When you were a young child, did you ever throw away the packed lunch provided by your parents, then go around scavenging tastier alternatives from fellow pupils? No? Just me then.
I can assure you this happens up and down the country every lunchtime and – believe it or not – tells us something about the benefits system. It also provides a warning about the pension freedom reforms.
Let me explain.
Last year radical government reforms gave over-55s unfettered access to their pension pots. Where previously the vast majority of people bought an annuity paying a fixed income for life, now savers are staying invested in retirement or taking cash lump sums.
Not surprisingly, many feared there would be a free-for-all and pensioners would end up on the bread line after splashing their retirement cash. Worse, some worried they would burn through their savings and then fall back on the state.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for the state pension as well as benefits such as jobseeker’s allowance, housing benefit and income support.
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