Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the ability of consumers to make an informed choice when accessing retirement income products.

The Government recognises that people need the right support and guidance to make decisions that best suit their evolving personal circumstances. That is why the Government introduced Pension Wise, a service provided by the Money and Pensions Service (MAPS) that offers everyone aged 50 and over who has a defined contribution pension, free and impartial guidance on their range of available choices at retirement.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found in its Retirement Outcomes Review in 2018 that consumer engagement in the retirement market is low and there are low levels of shopping around. As part of remedies to improve this, the FCA has set new requirements for pension providers to send more frequent ‘wake-up packs’ to their consumers, which include a summary of their open market options.

The Money Advice Service (provided by MAPS) also offers a guaranteed income product comparator tool and is developing a drawdown comparator tool, to make it easier for consumers to compare the different options available to them.