Opportunities for advice - and the importance of the review

Continuously developing your own knowledge of the new innovative products available on the market and obtaining feedback from their clients to the suitability of the service they provide will therefore become a must, Mr Williams adds.

The use of technology and streamlined administration systems will allow advisers to be more competitive in their charging structures and still help those with small fund values and with the potential need for a greater number of review, he adds.

If your client has a drawdown contract, Mr Williams says you should hold at least yearly if not six monthly reviews for those drawing large incomes. If your client has a fixed-term annuity, Mr Williams says it will need reviewing at the end of the term.

Mr Williams says: “Many will have deferred their decision until next April when I am sure there will be a glut of retirees requiring not only the new guidance guarantee but good impartial financial advice.”

If there is any flexibility in the retirement plan then Mike Morrison, head of platform marketing for AJ Bell, says ongoing review is vital - particularly if there is active investment management. He says changes to circumstance or goals should also be subject to review.

Mr Morrison says: “There is a real opportunity for advisers to become experts in the retirement field. They will need to understand the new legislation and issues such as the guidance guarantee.

“It is also important to consider retirement holistically and to understand other retirement planning options such as equity release, estate planning and long term care.”

Currently Just Retirement’s Mr Lowe says retirees in ‘capped’ income drawdown (where the income that can be taken is restricted) must be subject to reviews every three years up to age 75, then annually.

Where people are living off their assets – pensions and other investments – Mr Lowe says it will be prudent to monitor progress, regardless of whether the conduct rules are maintained, particularly where there is an intention to annuitise at some point in order to secure insurance against outliving assets.

Mr Lowe says: “Our view is that professional advisers should think carefully whether they need to make major changes as the needs of the retirees are the same as they were pre-Budget.

“Until the Budget the general regulatory guidance was that people needed perhaps £100,000 of pension as a starting point for considering non-annuity solutions.”

As part of the holistic financial planning piece, John Perks, managing director of LV Retirement Solutions, says he would also encourage advisers to discuss the capital that their clients have in their property at the outset.

He says considering the property will allow clients to see what part, if any, it might play in funding the later years of retirement.

However, for many advisers, Mr Perks says they will just need to continue to do what they have always done, and help their clients to choose the right solutions for their needs.

Annual reviews will be needed for many, says Andrew Tully, pensions technical director of MGM Advantage, unless a lifetime annuity has been purchased.

He says advisers will need to factor this into decisions made at the outset and the discussions they have with client around how they pay for the advice services being provided.

Mr Tully says: “With greater choice comes greater risk, which is why many people will need and want financial advice.

“There will be many changes to the legislation which we all need be aware of and understand the implications this can have on client circumstances. There will also be tweaks and changes to contracts, and some new solutions are likely to be introduced.

“However many of these won’t be in place in April 2015, instead following along later when provider system requirements allow developments to be made – bearing in mind many companies are also dealing with significant other system development required for auto-enrolment and solvency II, among many others.

“But deferring customers to next April won’t always be the right decision either. There are scenarios where it might be worthwhile delaying making a decision until after April 2015.

“But if people want some level of sustainable income, they need to be aware that they are taking a big gamble that a number of things work in their favour – or their lifetime income may be lower than by taking action today.”