There are horror stories...
The most alarming evidence came from Pamela Hewitt, who drew her submission from her experience working as a welfare benefits officer for a social landlord.
One of her clients spent £120,000 (NZ$229,000) of his pension pot on "gambling, a car and alcohol", she said. Hewitt wrote that this individual had held a lucrative engineering job until he was made redundant, his house was repossessed and he fell into a spiral of depression.
His benefits had been stopped due to his savings, including a pension, but once this was investigated it was discovered he had spent all the money. He later released a further £20,000 from his pot against the advice of his accountant.
Ms Hewitt writes that his pot was originally worth £250,000 and the man had drawn on as much as possible, paying very high rates of tax in the process.
She continues that he had been suffering through a period of ill mental health.
"If Mr A had not been able to access his pension pot I can only assume that the years leading up to retirement would have been more stable, as prior to him having access, and following his having spent it all, he has been a stable and ideal tenant," she wrote.
"I think he chose to spend his money, not to take advantage of the benefit system, but because he didn't care what happened to him, had addiction issues and knew there would eventually be a safety net."
A senior local authority official warned that councils could use "deprivation of capital" rules to block benefits payments for people who choose to deplete their entire pension pots intentionally in this manner. This could create huge burdens on charities and Government.
Hewitt recommended that advisers be obliged to inform clients considering taking their cash of the deprivation of capital rules.
...but many people have benefited
One man, who withheld his name, told the inquiry he had boosted his projected retirement income by using his pot to purchase a small property to rent on Airbnb. The 60-year-old had a relatively modest pot of £46,000 which he withdrew a year ago.
He bought a "shepherd's hut" and earned an income of £6,000 last year. He told the inquiry his pot would have purchased an annuity worth £1,600 a year so his projected retirement income has gone from £14,744 to £18,769 - a 30 per cent increase.
"Pension provider (Aviva) were fine - very professional about checking I had taken advice before drawing down. No pressure from anyone," he wrote.
"No one contacted me to sell me any risky investments. This is the only decent thing George Osborne ever did."
Savers can also use the freedoms to assist with prudent tax planning.
Another person, who also withheld their name, took a portion of his pension pot early in order to get round the "lifetime allowance" for his pension. He said once investment growth was taken into account his pot was likely to breach the allowance within five years.
Taking the money warded off this possibility, as the value is calculated at certain "crystallisation" events. He used the money to buy a boat.
The pension freedoms tax glitch
One downside which also comes out in submissions to the committee is a tax glitch which has left tens of thousands waiting for their money.
Because HM Revenue & Customs calculates income tax liability on a monthly basis, those taking a large lump sum have been taxed at the higher rate, even if they will have no other income for the rest of the year. This has meant they have been forced to wait for months to get their money back.
Telegraph Money has campaigned for this issue to be fixed. The man who bought the shepherd's hut said he had been forced to pay higher tax and said his experience with HMRC had been "the only negative throughout the entire process".
