Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 18
18
Acknowledged
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MaPS Chief Executive, Caroline Siarkiewicz, told us that the biggest challenge was working out how...
Recommendation
MaPS Chief Executive, Caroline Siarkiewicz, told us that the biggest challenge was working out how to help people understand their options and choices, “bearing in mind the huge numbers of people who do not know where to go for that.” MoneyHelper Pensions guidance is an important service, able to help people engage with their pensions and support them with decision-making at important points such as divorce. MaPS has capacity to deliver 205,000 such pensions guidance sessions this year. It is not clear whether this is optimum or whether more people could benefit from the service if there was a concerted effort to increase take-up. We recommend that DWP and MaPS consider how the mechanisms available to increase take-up of Pension Wise—signposting requirements and a dedicated media and marketing budget—could be applied to MoneyHelper Pensions. MaPS should explain the role it expects its pensions guidance services to play in meeting its goal to have 5 million more people understanding enough to plan for and in later life by 2030. It should also explain how it plans to work with employers to ensure they play their part in meeting this goal.
Government Response Summary
The government supports appropriate marketing of guidance services, including MoneyHelper Pensions, subject to scrutiny. They are exploring further options for encouraging the use of guidance, and MaPS's Pension Guidance Transformation Strategy will improve triage and transfers between the services.
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Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The government supports appropriate marketing of guidance services, including MoneyHelper Pensions. However, this is subject to scrutiny to ensure that public money is spent appropriately. Using the feedback from the recent Call for Evidence, we are exploring further options for encouraging the use of guidance, including at points earlier than when accessing savings. MaPS’s Pension Guidance Transformation Strategy will improve triage and transfers between the services and give customers smoother access to the right pensions guidance for them. This means that signposting to Pension Wise will also signpost to MoneyHelper Pensions. People are also made aware of, or are signposted to, MaPS pension guidance services by Simpler Annual Benefit Statements, Wake-up packs, and the industry-led Pension Attention campaign. Signposting, and other information necessary to support individuals to understand the pensions displayed on pensions dashboards, are among the issues that are being considered by the Financial Conduct Authority when developing the rules for pensions dashboard providers.