MoneyPensionsBBC Morning Live viewers told people are acting now before the rules come in06:58, 02 Jun 2026A BBC expert has told people with pensions they are currently taking money out ‘at the first opportunity’ as a major change is set to happen. Appearing on BBC Morning Live, personal finance expert Laura Pomfret explained that people are acting now before the rules come in.‌The change is coming about because of a change in the state pension age. The State Pension age for men and women is currently 66. It is in the process of increasing to 67 between April 2026 and March 2028.‌And Ms Pomfret said this was also changing the ages when people could access lump sums from their pensions. She said research from the Pensions Commission published recently showed one: “Thing that we thought was interesting was it showed that pension pots are being accessed at the earliest opportunity. So almost a third of people are accessing their pension pots at the earliest opportunity. This is again private pensions and perhaps you may be doing it because you’ve got debts you want to pay. You might want to pay off your mortgage. You might want to help family out.‌“There’s lots of reasons why people do want to access their pension money early. Now but taking money early can have a knock-on effect if you think if you’re taking a chunk or even a small amount out of the pot less. It’s got less money in it to grow and it may leave you with not enough when you reach retirement because the current state pension age is 66.Content cannot be displayed without consent"This is going to increase in stages over the next two years to 67 and the earliest age that you can access your private pension is currently 55. It will be rising to 57 from April 28. So, this does cause concern because if you’re accessing your pension early, it could leave you short later. If someone no longer wants to work and access that pension early, they’ve got to work out how to bridge the gap until they reach state pension age.”‌She said the report also showed people were not saving enough for their retirement, with low and middle earners most at risk. She said; “It also found that just under half of working age adults are not saving into a private pension at all. That’s around 18 million people and times are tough right now and so we can imagine why people may be choosing to do that or you through no fault of their own.“Only 4% of self-employed workers are saving into a pension. That’s one in 25 people. So that was also something that came out of the report.” In terms of whether people need to save enough, she said it was important to consider what people want to do in their retirement.She said people should consider ongoing costs, regular bills, what kind of travelling do they want to do. Are they eating out, and what is the current spending, including mortgages and rent, in retirement?Article continues belowThe retirement living standards research said that the minimum expenses that someone would need um in retirement is around £13,400 a year for one person and £21,600 for two. She added: “This would cover essentials. It would leave some money left for leisure, but not a lot. That’s kind of like the bare minimum in terms of expenses.”Moderate, it says £31,700 a year for one person, £43,900 for two. A comfortable level of expenses that you may have in retirement would be around £43,900 per year for one person and £60,600 for two people, allowing for much more financial freedom and luxuries. Ms Pommfret said: “So you can see how the expenses can absolutely stack up especially if you want a comfortable retirement."Obviously, an important thing inflation will affect these figures. These are figures today and so if you’re retiring in 10 15 20 years you need to factor that in. So whilst this is a guide and it’s really helpful for us to think through this is where a regulated independent financial adviser can help you put together a financial plan properly um and help you think of all the other things that are important when you come up with this figure.”Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌BBCPensionsLiving standardsState pension