The UK government has announced the launch of a financial guidance body formed by the merger of the three existing providers.
The Money Advice Service, The Pension Advisory Service and Pension Wise have been grouped together to create The Single Financial Guidance Body (SFGB), a single organisation designed to provide debt advice and money and pension guidance.
“The new organisation has a clear mission to help everyone manage their personal finances as well as their circumstances allow across the nation,” said Hector Sants, chairman of the SFGB.
“We are creating an organisation which is seen as transparent, accountable, effective and above all respected by all, working hand-in-hand with the industry, our staff and our partners.”
Information provider
John Govett, chief executive of the SFGB, said that the single body will provide a “more streamlined service to people, providing easier access” to information and guidance.
However, the launch received mixed views from experts who questioned the ability of the SFGB to pull off the services that the three providers used to cater to as well delivering the pension dashboard, which has been a hot topic for months.
“Government-led projects like this are trusted by the public and so arguably more should be done to raise awareness of the service now it has transitioned into the ‘Single Financial Guidance Body’” said Jon Greer, head of retirement policy at Quilter.
“The Government has an opportunity to put appropriate funding into the SFGB, so people know where and how they can get the help they need with pensions, and sufficiently early in their overall retirement journey. However, with 750,000 people retiring each year, it is unlikely the SFGB will be able to do this alone.
“One element on this bodies’ already overflowing plate is the pension dashboard. This is a project that has continually been pushed down the road and has garnered substantial public profile, meaning the pressure is on for them to deliver a robust and successful dashboard.”
