Taking financial advice could help people boost their retirement savings by up to £100 a month, Simon Smallcombe, managing director of Axa Life Invest, has said.
Mr Smallcombe, said: “People save more each month as a result of taking financial advice. People who seek advice earlier save substantially more than others and consequentially feel better prepared for their golden years.”
He added that people should seek advice at least 10 to 15 years before retirement, so that advisers could “significantly boost” the level of retirement income UK savers receive.
His comments came after a survey carried out by Axa Life Invest and Unbiased, which found that almost half of savers over 40 who have not had financial advice were not saving anything for their retirement.
Some 52 said they were not prepared to stop work, while just 14 per cent of savers who have not been given financial advice said they felt prepared for their retirement.
A poll by Unbiased of more than 200 IFAs showed that 73 per cent of advisers thought they could boost a client’s retirement income levels if they saw them 15 years before their client’s retirement date, compared to only 28 per cent who saw them at retirement.
Adviser view
Preston-based independent adviser Gary Dunn said: “It is better to do something sooner rather than later. It’s never a good idea to put things off. You certainly need to have started planning for retirement by 50 and much earlier if possible.”
