This means anyone between those age groups or who will turn 50 before the April 5 deadline only has a few weeks, if they want to start dipping into their pension savings.

If you miss the cut-off at the end of the current tax year, you’ll have to wait until you are 55 to start generating an income from a company or private pension.

This does not just mean being able to draw a regular income, such as by buying an annuity, but also taking a tax-free lump sum.

Most of those above the qualifying threshold can take 25% of their total pension savings without handing any of it to the taxman.

You may still be able to take your pension before 55 in certain circumstances, such as if you cannot work due to health problems.

You don’t have to stop working to draw a pension. McPhail: biggest risk is leaving it too late and getting caught out in admin delays

Experts advise you to act quickly to beat the deadline. In addition, as Easter falls immediately before the deadline, April 1 is effectively the cut-off as it is the final working day of the current tax year.

Tom McPhail, from adviser firm Hargreaves Lansdown (HL), says: “The biggest risk is leaving it too late and getting caught out in administration delays.

“Some parts of the pensions industry have turned slow administration into a way of life.”

There are also fears anyone between 50 and 55 now who has already started drawing a pension but not taken the tax-free cash, could end up losing that lump-sum entitlement.

The tax-free cash has to be paid within 12 months of drawing a pension income.

Yet if you’re under 55, you’ve started drawing a pension income, you haven’t taken the tax-free cash and you miss the April 5 deadline to do so, you may lose that entitlement completely, says HL.

So if you’ve recently drawn an income within the past year, it recommends you take the lump-sum, if you want it, soon.
If buying an annuity, ensure you shop around to get the best rate, the Government says, as you are unlikely to get it from your pension provider.

By Guy Anker