The research from Standard Life found that those who had taken advice were more at ease with topics such as growing old, later life care and coping with illness.

Over a third (35%) of those who had not received financial advice were uncomfortable thinking about illness, in comparison with 24% of those who had taken advice.

Those who had received advice were also more comfortable thinking about needing to go into care (35%) than those who had not (24%).

The research also found that advised people were more likely to have put plans in place to deal with difficult scenarios in the future, with twice as many having made a will compared to those who had not received advice (54% vs. 27%).

Chris Hudson, retail advised managing director at Standard Life, said: “Our research shows that financial advice goes way beyond just number crunching. It helps create an order around issues that are difficult to contemplate such as illness in later life, care needs and financial security. 

“As people are living longer, their retirement finances are going to have to stretch further than before. When it comes to addressing difficult topics that can often arise in later life, there’s a clear difference in the levels of comfort among those who had have accessed advice compared to those who haven’t.  

“Unfortunately, financial advice remains inaccessible to many, who either can’t afford it or don’t know where to get the support they need. With the financial regulator (FCA) recognising the issues and holding a consultation into broadening access to financial advice, we’d like to see an environment where consistent, high quality and accessible guidance and advice is made available for all.”

• Standard Life and Boxclever surveyed 6,000 UK adults between 6 September and 16 October 2022.