Everything advisers need to know about today's 'wow' pension changes

Everything advisers need to know about Budget 2014's 'wow' pension changes

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In what the government itself has called "the most fundamental reform to the way people access their pensions in almost a century", c hancellor George Osborne has effectively abolished the requirement on retirees to buy an annuity.

Here, we run down the key things you need to know about today's pension changes. The biggest change is about what savers in defined contribution (DC) schemes can do when they choose to access their money. Now, people can either choose to buy an annuity, access drawdown or use other products, or they can make a full withdrawal of their savings at a marginal rate of tax (rather than a 55% charge). It is a staggering change to the pensions market - and culture - in the UK. To recognise these changes, the government is also set to introduce a new guarantee that everyone who retires ...

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