Government says no to early pensions access

20/04/11
Pensions

After a period of consultation the government has decided not to allow people early access to their pension funds.

Currently you have to be at least 55 to access your pension, however some believe that if this age was to be reduced it would encourage saving into pensions, this view has been rejected by the government.

Financial secretary to the Treasury Mark Hoban said: ‘While early access has some merits, there is insufficient evidence to suggest it would act as an incentive to save more into pensions.’

The government also believe that introducing early access would push up costs; Mr Hoban went on to say, ‘Most of the models would be likely to involve a significant increase in complexity and administrative burdens, which could in turn result in higher charges for consumers. These effects would be especially unwelcome at a time when automatic enrolment seeks to increase participation in pension saving and levels of contributions.’

The news will come as a blow to people who had hoped to be able to access their pension fund to help with issues arising from the financial crisis over the past couple of years.