Overview

• The regulator reported a 35.9% year‑on‑year jump in withdrawals, confirming the largest annual outflow since it began collecting comprehensive data in 2018.
• Access to very large pots surged, with 33,475 accounts worth over £250,000 opened between October 2024 and March 2025, up from 18,385 a year earlier.
• Only 30.6% of first‑time accesses involved regulated advice, and experts warned that reactive decisions could leave people short of income later in life.
• Annuity purchases rose 7.8% to 88,430 in 2024/25, while AJ Bell reported many drawdown users took tax‑free cash without starting income payments.
• Industry figures link the rush to preempt the inclusion of pensions in estates for inheritance tax from April 2027 and to speculation about further tax changes, prompting calls for clearer long‑term policy.