Fidelity Worldwide Investment’s launch of a range of UK retirement services, ahead of the government’s pension plans for next year, has been labelled a ‘gap filling’ exercise by adviser Steven Robinson.
The managing director of Bristol-based Clarke Robinson & Co was speaking as Fidelity Worldwide Investment launched a range of services, including income planning tools and an online retirement hub for advisers.
Mr Robinson said: “It looks like a move to fill what Fidelity has seen as an obvious gap in the market”.
At the launch last week James Burton, managing director Fidelity Worldwide Investment UK, said the company would not wait for April 2015 to unveil new services.
Among the services are educational materials and a ‘safety net check’ targeted at consumers. As part of this, self-directed customers’ decisions would be checked to potentially avoid irreversible mistakes. The company also introduced a set of income planning tools and a bespoke hub with insight and opinion for financial advisers.
Fidelity has also rebranded specialist retirement firm Annuity Direct, which it acquired earlier this year, and integrated it into the business to offer guidance to customers.
Under the government’s proposals announced in the March Budget, pensioners will no longer have to purchase an annuity at age 75. Instead they will be free to take their funds as a lump sum, use income drawdown or go down the annuity route. Or a mixture of the above.
The chancellor also said that consumers would be provided with free and impartial guidance on how to use their pension pots after April 2015.
However, Mr Burton said many people were already confused about their pension options. He cited research from the Treasury in May, stating: “The significant drop in annuity purchases since March shows us that approximately 150,000 of those heading into retirement now, and who were about to buy an annuity this year, are in limbo.”
ADVISER VIEW
Steven Rowe, director of Solihull-based Lucent Financial Planning, said: “As a generalism, I think it’s good to have extra information for people. It’s good to see that you have thought your decisions through.”
