Only 13% of individuals received financial advice regarding pensions in last 12 months
Consumer activity and engagement with pensions are on the rise despite the advice gap, according to a new report from Boring Money.
Nearly one in five of all non-retired UK adults aged 55 and above are considering taking financial advice over the next 12 months (17%).
Consideration of financial advice has increased for UK pension holders over the last few years. 13% are considering financial advice over the next 12 months compared to 9% in 2022.
Meanwhile, 8% of consumers consolidated their pensions in the past year, up from 5% in 2022.
The report also found a rise in private pension ownership, with 6% of respondents opening a new private pension account in 2024, compared to 4% in 2022. Currently, 12% of UK adults hold private pensions.
Boring Money CEO Holly Mackay said: “Activity is up across the board over the last two years. People are looking at their pensions more, opening more accounts and also consolidating.
“It’s great to see increasing engagement form consumers as pensions join the mainstream, very slowly taking their place as a ‘normal person’s’ product not a ‘rich person’s’ product. A side effect of this engagement is a greater retention problem for workplace pension providers, as newer ‘shinier’ retail offerings are more superficially appealing for the pre-retired cohorts, for whom the consolidation message is starting to get through.
“Although consideration of advice is higher, the impact of Consumer Duty and increased servicing costs will likely impact the availability of advice for the mass affluent. As awareness and engagement grows, so will the demand for help. This growth in awareness and need is an important factor for the ongoing Advice Guidance Review to consider.”