Official forecasters baffled by continuous pension freedom tax revenues

£400m added in tax revenues

Hannah Godfrey
clock • 1 min read

Pension freedoms are as popular as ever, with those who first took advantage of the freedoms in 2015 still withdrawing funds at a consistent rate, according to data from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

The OBR said it expected withdrawals from those who initially took advantage of the freedoms to have "diminished by this stage". So far the policy has generated more tax revenue than was first expected. The OBR said between 2015/16 and 2018/19 the policy raised £2bn in tax - two-thirds more than was originally forecast. As the policy has remained popular, the OBR has added an extra £400m per year to its estimate of additional tax revenues from pension freedom. Former pensions minister Steve Webb, who is now partner at pensions consultancy LCP, said: "These figures show very clearly th...

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