In total, 204,581 pension polices have been accessed compared with around 95,000 during the same period in 2013 – one year before the reforms were announced.

The data reveals that 57,568 customers have fully cashed in their pension fund.

Most consumers – 47,331 – cashed in pots worth less than £30,000, while 137 people had withdrawn £250,000 or more.

Almost 17,000 customers withdrew the maximum tax free lump sum only.

Under the pension freedom rules, which were introduced in April 2015, savers aged 55 or over were given full access to their defined contribution pension pot; 25% can be cashed in tax free and the remainder is subject to income tax at the individual’s marginal rate.

The FCA data showed that annuity sales slumped to just over 12,000 in the first three months of the new pension rules, down from about 90,000 for the same period two years ago.

The vast majority of consumers – 84 per cent – do not experience any exit charges when they transfer or cash in their policy and the average pension pot transfer, the regulator found, is 16 days.

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