Pension confusion could leave retirees with hefty tax bills - research

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Confusion surrounding the new pension rules could leave retirees with a large and unexpected tax bill, research suggests.

Sweeping reforms announced in the Budget mean that from April 2015 retirees will be able to withdraw their entire pension pot as a cash lump sum. However, only 28% of pre-retirees surveyed by Fidelity correctly identified that they could receive 25% of their pot as a tax free lump sum with the remaining chunk treated as income for that tax year. A similar number - 29% - believed that they could receive the full amount as a tax-free lump sum, while 37% did not know or were unsure. A further 7% thought the full lump sum would be taxed. This is despite half saying they were planning t...

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