£1.56bn released under pension freedoms in Q4

This was a slight increase on the 158,000 who withdrew £1.54bn in Q3, and much higher than the £800m released in Q4 2015.

Over £9.2 billion has now been released since the pension freedoms were introduced in April 2015.

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Simon Kirby, said: "Giving people freedom over what they do with their hard-earned savings, whether it’s buying an annuity or taking a cash lump sum, is the right thing to do. These figures show that people continue to take advantage of the choices on offer: choices ‎only made available since the government’s landmark pension freedoms were introduced in April 2015.

"We are working with our partners, including Pension Wise, the regulators and pension firms, so that savers have the support they need to understand the options available to them."