Pension freedom payouts calm after Q2 peak

After the £1.77bn peak in the second quarter of this year, payouts dropped to £1.54bn in the third quarter, the latest figures show - similar to levels seen in the second quarter of 2015 (£1.56bn), the first period after the pension freedom legislation was introduced last April. Some 324,000 payments were made to 158,000 people in the last quarter - the highest amount of payments made in one quarter since the advent of pension freedoms. More than £7.5bn has been withdrawn since George Osborne's pension freedom legislation came into effect. Although quarterly payout figures are volatil...