Chancellor George Osborne announced all retirees to be would receive free, face-to-face guidance before making their decision on how to access their pension. This ‘guidance guarantee’ rapidly evolved to include telephone and web-based interaction.

Pension Wise is the name of the service being launched by the government to deliver Mr Osborne’s “guidance guarantee.”

The government service will be delivered online, over the telephone by The Pensions Advisory Service, and face-to-face by Citizens Advice in selected bureaux from April.

This guide will explain how Pension Wise will work, explore the risk of bad decisions being made and whether the guidance on offered will act as a boost or drain on your advisory business.

Supporting material has been provided by: Michelle Cracknell, chief executive of The Pensions Advisory Service (Tpas); Darren Philp, director of policy and market engagement at The People’s Pension; Andrew Tully, pensions technical director of MGM Advantage; Karen Barrett, chief executive of Unbiased; Mike Morrison, head of platform technical at AJ Bell; and Richard Wilson, policy lead for defined contribution at the National Association of Pension Funds.