Pension reforms not done in a 'big rush', says Danny Alexander

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Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, has hit back at claims the government is pushing through its wide-ranging pension reforms "in a big rush" ahead of next year's general election.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Liberal Democrat Alexander said that, now freedoms have been offered to the public, it would want policymakers to "get on and do them". In March, Chancellor George Osborne announced key changes to the taxation of pensions, giving retirees greater access to their savings from April next year and effectively ending the need to buy an annuity. During the Radio 4 programme, it was suggested to Alexander that it had not gone unnoticed the reforms will be introduced shortly before the general election in 2015. "I don't think it's fair to say we are doing this in ...

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