The Your Pension Your Choice campaign was launched on 25 July and is addressed to chancellor Philip Hammond.
It argues that pre-pension freedoms retirees were forced to buy an annuity, which are “often low paying and restrict the ability of retirees to access their pension pot for emergency reasons”.
The campaign is working “to draw attention to this injustice and encourage the government to reverse its decision, so that the forgotten five million are given full pension freedoms”.
It is supported by a cross-party group of MPs, led by Scottish Conservative Paul Masterton, which has formally called for a debate on the issue ‘on an early day’.
Secondary market dropped
The UK Government looked at extending the freedoms in 2016 by introducing a secondary annuity market, where policyholders could sell their annuities.
However, these plans were dropped later that year, with the government saying “it has become clear that creating the conditions to allow a competitive market to emerge could not be balanced with sufficient consumer protections”.
Five million losing out
Masterton, MP for East Renfrewshire, said: “Freedom and choice was a revolutionary pension policy, which allowed individuals greater flexibility to tailor how they received retirement income to better fit their circumstances.
“But, because the government has backtracked on a promise to extend that ability to individuals who retired before the changes came into place, more than five million people are losing out on the ability to access their pension pots in the way they please.
“Many of them are now stuck with very small, poor value annuities which aren’t their main retirement income and provide no meaningful benefit.
“I welcome the launch of this new campaign and look forward to working with them to make the case to government for this vital change.”
Taking action
Further information can be found on the Your Pension Your Choice website and the petition is available via Change.org.
