Govt must do more on independent pension guidance
St James Place says that pension reforms announced in the Budget will create opportunities but retirees will need much better ongoing advice to avoid running out out money in retirement.
Ian Price, divisional director of pensions at St. James's Place, said: "Liberating pensions will be the new windfall and the new boost to consumption but what happens when that money is all spent and people still have 10 or 15 years left in retirement.
"Is the government's offering of independent guidance enough? Will the Money Advice Service have the resources to meet the challenge? I don't believe it goes far enough. It's a short term offer of guidance but as we all know Financial Planning is long term. Will people act responsibly with their pension savings? Will they develop the right investment strategy to meet their long term needs?
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"The issue is making sure that individuals are able to receive guidance that looks at their specific needs. This further highlights that advice is more important than ever before but not enough is being done. We will need to go back to basics in that all individuals are different and will therefore require individual advice."Freedom of choice at retirement has increased awareness of financial planning and ultimately removed one of the biggest negatives in compulsory annuitisation. However, retirees need to not put all their eggs in one basket or blow their entire pension pot on a world cruise."
St. James's Place Wealth Management provides face-to-face advice to over 400,000 clients. It was was founded in 1991 and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1997.
In March 2014, the company entered the FTSE 100 with a market capitalisation of £4.26 billion and funds under management of £44.3 billion. The Cirencester-based group claims to be the UK's largest provider of Isas with £7.68 billion under management.