Pensions firm LV= has announced it will lift the restrictions on its flexi access drawdown product, following criticism of providers by Dr Ros Altmann, the new Pensions Minister.
The company has changed its policy and said its customers can use flexi access drawdown even if the value of their pension pot is less than £30,000.

John Perks, managing director of LV= Retirement Solutions, said: “We originally had minimum pot restrictions on our flexi-access drawdown solution reflecting how we thought customers with small pots would act.

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“However, we have removed these restrictions to ensure that all of our customers are able to take advantage of the pension freedoms, however they wish to use them.

“We want pension savers to be able to make the most of their funds and giving all customers access to all of the flexible retirement income products we offer does just that.

“Typically customers with small pension pots request to take their money as a lump sum, but having the choice of flexi access drawdown means they will now have the option to take their money in a tax efficient way.”

The move comes after Friends Life was attacked earlier this week when it was reported it had written to 1,300 customers who had requested partial pension withdrawals to tell them that the promised roll-out of a flexi-access drawdown option was no longer going to be take place.

This led to criticism from Dr Altmann.

In a statement, she said: "I find it disappointing that even the larger pension companies are not allowing their customers to take advantage of the new freedoms that the Government has introduced for them.

"The industry has had over a year to prepare for the changes – and it is encouraging that some firms have risen to the challenge. But others seem to be failing to move with the times and are still acting as if nothing has changed."

In an article for the Mail Online, she and Harriett Baldwin, economic secretary to the Treasury, said: “There is no excuse for firms to claim that their rules mean you can’t access your money.”