Financial advice for older consumers: What IFAs need to know
By Kirsten Hastings, 23 Feb 16
Older consumers are a diverse population, with different beliefs, behaviours and needs, all of which affect the way in which they interact with money and financial services, according to a new discussion paper from the Financial Conduct Authority. So, what do IFAs need to take into account to meet their needs? Click through the pictures below to find out.
“Long-term savings providers and insurers are at the coalface of the ageing society, providing many of the products and services people rely on for their financial security as they age, and are adapting them to adjust to this immense societal shift. In doing so, the industry works with the grain of public policy.
“However, while we have some of the components in place to deal with the implications of an ageing society, I argue that we need a more visionary, holistic approach to adapt successfully.
“The Financial Advice Market Review provides a golden opportunity to re-think how to enable providers to give policyholders more support than is currently possible without overstepping the advice boundary. We also need a more ambitious approach to using the public financial guidance services.
“Providers are already signposting to Pension Wise to help customers make the most of their new pension choices. But we would like to see all public bodies use opportunities to work with industry to signpost and nudge people towards accessing advice and guidance at critical junctures in their life.
“Better leveraging of guidance should be coupled with a much greater use of digital services. Long-term savings providers already offer access to their products through platforms which enable users to view all their products and investments with the provider in one place. But we must work together with government to extend this concept to give people a comprehensive view of all their assets in one place – with a ‘pensions dashboard’ showing consumers their overall preparation for retirement, including the state pension.
“This would greatly improve the position today where a quarter of people over 50 have no idea how much they have saved towards their retirement.”
