According to a report by Scottish Widows, significantly more people over 50 sought independent financial advice in the last 18 months.

Driving forces for this increase have been being placed on furlough, redundancies, stock market volatility, low interest rates and fears of a deep recession.

Other potentially more positive factors prompting these people to seek advice were an increase in savings and a reduction in living costs, in part due to home working becoming the norm during coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

As a result, many over-50s have had the time to reflect on their circumstances since the start of the pandemic, prompting them to think about their future and when they might be able to retire. 

The report found this reflected in the type of advice that had been sought, with 56% of those surveyed saying they had received advice on pension planning, 54% on early retirement, along with 53% for both phased retirement and accessing pensions at the point of retirement. 

Siobhan Barrow, Head of Intermediary Distribution at Scottish Widows, who conducted the research, said: 

“Money worries cause people to experience difficulties in lots of areas in their lives, even those seeing an unexpected uplift in wealth may be confused about how they feel and respond.

“It’s encouraging to see many over-50s open enough to speak to others and take positive action, like increasing contributions into their pensions. 

“Your 50s is the critical time to get finances organised and we must ensure more people, of all ages, feel comfortable seeking out professional advice.”

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