PENSION savers have been taking out around £27 million a day from their pots after the new retirement freedoms came into force, figures from insurers show.

Almost £2.5 billion was paid out since the changes, which former pensions minister Steve Webb famously said could allow over-55s to blow their pension pot on a Lamborghini, in the first three months.

The sum equates to £27 million of payments being made a day, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI) which has produced figures covering April, May and June.

Yvonne Braun, the body's director for long-term savings policy said: "Many thousands of people have accessed their savings to get extra cash as they approach retirement. Meanwhile, annuities, which guarantee an income for life, and income drawdown are proving attractive to those with larger pension pots.

"Working out how we pay for our growing life expectancy is a vital issue for the UK. The pension freedoms should be able to play an important role in helping retirees shape their income to suit their financial needs over the rest of their lives."

Since April 6, anyone over 55 with a non final salary pension has been able to cash in.

Anyone with a final salary pension can release a lump sum following advice from a fully-qualified finance specialist.

The ABI said that within the overall payouts figure, around £1.3 billion was paid out in cash lump sums, with an average payment size of just under £15,000.

And around £1.1 billion was paid out via 264,000 income drawdown payments, with the average payment being nearly £4,200.

Income drawdown is where someone leaves their pension pot invested but takes an income directly from it.

The pension freedoms mean that instead of being required to buy an annuity with their pension pot, people aged 55 and over have more flexibility to take their pots how they wish. Generally, 25 per cent of the pot is tax-free and the remainder is subject to tax.

A total of £2.3 billion was invested by savers into buying around 37,500 products which will give them a regular income in the three months since the new freedoms were launched.

Within this total figure, £1.3 billion has been invested into 19,600 income drawdown products, with an average fund size of almost £68,000. Some £990 million was also invested into around 17,800 annuities, with the average fund invested being just over £55,600.

Nearly half (45 per cent) of customers buying an annuity changed their provider, the ABI said. Pensions experts have raised concerns in recent years that not enough people have been shopping around to get the best annuity deal for their needs.

Edinburgh-based giant, Standard Life, has had an unprecedented level of inquiries from customers following the dramatic shake-up of pensions rules. It received around 4000 telephone and online enquiries from customers about potentially unlocking their pensions.

Standard Life said some customers have decided to take advantage of their newfound ability to take money out of their pension savings to cover expenses ranging from buying a speedboat to paying for weddings.

Others have chosen to cash in their savings in full or partially to either pay off debt or to invest in property.