The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has argued that the age at which people access their retirement savings through pension freedoms should be increased.

The freedoms, introduced in April 2015, extended the options for over-55s wishing to access their pension savings prior to retirement.

Since the legislation was brought in, more than £25.6 billion has been withdrawn through flexible payments, including £8.18bn in 2018/19.

At a recent PensionAge conference, the ABI called on the government to increase the pension freedoms age from 55 to 57 in order to protect consumers.

It also requested a new pension review age of 75 to allow savers to explore the retirement options available to them later in life.

Yvonne Braun, the ABI’s Director of Long-term Savings Policy, said:

"The minimum pension age should be increased from 55 to 57 over the near term.

"This was already part of the government's original plan in 2015 but has not been legislated for.

"Government should then review the minimum age regularly."

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