“We are delighted to see that those customers who responded are taking time to fully consider all of the new choices available,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director. “It is particularly encouraging to see that only 2% of respondents plan to take all of their pension benefits in one lump sum and then spend the cash immediately on one single item, despite widespread fears that savers would splash out wildly on a Lamborghini as soon as they got the chance.”
The key findings of the survey are:
• 97% of respondents are aware of the new pension freedoms
• 91% of respondents know about Pension Wise and of those 56% would be most likely to access the service online, with 25% preferring the telephone and just 17% seeking a face-to-face meeting
• Just 17% of eligible respondents plan to withdraw some of their fund at the first opportunity in April
• Just 6% of eligible respondents plan to withdraw all of their funds from their SIPP and only 2% intend to make a one-off purchase with the cash
Notes for Editors
- Customers of www.youinvest.co.uk responded to an online survey between 9th and 20th March 2015.
- Since the Budget of March 2014, the Government has outlined a series of pension reforms which are due to come into force from 6 April.