The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published consultation proposals to widen access to help with pensions and investment decisions by allowing firms to offer a new form of assistance called “targeted support”, alongside plans to reform the framework for simplified advice. The package is intended to help more consumers get support beyond generic guidance and to reduce the “advice gap”. Under targeted support, firms would be able to make suggestions to groups of consumers with common characteristics, such as people drawing down pensions unsustainably, not saving enough for retirement, or holding excess cash in a current account. The FCA points to low take-up of pensions and investments advice, with 9% of adults receiving advice in the previous 12 months, and estimates around 7 million UK adults have GBP 10,000 or more in cash savings and may be missing out on the benefits of investing; among non-advised cash savers with GBP 10,000 or more, 24% said they do not invest because they do not know enough, 12% because they feel overwhelmed by options, and 8% because they would need more support before investing. The consultation (CP25/17) is open for eight weeks and follows the FCA’s first six-week policy sprint, in which firms designed consumer journeys to inform the proposed rules, supported by consumer representatives and other regulators; the FCA has also published consumer testing alongside the consultation. The FCA is working with government on issues identified through the sprint that could prevent firms communicating with consumers.

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