Watchdog warns reforms have backfired

Reforms to free up cash in pension pots for those over 55 have backfired, with more than 250,000 savers at risk of paying too much tax on lump sums, the Financial Conduct Authority has warned. It said that 53 per cent of the one million pots accessed so far under pension freedoms have been fully cashed in when only 25 per cent of the pot can be taken tax free. It blamed “a lack of public trust in pensions”.