Talking Head: Pension freedoms are off to a positive start, says the Treasury's Harriet Baldwin, but individuals still need help finding financial advice.
Since April 6 2015, under these reforms people have had the freedom to access their hard-earned pension savings as they wish.
To help them navigate their choices, Pension Wise offers a free and impartial guidance service that people can access online, on the phone or through face-to-face appointments.
This guidance is an important first step in helping people understand what the freedoms mean for them and what kind of questions they should ask of their pension providers.
Five months on, the pension freedoms have proved popular and Pension Wise is off to a good start, with nearly 950,000 people accessing the service so far and satisfaction figures remaining consistently high.
Following on from this success, we have opened up the service to anyone over the age of 50. However, government wants to ensure everyone who is eligible for the new pension flexibilities can make the most of them and knows how to access Pension Wise.
Five months on, the pension freedoms have proved popular and Pension Wise is off to a good start, with nearly 950,000 people accessing the service so far and satisfaction figures remaining consistently high
That is why we have just launched a nationwide advertising campaign.
Accessing financial advice
Alongside this, it is important people understand the value of financial advice, how they can benefit from it and ultimately where they can find the right, tailored, affordable advice.
I have launched a joint review with the Financial Conduct Authority into the financial advice market which will feed into this, and the government has agreed to consult on the longer-term arrangements for Pension Wise.
We will also continue to work alongside the industry and regulators to make sure everyone who wants to, and is eligible, can take advantage of the new freedoms and that there are no barriers in place.
We have launched a consultation investigating options to address excessive charges for early exit penalties, and we will continue to look at how we can make the process for transferring pensions from one scheme to another quicker and smoother.
Deciding how to put pension savings to best use to fund retirement is one of the most significant financial decisions anyone will make.
The government is committed to making sure people have the information they need to understand their retirement options and to making the process as easy as possible; it is after all their money and their choice.
Harriett Baldwin is economic secretary to the Treasury
