Life Insurance  

Consultancy urges life insurers to offer advice

But Prudential has already stated the current boundaries between guidance and advice were too restrictive.

In its response to the Work & Pensions' select committee's enquiry on pension freedoms in November the insurer called for a new form of guidance, which would allow insurers to give recommendations to their clients to ensure people who need help with their retirement planning are not missing out.

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The committee itself stated in its report out in April that it wanted to see a new form of standardised drawdown to protect pension savers instead and for providers to be forced to offer the product.

Alistair Cunningham, financial planning director at Wingate Financial Planning, said: "Provider-led advice has historically not ended well. 

"If the intention to provide a 'financial home' is to push more product, then this is unlikely to lead to good outcomes for the clients, and by extension, the providers."

carmen.reichman@ft.com