GovWire

The government and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are conducting a review of the regulatory boundary between financial advice and guidance. The Review aims to ensure that people have access to timely and affordable help when making important financial decisions in order to make the most of their money.

In November 2024, the government confirmed its continued commitment to the Review as part of the Mansion House package and set out its next steps in a joint statement with the FCA.

Together with the FCA, the government is taking forward a proposal for a new regime called targeted support which would allow authorised firms to provide suggestions appropriate to consumers in similar circumstances. For example, financial services firms could provide free support for those with substantial savings to consider opening a Stocks and Shares ISA, or for those navigating their options at retirement.

Today, the FCA is publishing its first consultation paper on how the targeted support regime could operate for pensions. The paper sets out the role that targeted support could play in supporting people to save for the future and to navigate their options at retirement, as well as seeking feedback on the standards required to ensure targeted support is delivered to a high quality. We encourage interested stakeholders to respond by 13 February 2025.

There are different possible routes to delivering a targeted support regime, including through legislative change. The government is committed to driving this work forward and will work closely with the FCA to assess options for implementation.

The financial services sector has a central role to play both in delivering the Growth Mission and ensuring that ordinary people can benefit from that growth. In addition to the Advice Guidance Boundary Review, the government is also undertaking wider work to support people to make the most of their money including:

• replacing the EU-inherited PRIIPs Regulation with a new UK retail disclosure regime to ensure retail investors have sufficient information to make informed investment decisions;
• delivering pensions dashboards which will provide a secure way for people to view a summary of their pension savings online, empowering them to plan for their future more confidently;
• the Pensions Investment Review which will seek to boost investment, increase pension pots and tackle waste in the pensions system.