IFAs deserve more control over government-backed advice agencies, Kay Ingram, director of individual savings and investments at LEBC has said.
Ms Ingram said the Money Advice Service and The Pensions Advisory Service should drop ‘advice’ from their names and instead offer ‘guidance’.
She also said IFAs should be able to determine what advice the services offered.
TPAS & MAS are set to become the two main providers of free pensions advice (or indeed guidance) when reforms kick in next April.
They are funded by a levy on the financial services industry, collected by the FCA.
Speaking at The Henry Stewart Self-invested personal pensions and Retirement Options conference in London this week, Ms Ingram said: “The word advice should be replaced with ‘guidance’ as that more accurately reflects what they offer.
“To purport to offer advice when they do not is confusing for the public who will have their expectations of the service raised beyond what MAS and TPAS are capable of delivering.”
She also said: “If the IFA sector and product providers are to pay for the guidance offered by the MAS and TPAS, then we need more of a say in how that guidance is structured and delivered or it will result in poorer consumer outcomes.”
Ms Ingram added that she was concerned “guidance” would fail to take account of longer-term needs, fail to avoid inappropriate investment choices with funds being used up too quickly and resulting in income needs not being met in the longer term.
