Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon, said he welcomes the allowance “as a further means through which individuals can pay for valuable advice on their pension planning”.
“We’re pleased the Treasury has decided against setting any minimum age before an individual can use the Pensions Advice Allowance. Allowing it to be used up to three times is also a step in the right direction as people can benefit from advice on different aspects of their retirement planning at different ages or in different circumstances.”
However, Cameron questions whether the PAA will replace existing adviser charging facilities.
“Many more modern ‘personal pension’ plans already allow individuals to deduct an ‘Adviser Charge’ to cover advice. In some ways this is more flexible than the Pensions Advice Allowance as there is no £500 maximum and it can be used as often as the individual chooses, including yearly to cover regular advice.
“However, the new Pensions Advice Allowance can be used to cover advice on all of an individual’s retirement planning, not just on the pension it is deducted from.”
