Nearly eight in 10 (79 per cent) people aged between 18 and 34 in Britain would like help in understanding how much they need to save now to achieve a comfortable lifestyle in retirement, according to research by EV in conjunction with Opinium.

Younger people were the most likely to want support in understanding retirement saving, but nearly half (49 per cent) of adults across all age cohorts wanted support so they knew how much they needed to save.

More than half (58 per cent) of people aged between 35 and 54 wanted assistance, compared to 20 per cent of those aged 55 and over.

The research also found that those with higher incomes were most likely to want guidance on retirement saving, with 60 per cent of respondents with an income of over £50,000 wanting help.

Nearly half (47 per cent) of people earning between £20,000 and £50,000 wanted support, compared to 42 per cent of those earning up to £20,000.

More broadly, 42 per cent of respondents wanted ‘general help’ on working out how to improve their finances, with younger people and those with higher incomes again more likely to want assistance.

EV’s study also looked at consumer appetite for digital tools to help with financial decisions and whether the availability of certain functionality would encourage them to switch to a new provider.

Budgeting and saving for retirement tools the most popular, with 22 per cent and 21 per cent respectively saying they would move their current account to a new bank to access these kinds of tools.

“We often hear that young people and those at the lower end of the income scale are most at risk of falling into the advice gap, but our research shows the problem is more widespread,” commented EV group innovation director, Andrew Storey.

“While some people are accessing support from professional financial advisers, many others are resorting to social media or not getting any help at all.

“The FCA’s current review of the advice/guidance boundary will hopefully create opportunities for different types of support, and we believe there is huge scope for banks, building societies, pension providers and employers to offer flexible digital guidance tools that can support simple financial decision making, filling the current void and providing an important bridge to more detailed hybrid or traditional advice where needed.”

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