Deep Dive #3: How to make the most of the pension freedoms

It’s ten years since George Osborne introduced his landmark private pension reforms, known as the ‘pension freedoms’. In this AJ Bell Money and Markets Deep Dive, we explore whether the pension freedoms have been a success and how you can make the most of them with your pension.

(05:26) Tom Selby and Rachel Vahey from AJ Bell will be joining Laith Khalaf to discuss what the pension freedoms were, and how people have been using them over the last decade. We’ll also be running through the tax treatment of pension withdrawals and the chancellor’s plans to levy inheritance tax on pensions.

(23:55) One of the architects of the pension freedoms, Sir Steve Webb, the Pension Minister in the coalition government of 2010 to 2015, talks to Laith about why the reforms took place and whether they’ve been a success.

(45:20) The team talk through the differences between drawdown and annuity and ask what a sustainable income is. We also discuss investment strategies in retirement, and ask whether annuities might be due a comeback. Finally we run through the resources that can help you decide how to take your retirement income.