Why letting young people plunder their pensions to buy property is a terrible idea
Housing minister James Brokenshire floated recently the controversial idea that young people should be allowed to raid their pension pots to fund a home deposit as first-time buyers. He’s not the first to do so and he probably won’t be the last.
Brokenshire argued in a Policy Exchange speech intended to influence the Conservative party’s leadership contest that this would help aspiring home buyers to make that all-important, first-time purchase in a difficult housing market, where prices relative to incomes are stubbornly high.
“It seems rather obtuse that we would deny people the opportunity to do this, given that we know those who own their own home by retirement are on average a) wealthier and b) do not have the burden of the largest expense in retirement—accommodation,” Brokenshire said.
“And it is, after all, their money. Not the fund’s, not the state’s, it’s yours, and the next Conservative government should free that capital up, and trust the individual to make the choice for themselves.”
Read more @Finance Yahoo
