Retirement planning still tops unbiased.co.uk search list

The latest Advice Drivers report from unbiased.co.uk shows there was a massive increase in the number of consumers seeking independent financial advice in January, with nearly triple the number of searches compared with December.

Its figures show retirement planning remains the biggest driver for advice sought by consumers. More than 40% sought guidance on their retirement planning when using the website’s ‘find an IFA’ search in January.

Equity release ranked ninth on the list, accounting for 4% of inquiries. This was flat with November figures.

Meanwhile, figures from unbiased.co.uk’s Mortgage Advice Drivers report showed a 5% rise in the number of consumers looking for guidance on first-time buying in January. This category accounted for 37% of overall searches, while the second most popular area was remortgage advice (36%).

Equity release ranked in sixth place, accounting for 7% of all mortgage-related inquiries. This was down from fifth place and 11% of inquiries in November.

Karen Barrett, chief executive of unbiased.co.uk, said: “With new rules coming into play for employee pension schemes and changes to the default retirement age, pensions and planning for the future is becoming increasingly complicated with a greater need for clarity in this area, which we are seeing reflected in the number of searches.”