Prudent savers now feel like prey.” So said Richard Watkins, a certified financial planner at Continuum, a national firm of financial advisers, in response to the frenzied speculation that chancellor Rachel Reeves intends to hit pensions in her autumn statement, on 26 November.
Those who are old enough – and, curses, you have to be 55 or over to qualify – have been withdrawing tax-free lump sums from their pension pots in record numbers. More than £18bn was pulled out in the year to the end of March 2025, compared to £11.25bn in the previous year, according to new figures from the Financial Conduct Authority. The number of people cashing in increased to 211,000 from 163,500.
