Prudential claims just 19% of retirees seek financial advice

The company’s research showed that fewer than one in five people (19%) who were planning to retire in 2010 took their preretirement advice from a financial advisor.

Prudential’s Class of 2010 report also found that more than a third of people (35%) got their financial advice from friends and family, while others relied on newspapers, magazines and the internet.

Just 9% of people who undertook their own research using these methods went on to seek professional financial advice about issues such as pensions and equity release.

Vince Smith-Hughes, head of retirement income at Prudential, said: “There’s no doubt that the internet and all the various personal finance magazines and newspapers provide a wealth of useful information for people planning their retirement. But if people rely solely on this information to make a financial decision, it could lead to serious misdiagnosis and people could end up making irreversible decisions which leave them financially disadvantaged.

“The low take-up of financial advice could also be a wake-up call for the industry and regulators. The fact that relatively few consumers appear to take financial advice highlights the need to develop advice services which can address the issue of consumer access, and perhaps the industry could also do more to encourage people approaching retirement to take advantage of the expertise which is already available from advisers.