False claims about cash withdrawal limits for pensioners circulate online

We’ve spotted several social media posts claiming that UK banks have implemented limits on cash withdrawals for people aged over 65.

But this isn’t true—the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) confirmed that no such policy has been introduced.

There have been no government announcements or credible media reports about any such age-related policy, nor could we find press releases from financial bodies, or high street banks like Lloyds, Barclays, and HSBC about this supposed new measure.

Several posts share a link to an article supposedly headlined “UK banks confirm new withdrawal limits for over-65s from 19 September”, with a preview image featuring Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. However, such an article does not actually appear after clicking the link.

A 14-minute YouTube video making the same claim says in the description that the “significant policy change” introduces a “maximum daily cash withdrawal limit of £500 and a weekly cap of £2,000”. It adds that the policy change was driven by the FCA to reduce fraud targeting senior citizens, but says the charity Age UK raised concerns about the policy’s impact on the “financial independence and convenience of pensioners”.

Versions of the claim—such as those with a different start date or age threshold for the policy—have been shared elsewhere online, including on TikTok and in articles on a series of very similar looking websites.

But the financial services regulator, the FCA, told us “no new limits are being placed on over-65s taking cash out” and that this was part of a “wave of misinformation” about cash withdrawals.

We’ve recently debunked false claims about requirements to report cash withdrawals over certain amounts to HMRC, that bank transfers over £800 will be frozen for 24 hours and that people with more than £500 in their accounts will be placed on a national monitoring register.

There have been no government announcements about any such cash withdrawal policy for over 65s despite it supposedly having already taken effect, nor were there mentions of any such plans in Labour’s 2024 manifesto, the Chancellor’s Spring Statement or last year’s Autumn Budget.

We also couldn’t see any mention of the supposed policy by Age UK on its website and social media platforms either. We’ve approached Age UK, as well as the Bank of England—which is responsible for cash infrastructure in the UK—for comment, and will update this article if we receive a response.

While banks may have restrictions on daily cash withdrawals, which we’ve written about in more detail here, these vary depending on the bank and the type of account being withdrawn from.

Before sharing content like this that you see on social media, first consider whether it comes from a trustworthy and verifiable source. Our toolkit gives you advice on how to navigate bad information online.