Tuesday, 21 August 2012 10:04
Reassuring consumers are seeking retirement advice, says AXA Wealth
Andy Zanelli, head of technical consultancy at AXA Wealth, has described the retirement situation as a "timebomb" but said that it was reassuring people were seeking professional retirement advice.
His comments come after unbiased.co.uk found retirement planning advice was the number one trigger for consumers seeking advice.
The website found 32 per cent of all independent financial advice searches in July were for retirement planning advice. This was up from 30 per cent during February to May.
Some 39 per cent of those who received advice had a private pension compared to 21 per cent of those who hadn't taken advice, showing the benefits gained from taking retirement advice.
This was followed by investments and savings advice which was important for 23 per cent of people seeking independent financial advice. Least important to consumers seeking advice was equity release, investment trusts and personal protection.
Mr Zanelli said: "It is reassuring to see that people are thinking about what their financial needs in retirement will be and seeking professional financial planning advice.
"In the next few years those who have significant legacy pensions will become fewer and the situation will become more acute. There will be fewer taxpayers and a greater proportion of tax may be needed to pay state benefits and public sector pensions.
"The pension time bomb is ticking and consumers need to be aware of the importance of long-term Financial Planning."
His comments come after unbiased.co.uk found retirement planning advice was the number one trigger for consumers seeking advice.
The website found 32 per cent of all independent financial advice searches in July were for retirement planning advice. This was up from 30 per cent during February to May.
Some 39 per cent of those who received advice had a private pension compared to 21 per cent of those who hadn't taken advice, showing the benefits gained from taking retirement advice.
This was followed by investments and savings advice which was important for 23 per cent of people seeking independent financial advice. Least important to consumers seeking advice was equity release, investment trusts and personal protection.
Mr Zanelli said: "It is reassuring to see that people are thinking about what their financial needs in retirement will be and seeking professional financial planning advice.
"In the next few years those who have significant legacy pensions will become fewer and the situation will become more acute. There will be fewer taxpayers and a greater proportion of tax may be needed to pay state benefits and public sector pensions.
"The pension time bomb is ticking and consumers need to be aware of the importance of long-term Financial Planning."
• Want to receive a free weekly summary of the best news stories from our website? Just go to home page and submit your name and email address. If you are already logged in you will need to log out to see the e-newsletter sign up. You can then log in again.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.