Taxable pension withdrawals reached a record £22.4bn in 2025/26 as growing numbers of savers accessed their retirement pots flexibly, new HMRC figures show. Since pension freedoms were first introduced in 2015, taxable flexible withdrawals have now exceeded £124.7bn. The release also showed the cost of income tax relief on pensions rising from £47.8bn in 2022/23 to £60.4bn in 2024/25. LCP partner Steve Webb attributed much of the increase to frozen tax thresholds, which have brought more people into higher-rate tax while increasing the number of pensioners paying income tax. He said a cut to pension tax relief remained unlikely because it would be complex, politically difficult and raise little revenue before the next general election.