unbiased.co.uk reveals nation’s top ‘Advice Moments’ ahead of Financial Planning Week

unbiased.co.uk reveals nation’s top ‘Advice Moments’ ahead of Financial Planning Week

• Starting a family is the nation’s most significant life event, followed by getting married and buying your first property
• The top advice moment is buying your first property; 55% took financial advice  
• 35% of the over 55s say retiring was their most important life event, but most fail to plan for it
• One in five (20%) of those who did not take retirement advice regretted doing so*

unbiased.co.uk, the UK’s most comprehensive ‘find an adviser’ search, reveals the nation’s most forgotten and ignored finance decisions ahead of Financial Planning Week.

Overall, people in the UK said starting a family, getting married and their first job have had the most significant impact on their lives. The life stages for which we seek professional financial advice, however, paint a different picture, with buying a first property emerging as the number one ‘Advice Moment’, followed by subsequent property purchases.

For the over 55s, perhaps unsurprisingly, retirement was much higher up the list of important life events, with 35% citing this as having had the most significant impact on their life. Despite this, only a quarter (26%) of this age group said they sought professional financial advice when planning their retirement.

Almost a quarter (24%) of women who did not take professional financial advice when they planned their retirement did not even consider getting financial advice at the time, with a further third (32%) saying there were confident they would make the right decisions alone, this latter figure rising to 46% among men. Overall, 17% (rising to 22% of women) of those who did not seek advice when planning their retirement say they regret not doing so, and a further 17% who did not seek advice at the point of retirement say this was a mistake.

The nation’s top Advice Moments:

^{N.B. the figures for those that did or did not seek professional advice exclude those who have not experienced each life event}

Karen Barrett, Chief Executive of unbiased.co.uk, comments:

“There are various turning points in our lives, which can have a significant impact on our future. Getting married and having children are among the most important things we will go through, but many people ignore the financial implications of these moments. When staring a family there are various things a professional adviser can help you with, including savings plans for education, wills and life insurance which can help to provide for your growing family in the years to come.

“Financial Planning Week is a timely reminder to ensure your finances are in order and this is important for everyone, regardless of your life stage. Taking action early and engaging with your finances rather than burying your head in the sand can avoid stress further down the line.”

The number one reason for people not seeking professional advice, across all these life events, was being confident enough to make their own financial decisions. Despite this confidence, many people regretted not seeking professional advice at the time. Of those who didn’t seek professional advice those who regretted it most were; the one in five (20%) who were starting a business, 19% of those buying an investment property and 6% of those when starting a family.

Karen Barrett continued:

“Ignoring important moments in your life for seeking advice can lead to hard times later on. You may think you’re capable of making these important financial decisions alone, but a professional can give you peace of mind that the decisions you make are best for your financial future and also help you to feel confident you’re making your money work as hard as possible. Our Find an Adviser Checklist can help you identify the best adviser to help with your financial planning.”

unbiased.co.uk lists over 24,000 IFAs, financial advisers, mortgage advisers, solicitors and accountants and the site offers a range of tools and information, helping consumers to make sense of the advice choices available to them.

ENDS

Notes to editors:
unbiased.co.uk research conducted by Opinium Research between 11-14 November 2014, among 2,002 nationally representative UK adults aged 18+.
*785 of 2,0002 UK adults did not receive advice either when they were thinking about pensions or at retirement, and 156 (20%) of those regretted not getting advice at the time.

For more information contact:
Anna Schirmer/ Sarah Tye, Lansons Communications: 020 7294 3682

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About unbiased.co.uk, the professional advice website

Unbiased.co.uk is the UK's most comprehensive free professional adviser search website, focused on empowering users with the resources they need to make better informed financial and legal decisions. We not only help consumers and businesses find the best adviser for their needs from over 24,000 IFAs, financial advisers, mortgage advisers, solicitors and accountants listed on our search but we also help them research the market by providing relevant information and tools. At unbiased.co.uk we like to be transparent about what we do and aim to provide the easiest way for consumers to find and compare advisers meeting their requirements.

The unbiased.co.uk website launched in 1998 and rapidly became the UK’s leading online destination for consumers and businesses looking to find an adviser. Now attracting over one million visitors a year, unbiased.co.uk is the default adviser directory for consumer websites recommending their audience to ‘find an adviser’.

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