The new pension regulations bring with them tax implications. This has meant an influx of calls to HMRC from savers wanting to find out more about what will happen if they cash in their pension.
It’s reported up to one million people phoned HMRC yesterday which resulted in their phone lines being blocked.
Many were cut off because the waiting time was too long after spending up to ten minutes navigating the many options.
Some were given a recorded message advising savers to contact pension wise which is the new government service to help people with their pension options.
An HMRC spokesman said:
“We handle around 50 million calls a year and we know that some of our customers struggle to get through on our helplines at very busy times. We are working very hard to improve our service.”