrawal for each person was at a record low of £6 820 down 39% from the £11 132 when reporting became compulsory from April 2016. The average amount withdrawn also hit a record low of £2 693 compared with £5 980 in 2016. Monthly income drawings are the norm.

Nathan Long senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown said: ‘The swift introduction of flexible pension rules has taken a little time to bed down but now nearly five years on we’re seeing payments falling to record lows. This implies people have settled into managing their money for the long term with monthly withdrawals becoming more and more common.’

Hargreaves Lansdown has been tracking the average payments. In a quarter the expectation would be for three monthly payments for people...