The MP who once said that adviser qualifications were equivalent to a McDonald’s diploma, has pledged not to step on advisers’ toes when delivering money guidance solutions.
Mark Hoban, MP for Fareham and former financial secretary to the Treasury, told the
Tax Incentivised Savings Association (Tisa) conference that the government’s pension freedom reforms would only go so far in kick-starting a saving habit.
He told delegates there was a gap in support for people who did not feel they could afford an IFA, and that he was pushing for digital technology to form a ‘Retirement Savings Service’.
This would give people the information they needed to make decisions about how much they would have to save to achieve the retirement they wanted. However, he said the digital service would not provide detailed financial advice. “That is stepping into the area of IFAs, but it (the digital service) would help people on lower to middle incomes to make decisions.”
Mr Hoban added: “We have failed to equip people with the tools they need to make the best long-term financial decisions for their families.”
He said the government should also revisit the subject of whether pension contribution levels should be compulsorily raised.
In 2010, in a Westminster Hall debate on the potential effects on small IFAs of the retail distribution review proposals on qualifications and commission payments, Mr Hoban caused an outcry when he said: “The current minimum financial adviser qualification is at the same level as a diploma in shift management offered by McDonald’s.
“The products being sold by IFAs are infinitely more complex and more long-lasting in their effect than a Big Mac.”
Adviser view
Chris Hannant, director general of the Association of Professional Financial Advisers, said: “The problem ultimately is there is not a zero-cost solution for people who need advice. If we are providing people with a solution, we are responsible for that, and with responsibility comes liability. It’s not viable to do that without having an income.”
