Many felt that the new flexi-access rules would reveal the very worst in human nature and at retirement, pension holders would simply withdraw all their pension pot in cash, spending it on a yellow Lamborghini, or a wanderlust holiday leaving nothing aside for their long-term support.

The naysayers have largely been proved wrong. Common sense has prevailed over the temptation to fully flex and purchase the yellow Lamborghini. Having carefully accrued a pension pot over a period of years, levity and responsibility are the standout reactions from our clients to a situation of freedom and choice brought about by the flexibilities.

The key question raised by the changes in place since 6 April this year, is one of freedom and choice. The savvy and financially responsible pension holder now has greater power over how they spend, save or invest their retirement pots.

However, there are a couple of salient points regarding the choice to exercise the freedom that all pension holders should be informed about.

On the one hand, a choice to fully flex and draw the whole pot means that the remainder 75 percent is not tax free and so one’s hard earned saved up cash falls peril to being severely diminished by tax deductions – at the rate applicable to the size of the pot. A full flex also means that pension holders will be cutting themselves off from the inheritance tax benefits available to any nominated heirs they choose.

The abolishment of the 55 percent withholding tax applicable to pension funds on the death of the holder now means that the remainder untouched 75 per cent of the pot can be transferred generationally without incurring any tax. This is a significant benefit that should not go unsung and vastly outweighs temporal pleasures the yellow Lamborghini can bring.

Understandably and taking into consideration the quirks of human character, pension holders and savers should endeavour to judge the situation responsibly and understand specifically what the costs of the freedom to their pot is.

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