People who work with a financial adviser are twice as ready for retirement as those who try to muster cash for their twilight years alone, according to a study by John Hancock Retirement Plan Services.
New data, which forms part of John Hancock’s 2015 Financial Stress survey, showed of the people surveyed 70 per cent who work with a financial adviser are on track or ahead in saving for retirement.
Just 33 per cent of those not working with an adviser who were polled for the survey were ready for retirement.
Among those who have an adviser, more than a third had determined how much to save for retirement and half had contributed to an retirement plan.
For people without an adviser, only 14 per cent knew how much they would need for retirement and 16 per cent had contributed to a plan, according to the survey.
Patrick Murphy, president of John Hancock Retirement Plan Services, said: “People need advice, not just investment advice but also basic retirement planning guidance.
“And people need help with more holistic financial issues such as budgeting and meeting short-term needs versus the need to save for longer term goals.
“It is very clear that engaging a financial adviser helps people take positive financial steps, from saving for emergencies to saving for retirement.”
The survey showed 58 per cent of the 2,000 people polled over the summer of 2015 who had an adviser had saved for emergencies against 26 per cent our of the group who didn’t have an adviser.
John Hancock Financial is a division of Canada-based financial services group Manulife.
Dan Clayden, director of Devon-based intermediary Clayden Associates, said: “I think people have become more financially savvy but I don’t think there is a huge amount of people who will decide they want to pay some money into a pension, or know how much they should be paying in.”
The results of the John Hancock poll came after research from Boring Money concluded that 8.4 million 34 to 44-year-olds are not taking financial advice, with only 10 per cent holding a stocks-and-shares Isa.
The Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR) is currently looking into ways to bring advice back to the mass market.
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