• No need for limits on age and frequency
• Most likely to benefit those in trust-based schemes, provided trustees can be encouraged to offer it
• Should be available to pay for guidance from regulated adviser firms
Steven Cameron, Pensions Director at Aegon said: “We welcome initiatives, such as the Pensions Advice Allowance, that will give a wider range of pension savers access to advice to help improve their retirement outcomes. Retirement planning has become more complicated in recent years and involves important personal decisions. But many individuals are unwilling or unable to pay for advice by separate fee. Those in more modern contract-based pensions can already use Adviser Charging but those in trust-based schemes don’t have this facility and stand to gain most from the Pensions Advice Allowance. The Treasury should focus on encouraging trustees of these schemes to offer it to their members.
“The Pensions Advice Allowance should be kept as flexible as possible. It would be counter-productive to set a minimum age, which might discourage retirement savers from engaging earlier. We support promoting the Pensions Advice Allowance at various ages to ‘nudge’ members to review pensions with the help of an adviser.
“We also see no reason to limit the number of times an individual can use the Allowance. With most individuals having more than one pension, it would be very difficult to monitor frequency other than at individual provider or scheme level.
“The Financial Advice Market Review will lead to new forms of guidance alongside a tightened definition of ‘advice’. Allowing the Pensions Advice Allowance to be used to pay for both advice and guidance given by a regulated adviser firm is the most effective way to deliver greater support to as many pension savers as possible.”
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