Early Access to Pension Saving

Discussion of enabling early access to pension saving has been a feature of UK pension policy debate for some years. However, this discussion has come into sharper focus in light of the global financial crisis, and its potential impact on the attitude of UK households to locking away saving for many years.

This report examines the evidence that current pension rules, associated with the UK ‘annuities deal’, deter pension saving. The report also explores in detail the practical considerations and problems that would be confronted by the multiple ‘early access’ models of pension saving that have been proposed.