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.

In total, nearly £2.5 billion of payments were made to savers in the first three months after the new pension rules for over-55s were introduced, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said. The sum equates to £27 million of payments being made a day.

The figures, covering April, May and June, show 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, introduced on April 6, 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% of the pot is tax-free and the remainder is subject to tax.

The ABI's figures also show that £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%) 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.

The ABI's director for long-term savings policy, Yvonne Braun, said the figures show the popularity of the reforms.

She 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."