Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase the availability and access of impartial pension advice and guidance for pensioners before they make decisions on their financial situation in retirement.

The Money and Pensions Service (MAPS) have a national goal to have 5 million more people understanding enough to plan for, and in, later life. MAPS are working with a wide range of organisations across industry and consumer groups to harness the collective efforts to reach this ambitious target by 2030. MAPS are working across a multitude of different channels to ensure that they are driving take up of Pension Wise guidance.

https://moneyandpensionsservice.org.uk/uk-strategy-for-financial-wellbeing/

For example, MAPS recently ran trials to test different ways of delivering a nudge to guidance at the point someone wishes to access their pension pot, with a view to making receiving guidance a social norm. MAPS, with the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), will publish an evaluation report of the trials in Summer 2020 and the results will assist the FCA and the Government in making rules and regulations.

Furthermore, recent FCA rules changes mean that from 1 November 2019, providers are required to include strengthened messaging about Pension Wise guidance in the ‘wake-up’ packs they send to their customers in the run-up to retirement. Providers are now also required to send the packs more frequently. The FCA’s approach was informed by behavioural research, which showed a material improvement in customer contact with Pension Wise.

Pension Wise also run successful advertising campaigns across multiple channels, as well as working with employers nationally and locally to engage with their employees at their place of work.