Pension clients 'want advisers to protect them from themselves'

When asked what elements of advice they valued most from a qualified financial adviser in respect of their pension savings, ‘stopping me from making costly errors’ ranked third (36%) in the top three. The top two were: ‘explaining what my options are with what I have saved’ (43%) and ‘helping me to have more money during my retirement than I would expect to have if I didn’t get their advice’ (42%).

The survey, which polled 1,000 UK adults earning over £40,000, also found that the majority (39%) would need to have saved £100,000 or more in their pension before they would visit a financial adviser for advice about how to manage it.

Nick Eatock, Intelliflo’s Executive Chairman comments:

“Our poll highlights that financial advisers have a key role to play in protecting their clients from themselves when it comes to making decisions about how they manage their pensions. The publicity around the recent pension changes has highlighted that the new freedoms have the potential to be a poisoned chalice. This presents a good opportunity for advisers to reach out to pension savers to explain how they can help them make wise decisions.”

When asked about paying for advice, the survey found that a pre-agreed hourly rate was the most popular (35%), with just one in eight saying they would prefer paying a percentage of the total investment value.