The number of customer complaints made to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) relating to defined benefit transfers rose by 44% in 2018/19.

HMRC has disciplined nearly more than 90 members staff for misuse of email systems, social media accounts and telecommunications devices over the last two financial years, according to official figures.

Information from Defined Benefit pension schemes suggests that well over a third of a million people have transferred over £60bn out of such schemes in the last three years.

Thousands of pension savers have breached lifetime allowance ‘protections’ in the past 12 years, potentially landing themselves with tax bills running into hundreds of thousands of pounds.