IN just over a couple of months' time, the Government's retirement revolution will be under way, giving people aged 55 and over much more freedom and choice over their savings pots.

From early April, people will no longer be herded towards using their defined contribution (DC) pension pot to buy a retirement annuity, which gives them a yearly payout.

While annuities generally act as a guarantee someone will not outlive their savings, they have been controversial in recent years, often due to people failing to shop around to get the best deal for their circumstances.

From April though, people will instead be able to take their pension pot as they want, when they want it, subject to their marginal rate of income tax in that year.

They could take it all in one lump sum or in a series of slices.

The changes do not apply to people with gold-plated final salary pensions, which are becoming increasingly thin on the ground, as these already provide someone with a guaranteed income after they retire.

:: So what will this new era of greater choice look like?

Well, firstly, we've been told by the Government what the new free, impartial guidance, which will be offered to anyone who could take up these new freedoms, will be called.

The guidance, which will be offered by Citizens Advice and the Pensions Advisory Service will go under the name Pension Wise.

In order to ensure the guidance brand is trusted, the imitation of pension wise will be illegal and anyone seeking to falsely pass themselves off as the service could face prosecution.

New research has also emerged which suggests the world of work and retirement could see a dramatic shift in the coming years.

Ros Altmann, the Government's older workers champion, commissioned a study among more than 2,000 retired and non-retired people over 50.

The survey, which looked at attitudes towards working in later life, found there could potentially be a large increase in people working beyond the age of 65 in the coming years.

In fact, it found the overwhelming majority of people want to keep working until the age of 65.

More than half of those surveyed want to still be in work when they are between the ages of 65 and 70 - although preferably on a part-time, rather than a full-time basis.

Dr Altmann says if the results are applied to the whole UK population, this suggests 4.8 million people want to keep working and not be retired between the ages of 65 and 70.

Currently, there are around 1.2 million over 65s in work, so these findings suggest there is a potential for a significant increase in the number of people working in later life.

:: So as the new era of greater choice dawns, is it time to look again at what our perceptions of "retirement" are - and perhaps change them?

Dr Altmann argues traditional ideas of retirement, where you reach a certain age and stop working completely, are outdated.

According to her findings, 36 per cent of those who are already retired would advise people to work part-time before retiring altogether.

Dr Altmann said one "fascinating finding" which came out of the research is nearly half of over-50s surveyed were unaware they could potentially work beyond the age of 65 without having to pay national insurance.

This suggests there is perhaps more work to do to help people better understand the potential benefits of working longer if they wish to.

Dr Altmann also says to help make working later in life a reality for those who want to, employers will also need to make some changes.

She says: "If employers can help people to combine training for new roles, or improving their skills, with flexible working as they get older, the survey suggests there would be a major increase in wellbeing for our ageing population, as well as better economic growth."

ARE... THE NEW 'PENSIONER BONDS' RIGHT FOR ME?

The Government's new market-leading pensioner bonds have been selling like hot cakes after they were launched earlier this month.

The bonds are aimed at people who are aged 65 and over.

There is a one-year bond, which pays a rate of 2.8 per cent, and a three-year bond, which pays four per cent.

Interest on them is paid yearly and savers must have at least £500 to invest in a bond and a maximum of £10,000.

The bonds are subject to tax, but non-taxpayers can claim tax back from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

They have no "right to cancel", so you need to be sure you want to invest.

If you are trying to decide whether to go for the one-year deal or the three-year option, consider what Martin Lewis, founder and editor of MoneySavingExpert.com, has said on the matter.

"The most important thing to understand is if you are only going to do one bond, do the three-year that pays four per cent, not the one-year that pays 2.8 per cent", he says.

"That's because you only lose 90 days worth of interest if you withdraw early, therefore you can get the three-year bond, take your cash out after a year and you earn 3%, which beats the one-year bond."

POUNDNOTES

Financial fact: Around one third of balances in easy access savings accounts are held in accounts which were opened more than five years ago, according to research by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Savings providers will generally pay lower rates of interest on accounts that were opened a while ago compared with those opened more recently.

Around 90 per cent of UK adults hold a savings product and easy access accounts are the most widely-held type of savings account, collectively containing £354bn-worth of savers' cash.

TEN-YEAR FIXED MORTGAGES OFFER RECORD LOW RATES

Home-owners looking for long-term protection against interest rate rises are being offered record low deals after one lender launched new rates.

Britain's biggest building society, Nationwide, has become the latest lender to offer ten-year fixed-rate mortgages at rates below three per cent, after Barclays unveiled a similar deal at 2.99 per cent earlier this month.

Nationwide's new deal enables new mortgage customers to lock into a rate of 2.94 per cent for a decade, while for existing Nationwide mortgage customers the rate is lower, at 2.84 per cent.

Borrowers must have a deposit of at least 40 per cent to get the deal, which comes with a £999 product fee.

GOLD BARS ON SALE TO THE PUBLIC

The Royal Mint has revived a bullion brand which ceased production nearly 50 years ago, meaning that fine gold and silver bars bearing the historic initials "RMR" have once again become available.

The move marks the first time since 1968 that customers have the opportunity to own a newly-minted precious metal bar bearing the RMR initials, which represent the Royal Mint Refinery.

It is also the first time that the Mint has made the bars directly available to the public.

The silver minted bars are available in 100 gramme units, while the gold bars range from 1g to 100g in weight.

CO-OP REVAMPS ETHICAL POLICY

The Co-operative Bank has vowed not to lend to companies involved in payday lending or fracking as its fightback to rebuild customer trust continues.

It has also added firms which do not responsibly pay their taxes and those involved in irresponsible gambling to the blacklist of organisations that it will not provide banking services to, as part of a revamp of a policy which sits at the heart of its values and ethics.

The Co-op's ethical policy has been expanded after more than 74,000 people took part in a survey last summer.

HIGH FIVE SAVERS

:: Phone/Website Rate Account Period Deposit Interest Paid

National Savings and Investments (NS&I) www.nsandi.com 4.00%(F) 65-plus 3YrBnd(X) £500 Yly

Secure Trust Bank www.securetrustbank.com 3.25%(F) FixedRate 31.01.22(B) £1,000 Yly

Secure Trust Bank www.securetrustbank.com 3.03%(F) FixedRate 31.01.20(B) £1,000 Yly

Vanquis Bank www.highyieldaccount.co.uk 3.02%(F) High Yield 5YrBnd(W) £1,000 Yly

Al Rayan Bank 0845 6060 786 1.81% NoticeCashIsa 120Day £250 Mly

TOP FIVE MORTGAGE RATES

:: Phone No Rate Period Max% Adv Fee Incentive

Norwich&Peterborough BS 0845 300 2522 1.64%F For 2Yrs 65% £195 Yes

Yorkshire Bank 0800 202122 2.89%F to 31.3.17 90% £999 Yes

Yorkshire BS 0845 120 0874 2.34%F to 30.4.20 65% £975 Yes

Yorkshire Bank 0800 202122 3.99%F to 31.3.20 90% £999 Yes

Hanley Economic BS 01782 255000 1.89%D for 2 years 80% - Yes

Code:

* - Introductory rate for a limited period F - Fixed H - Operated by internet or telephone K - Operated by internet, telephone or post B - Operated by post or telephone W - Operated by internet P - Operated by post D - Discounted rate V - Variable rate X - Available to 65 and over.

:: Source: Moneyfacts moneyfacts.co.uk. 01603 476 476 (All rates subject to change without notice)