The government is to review its provision of money guidance with plans to abolish the Money Advice Service, The Pensions Advisory Service and the brand new Pension Wise service.
The government is to review its provision of money guidance with plans to abolish the Money Advice Service, The Pensions Advisory Service and the brand new Pension Wise service.
A proposal for consultation published today outlined plans for a new pensions guidance body and a “slimmed down money guidance body” which will be funded by a financial services industry levy.
The consultation paper said: “At the moment there are both gaps in the guidance available to consumers and duplication of content within MAS, TPAS and Pension Wise, which is confusing for consumers.
“The government agrees on the need to restructure the current arrangements and wants the publicly funded guidance bodies to fill gaps in the market.”
The pensions body will be charged with making sure that consumers can get all their pensions questions answered in one place while the other body will focus on equipping consumers to make more effective financial decisions by: identifying gaps in the financial guidance market; commissioning targeted debt advice, money guidance and financial capability projects or services to fill any gaps identified; and providing funding to third parties to deliver these projects or services.
The paper added: “The decision on how to fund retirement is one of the most important financial decisions a consumer will make.
“The government therefore plans to restructure the delivery of public financial guidance to ensure that consumers can access the help they need to make effective financial decisions.”
There was no direct mention in the paper of whether a person's property wealth would be considered along side pension assets when planning for retirement.
Both the Council of Mortgage Lenders and Equity Release Council were included in the group of bodies consulted.
The government will publish a final response in Autumn 2016.
