The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ended 2023 with the publication of the first Advice/Guidance Boundary Review. In what feels like a new tradition, it ended 2024 with a follow up – publishing the long-awaited consultation paper on targeted support.

We’re very pleased to see the FCA develop its targeted support proposal for pensions, which would allow firms to make tailored suggestions to groups of consumers with common characteristics.

This should deliver better outcomes for consumers across a range of scenarios, helping them to build up pension savings, consolidate pension pots, and take better decisions around tax-free cash and their income in retirement.

Our consumer research suggests that guidance personalised to the consumer can improve consumer outcomes.

For the government the question is: How will the guided retirement proposals within the Pension Schemes Bill align with targeted support? Will trustees be able to provide targeted supportinterventions when steering members toward decumulation solutions? Will partnering arrangements enable FCA-authorised firms to provide targeted support on behalf of trustees?

We want to see consistent consumer outcomes regardless of whether it is The Pensions Regulator (TPR) or FCA that regulates someone’s pension product.

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