The government will not force pension providers to deliver on promised freedoms, in order to give reform a chance to work.

Pensions minister Ros Altman told the BBC that the reforms, which started in April this year, must be given a chance to work before they will take any action.

Altman's comments follows news that some providers are not allowing over-55s to withdraw money from their pension pots, with others charging for advice.

"If things aren't working properly we will take action, but let's give these reforms a chance and see how they work. The idea is right," she said.

Under the new rules, it is not compulsory for pension providers to offer the full range of options.

Friends Life for example has written to 1300 customers telling them they can either buy an annuity, or withdraw all their savings at once.

Savers are not able to draw down a pension or take out smaller amounts.

The issue has been debated in the House of Lords where concerns have been raised about savers' access to their pension savings.

Joanne Segars, National Association of Pension Funds chief executive, said the NAPF shared some concerns.

"We share the Lords' concerns about savers' freedom to access their pension savings readily and affordably and we raised them last year when it became clear the timetable to which the government wished to implement the reforms was simply unrealistic," she said.

"With so little time to prepare it was always clear that, despite everyone's best efforts, there would be a significant gap between the government's ambition for these reforms on day one and the practical reality."

Altman added that savers should take their time in order to allow the market to develop while they, and other areas of the industry, continued to work to create a market where savers get access to good value.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will also be monitoring providers to see how changes were being brought in.

"The majority of people have been able to take advantage of the new rules without any problem but we are talking to those firms where issues have arisen as the reforms bed in," said an FCA spokesperson.

First published 11.06.2015

Lindsay.sharman@wilmingtonplc.com