Financial advice helps people feel more confident about making decisions around growing older and navigating uncertainty, according to the latest research from Standard Life.
This applied to decisions around future health and wellbeing as well as financial matters. Standard Life’s research found that two in five (42 per cent) of people who haven’t taken advice find it uncomfortable thinking becoming ill, and a third (32 per cent) feel the same when thinking about the prospect of a partner become ill.
However, those who had taken financial advice are more prepared to think about and deal with these situations, with only a third (32 per cent) saying they were uncomfortable thinking about future illness, and (24 per cent) uncomfortable considering the potential illness of a partner.
In a similar vein those who had taken financial advice were less anxious contemplating other difficult topics, be it later life care, growing old, reduced mobility or isolation.
The research also found that advised people are more likely to have put plans in place to deal with the financial consequence of this scenarios, with twice as many having made a will compared to those who don’t receive advice (54 per cent versus 27 per cent).
Standard Life retail advised managing director Chris Hudson says: “Our research shows that financial advice goes beyond number crunching. It helps create an order around issues that are difficult to contemplate such as illness in later life, care needs and financial security.
“These issues can have a huge bearing on your finances, so it’s important to begin think about them and incorporate them in a holistic plan to help ensure that you’re as prepared as possible for the eventualities of later life.
“As people are living longer, their retirement finances are going to have to stretch further than before. When it comes to addressing difficult topics that can often arise in later life, there’s a clear difference in the levels of comfort among those who had have accessed advice compared to those who haven’t.”
Hudson says this highlighted the importance of providing consistent high quality guidance to more people, as many remained unable to afford or access financial advice.
This research was part of Standard Life Retirement Voice study, conduct among almost 6,000 adults in the UK.
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