New figures published by HMRC reveal that the total number of claims for overpaid tax on pension withdrawals has soared above half a million to 502,000 to total almost £1.5bn reclaimed since the introduction of Pension Freedoms in 2015.

The SIPP and SSAS trade body Association of Member-Directed Pension Schemes (AMPS) said it has made progress with liaison with regulators and demonstrated that by having representatives from HMRC at its annual spring conference.