A "guidance gap" and the danger of mis-selling is confronting those about to retire, following the radical shake-up of Britain's pensions system. Changes to pension rules unveiled in the budget are designed to provide more freedom to retirees, enabling them to use their savings pot as they wish. Pensions minister Steve Webb even suggested you might like to buy a sports car with your savings. The changes kicked off last week with greater access to pension pots, with all restrictions due to be removed from April next year.
This leaves a wide and often baffling range of options, including taking greater sums in cash, investing outside the pension, or moving into buy-to-let, with recent reports warning that many pensioners could blow the lot. "The stakes are higher than ever there is more to gain, and more to lose," says Alan Higham, head of retirement insight at Fidelity.