The ‘evil’ tax raid forcing pensioners to blow their hard-earned savings

The chancellor’s decision was “unfortunate”, he added, because he wanted to leave “as much as possible” to his granddaughters.

He is now looking at giving them the pension pot, but he’s also decided to use more of his retirement wealth to have as much fun as he can.

“I will spend more. What’s the point of leaving it to the taxman? I will use it to enjoy life and travel. But I have to make sure I have enough for primary care.”

Mr Harrington, who still works as a chartered accountant, is now considering whether to retire in Portugal or even Mauritius.

“You have to get the most out of life, especially when you’ve been paying attention for years.

“Throughout my working life I chose not to go on vacation, not to buy the car I wanted – and now I wonder why.”

Sir Steve Webb was pensions minister in 2014 when George Osborne announced “pension freedoms” which gave pensioners unprecedented control over how they used their savings.

He said at the time that the Government was not particularly concerned about pensioners “getting a Lamborghini and going on the state pension” because that was “their choice”.

Ian Cook, of wealth manager Quilter, thinks so Labor raid on inheritance tax it means that Sir Steve’s joking example has now become a serious reality.

He said: “If anything is going to push people to buy a Lamborghini, this is it. What’s to stop someone paying £1,000 or £2,000 a month on car finance? It’s not ridiculous anymore.”

He added that around 100 of his 120 clients would be affected by the inheritance tax on pensions and that he would advise them to change their behaviour.