LV= has found in its latest quarterly 'Wealth and Wellbeing Monitor' report that some 8m people plan to make their retirement choices without seeking financial advice.
The Wealth and Wellbeing Monitor surveys over 4,000 ‘sample’ adults each quarter and the findings are staggering. The latest research found that:
Of those that will make plans, 39% (c13m) will take financial advice with most couples also already aware of their premature death options with regard to inheritance and surviving spouse pensions.
For the wealthy (LV= definition being those with wealth over £100,000 excluding property), roughly half will seek financial advice at retirement and 46% will not take advice as they believe they have enough financial knowledge to make their own decisions.
Comment
Making any DIY decision in life has its risks as we are all biased to our own experiences. This is known as behavioural science. If you have two people in exactly the same financial position, to the penny, they will likely make different decisions about what to do with their wealth and retirement based upon their own life experiences.
Taking independent financial advice via a pre-retirement review, reduces your emotional influence, to be presented with what are the best options for your retirement by a qualified professional. Your would not prescribe your own medicines, you take advice from your doctors. Equally, you would not buy a property without a survey so why, with likely the largest or second largest financial decision that affects the rest of your life, would you not take professional advice?