Pensions: Advisory Services

(asked on 3rd June 2015) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people sought (1) telephone advice, and (2) an in-person interview, with Citizens Advice in (a) April following the commencement of the Pensions Schemes Act 2015, and (b) May.


This question was answered on 1st July 2015

The government committed to providing free, impartial guidance through Pension Wise, to help people make informed and confident decisions about how they use their defined contribution pension savings in retirement. It is available online, via the telephone and face to face.

As of 6 April – the date on which the new pension flexibilities commenced – Pension Wise had handled more than 3,600 calls since the opening of the contact centre in late March. Nearly 1400 people had booked a telephone guidance appointment with the Pensions Advisory Service, while nearly 380 people had booked a face to face appointment with Citizens Advice. Citizens Advice does not provide Pension Wise guidance over the phone.

Information on Pension Wise service usage since 6 April will be published in due course.

Pension Wise recommends that users take their time to prepare and gather relevant information before their guidance session, if they have not already done so by the time of booking their appointment; this can normally take around 2 weeks. The government estimates that, on average, face to face appointments take place within 9 days of booking.

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