Pension bank accounts 'won't be ready next year', millions warned Graham Vindler of the NAPF said: "It is inconceivable that [by next April] all savers will have full flexibility over how they spend their pension, as they have been led to believe. With only five months to go, it is too late for the Government to change the date as people have already started arranging their retirement around it, so their options will be very limited. Mr Vindler's comments ignited a row with the Treasury, which last night insisted the reforms were on track. "These concerns are ill founded and border on scaremongering," a spokesman said. Many of the questions raised have already been answered by command papers, draft regulations and legislation that is being considered by Parliament. The warnings come after Scottish Widows admitted a number major pension providers, itself included, were struggling to cope with the pace of the reform programme outlined by the Treasury. In March George Osborne unveiled plans to give pensioners more freedom over how they took income in retirement. Instead of buying an annuity, which turns a pension into a set lifetime income, he said from April 2015 pensioners would be able to cash in their pots and spend the money on anything they liked. Last month, the Chancellor said savers would also be able to use their pensions like bank accounts, making as many withdrawals as they wanted, with a quarter of each payment tax-free. Mr Vindler said pension providers were awaiting important details from the Treasury, such as how to apply tax to certain withdrawals and how much firms could charge customers. Raj Mody, a partner at PwC, the accountancy, said: "Savers expecting to use their pensions like a bank account in April are going to be very disappointed, as pension firms are simply not going to magically transform over the next five months." Alan Higham of pensions company Fidelity said: "I can see a lot of savers buying an annuity, and I'm worried about vulnerable people having a knee jerk reaction and taking all their money in one go, as few will understand the tax consequences." Are you planning your retirement around the new pension freedoms coming in April? Email Katie.Morley@telegraph.co.uk with your story.