New analysis from the Association of British Insurers (“ABI”) shows very low levels of retirement readiness. This isn’t really surprising to us but continues to be a bit worrying! Of the 62,000 people accessing some of their pension via drawdown for the first time during a 6 month period, 34% of these did not take any form of financial advice. The FCA found out that 91% of UK adults did not receive any financial advice in a 12 month period.
The average pot was around £120,000 but the ABI found that the proportion of customers reaching retirement with more than £250,000 doubled in the space of 2 years to 11%. Not a small amount of money to manage.
Why the advice gap? Trust perhaps, cost probably. But what if by taking the right advice you could reduce your tax liabilities/make sure you are invested in the right level of risk for you/feel confident that the amounts being drawn each year were sustainable and that you wouldn’t run out?
Evidence by the International Longevity Centre UK shows that individuals who take advice achieve better outcomes than those who don’t. The Value of Financial Advice report uses data from the ONS Wealth and Assets Survey on the wealth of individuals and their household assets in the UK, showed that people who used an adviser had, on average, 17% more (£12,363) in liquid financial assets and 16% more (£30,882) in pension wealth than those who didn’t use an adviser. This amounts to over £40,000 in overall wealth – not to mention peace of mind which, we feel, is invaluable.
If you relate to this, just get in touch or call us to arrange a meeting on 0191 281 8191.