Shadow chancellor George Osborne Photo: GETTY  George Osborne wants to restore Britain's savings culture and encourage people to save more for retirement.  He said that a Tory Government will "reward those who have saved for their retirement by ending compulsory annuitisation at age 75".  The move has been welcomed by pension experts.  Tom McPhail at Hargreaves Lansdown said: "The proposal to scrap the age 75 compulsory annuitisation is a good one. There is no decent justification for forcing investors to buy an annuity.  "There are currently around 450,000 people aged 74 and the best part of 2.5 million between the ages of 70 and 74. A fair proportion of them will not want to buy an annuity. Ever."  McPhail said that most people will still benefit from taking an annuity as 90pc of pension funds are worth less than £50,000 at retirement.  He added: "For investors with small funds, an annuity will continue to present the most efficient way to eliminate investment and longevity risk."  But changing the rules would benefit those who have a more substantial fund or a secure source of income elsewhere, for example from a final salary scheme.  McPhail said: "It would also send an important message to prospective savers; that they will be able to retain control of the money that they have saved up. This in turn will encourage more people to engage with the pension system in the first place."  Kevin LeGrand, head of technical services at Buck Consultants, said: "This is long overdue – and a pledge of good faith from the Conservatives. Osborne is effectively sowing the seeds for a freer financial environment with this change.  "Compulsory annuitisation is a hangover from bygone days when people’s retirements were shorter, they had less money to play with, less flexibility and fewer financial opportunities.  "The Tories are putting their money where their mouths are with this commitment to roll back the nanny state and give power back to people to run their own financial affairs, to 75 and beyond."
George Osborne laid out plans to 'rebuild' economy in a speech at the British    Museum and said that compulsory annuitisation at 75 would be scrapped if the    Conservatives came to power.