Once-in-a-Generation Advice Changes to Help Millions Navigate Their Financial Lives

FF News

6 hours ago

Millions more people could get help navigating their financial lives with support on pensions and investments, under proposals announced today by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The FCA's proposals would allow firms to offer a new type of help called 'targeted support' and make suggestions to groups of consumers with common characteristics. These could include people who may be currently drawing down on their pension unsustainably, not saving enough for retirement or who have excess cash sitting in a current account.
The changes, which have inbuilt protections for consumers, also support growth by enabling increased investment and innovation.
Sarah Pritchard, Deputy Chief Executive of the FCA, said, 'We want to help consumers navigate their financial lives and plan for the long term. Some of the most difficult financial decisions we face are how to save, invest and prepare for a comfortable retirement.
'These once-in-a-generation reforms will help people navigate their financial lives and give them greater confidence to invest. This is a win-win for consumers and firms alike.'
These reforms should set the framework for the next 20-30 years, to support consumers now as well as future generations.
The FCA wants to see a thriving and trusted market for full financial advice, simplified advice, targeted support and guidance. Alongside today's proposals for targeted support, the FCA has set out plans to reform the framework for simplified advice.
Consumer access to a choice of guidance, targeted support, simplified advice and full financial advice should help reduce the so-called 'advice gap'. This supports our ambition that consumers should have access to the help and guidance that they need, at a cost they can afford, when they need it, to make informed decisions about their financial lives.
This advice gap is stark. Just 9% of adults received financial advice about their pensions or investments in the previous 12 months, according to the FCA's latest Financial Lives survey (FLS 2024).
Of those who did not receive financial advice, but hold £10,000 or more in cash savings, 24% said they don't invest because they don't know enough about it, 12% because they feel overwhelmed by the number of options available, and 8% said they would need more support before they invest.
There are about 7 million adults in the UK with £10,000 or more in cash savings who may be missing out on the benefits of investing throughout their lives.
The FCA has worked in a smarter way to carry out this work, running its very first 6 week policy sprint, where firms designed consumer journeys to help design the rules in the consultation, with support from consumer representatives and other members of the regulatory family. Detailed consumer testing has also been completed, published alongside the consultation.
The aim of this detailed sprint, and consumer testing, has been to help then accelerate the period for consultation, which is now open for 8 weeks.
The FCA is also working with the government to help resolve issues that might prevent firms communicating with consumers, with issues having been identified early through the policy sprint.
The FCA committed to support growth in its strategy. These reforms are among almost 50 initiatives the FCA set out in a letter to the Prime Minister in January 2025, which the FCA is delivering against this year.