The government has revealed how it will push ahead with plans to pull the UK’s three financial guidance services into one body.
The Queen’s Speech confirmed today (21 June) that the three bodies - The Money Advice Service, The Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise - will become a new single body, funded through existing levies on pension schemes and the financial services industry.
The new single body will offer guidance on pensions, debt and other money issues, the Queen's Speech confirmed.
The government announced last October that it was planning to do pull together the guidance bodies after replies to a consultation raised concerns more than one body might not work for consumers.
It was back in 2015 that an independent review stated the Money Advice Service needed to “reboot its business model” as part of wide-ranging changes.
The review by Christine Farnish, the former chief executive of the NAPF, said the service should focus on filling advice gaps in the market and avoid duplicating services which already exist.
In December last year the government released its view that the best future model for the Money Advice Service would be a single financial guidance body responsible for delivering money, debt, and pensions guidance.
Caroline Rookes, chief executive of the Money Advice Service, then announced that she will retire once a successor has been chosen and added the uncertainty hanging over her staff since Ms Farnish's review had made it a "tough year".
Guy Opperman, the new minister for pensions, has now been put in charge of creating the new guidance body. Creating the new guidance body was originally under the auspices of HM Treasury.
Experts welcomed the new body’s inclusion in the Queen’s Speech, with Tom Sheridan, chief executive of Seven Investment Management, stating that more co-ordinated financial guidance “could go a long way to improving long term financial outcomes”.
However, he said that it was “not a ‘job done’ moment. Financial education cannot happen in isolation, but needs to be brought into everyday life, from the classroom through to the workplace,” he added.
Financial adviser Mike Williams, from Chamberlain, Stean and West in Chipperfield, said that there was a “huge need” for better financial education in the UK but that as well as schools and the government, parents had a responsibility to teach their children about financial matters.
“It is not just about legislation. It is very British not to talk about money, but really important we do,” he said.
rosie.murray-west@ft.com
