The Department for Work and Pensions today launched the online Midlife MOT that the Government flagged in the Spring Budget.
Jason Hollands, Managing Director at leading wealth management firm Evelyn Partners, comments: “The Midlife MOT is recognition by the Government that a vast number of the population are ill-prepared for their financial futures, with relatively few of the UK’s middle-aged workers having a clear picture of what sort of retirement their current level of savings – including cash deposits, ISAs and investments as well as pensions – is setting them up for. It is a reminder to everyone that it is worth taking stock of these things well before retirement is on the horizon in order to make important decisions – like when to retire, how much to save and whether to pay down the mortgage.
“While this is welcome, there are of course limits to what can be achieved with a one-off ‘online MOT’ and we think much more needs to be done to help widen access to the educative financial support that so many people need and would benefit from. Professional financial advice is only taken by a modest proportion of the population, even though many people admit to a low level of confidence over managing investments and pensions. Much of the population is currently underserved by the financial advice sector but better use of technology has an important role to play in widening access to support and making it more affordable.
“It’s for this reason that we decided last year to provide free financial coaching – in virtual meetings with qualified professionals – through our consumer investing website Bestinvest, and we have seen this helping people make better financial plans and investment decisions with their ISAs and Self-Invested Personal Pensions.
“And more recently we have launched Evelyn Partners Moneyhealth, a financial wellbeing service that enables businesses and other organisations to help all their employees take control of their personal finances at no cost to the employee. Moneyhealth comprises both a digital platform packed with tools and resources and a dedicated financial coach for every employee. With money worries being a major cause of stress, it is in the interest of companies to provide such a valuable benefit to their staff to help reduce absenteeism and improve productivity.”
