In this Policy Statement we report on the main issues arising from CP15/12 and publish the recommendation policy.
Why are we issuing this Policy Statement?
Pension Wise (now MoneyHelper's Pension Wise) has been introduced to help empower consumers to make informed and confident decisions on how they use their pension savings in retirement. Consumers will not be required to take this guidance to access their pension savings, but they will be directed to do so before they make a decision.
The organisations appointed as designated guidance providers for Pension Wise are not regulated as authorised firms by the FCA for the delivery of the guidance service. However, the Government has placed a duty on the FCA to set standards and to monitor the designated guidance providers’ performance against these standards. It has also afforded us powers to require information for these purposes and, where designated guidance providers are in breach of our standards, to make recommendations to the designated guidance providers and the Treasury as necessary.
We are required to monitor the designated guidance providers’ compliance with our standards and, where providers have breached them, we may make recommendations to the designated guidance providers and the Treasury, where appropriate.
We consulted on our recommendation policy in CP15/12 Pension Wise – recommendation policy. This Policy Statement summarises the feedback received and publishes the final policy.
Policy Statement PS15/17[1] [PDF]
Who is this PS aimed at?
This policy primarily affects the designated guidance providers delivering Pension Wise.
In addition, given the importance to consumers using the Pension Wise service, the policy is also likely to be of interest to:
- consumer representative bodies interested in the outcomes of Pension Wise
- charities and other organisations with a particular interest in retirement advice
- individual consumers
It will also be of indirect interest to providers of, and advisers on, pensions and retirement income products, as well as trustees of DC pension schemes.
Want to find out more?
For more information:
- CP15/12: Pension Wise - recommendation policy[2]
- PS14/17: Retirement Reforms and the Guidance Guarantee, including feedback on CP14/11[3]