Selectapension has espoused the benefits of its new creation for advisers, saying it will save time and help direct people towards advice.

Pension Monster is designed to “complement the advice process”.

Prospective clients are asked to complete a report at the start of the planning process, so an adviser can determine the most appropriate service to offer their clients, for example a transactional service or a face-to-face meeting.

The makers said Pension Monster will “enable advisers to provide a cost effective service for those with smaller pension provisions or less complex needs”.

The company described it as a “robo proposition” and a “new online retirement guidance tool”.

However, it is not a robo-adviser as such, as it had been reported in the media previously, and will not be authorised to give advice, FP Today has been told.

Peter Bradshaw, national accounts director for Selectapension, previously told FP Today: “There’s an element of guidance, it’s a little like a pension version of Compare The Market. It will be a bit more detailed than Compare The Market but the intention is to get people thinking about their expectations in retirement.”

The tool is free to use and aimed at speeding up the data gathering aspect of the pension planning process.

Customers enter some basic information and the system creates a tailored report providing an overview of what their options are, how much they need to save to meet their retirement goals and product suggestions. They can then send their report back to their adviser.

Andy McCabe, managing director of Selectapension said: “Advisers are under increasing pressure to provide an affordable service for individuals with smaller pension pots, and Selectapension believes their technology can play a role in helping them deliver just that.

“With Pension Monster, advisers can encourage more people to think about their retirement and provide them with an understanding of what is available before a meeting. It will be invaluable in the early stages of retirement discussions and save advisers a great deal of time.

“Pension Monster allows advice firms to combine the elements of technology and traditional approaches to deliver an efficient retirement planning service for their customers. The advice gap has long been a concern in the industry, as evidenced in the recent FAMR.

“The launch of Pension Monster highlights the digital advancement of our industry and will help narrow the prevalent advice gap by accessing the wider market. With Pension Monster, Advisers can help their clients improve engagement with their pensions in a way that educates and informs them.”

Pension Monster incorporates the following features:
• State pension information
• Existing pensions and investments information
• A budget planner
• Guaranteed income vs flexible income vs withdrawing cash comparisons
• Taxable benefits
• Provider products and funds and up to 10 features