< p>Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has announced action designed to strengthen people’s rights to access their pensions flexibly.

The news comes after Key Retirement’s Pensioner Property Index revealed that over-65 homeowners now own property wealth of £873.77bn outright.

Retired homeowners have seen their property wealth grow by more than £12.5bn in the past three months as house prices continue to climb, earning the average pensioner nearly £900 a month.

George Osborne has stated the Treasury will consult to ensure people are not charge excessive early exit penalties and are treated fairly when moving their pension to a company which offers them flexible options to access their savings.

Since coming into force on 6th April, 60,000 people have taken advantage of pension flexibilities with many providers offering their customers a range of options.

Property has been a key area which has seen pension investment and Key’s figures show that since starting the monitoring of pensioner housing wealth, it has increased by £93.85bn, working out as £20,000 on average for every homeowner.

Dean Mirfin, Technical Director at Key Retirement, said retired homeowners had huge assets in their houses which highlighted the growing importance of housing for retirement planning.

“No matter what happens in the property market homeowners will always have a major asset which should be considered as part of retirement planning,” said Dean.  

“Innovation in the equity release market and the launch of pension freedoms are opening up more ways for homeowners to use their property wealth.

“Retired homeowners, and those approaching retirement, should take advice on how their property wealth can generate additional capital and/or income.

“Advisers and lenders need to focus on a holistic approach to retirement planning which ensures that property wealth is considered alongside pension savings and other investments.”