The Department of Work and Pensions has confirmed that the Single Finance Guidance Body will be renamed the Money and Pensions Service from April 6.
The SFGB was formed from the merger of the Money Advice Service, the Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise last October.
At the time the DWP said this was to centralise the provision of debt advice, money guidance and pension guidance in one government-backed organisation.
The Money and Pensions Service will continue to offer free and impartial guidance, and aims to offer a more streamlined service to members of the public. It remains an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the DWP.
Many industry figures welcomed the fact that the word ‘advice’ had been dropped from the name of this new body.
AJ Bell senior analyst Tom Selby says: “The Government has dodged any potential controversy around the use of the word ‘advice’ in the name of the new guidance body by steering clear of it altogether. Given the negative attention this drew when the Money Advice Service first launched this feels like a sensible decision.”
He adds: “The launch of the new, simplified guidance service provides an opportunity for the industry as a whole to renew focus on retirement communications. There is a growing body of behavioural research pointing to the fact the existing framework – which often sees savers bombarded with pages and pages of information – fails to improve engagement.
“Measures announced as part of the Retirement Outcomes Review to reform wake-up packs are a step in the right direction. Greater simplification in this area has the potential to make pensions more accessible and switch people on to the benefits of retirement saving.”
Hargreaves Lansdown head of policy Tom McPhail adds: “It is notable they’ve eschewed the word ‘guidance’ too. This is perhaps a reflection of the ongoing evolution of the regulatory boundaries and consumer services below the advice threshold.”
He says he expects this first year to be a transition period, reorganising the resources of the three different bodes and building a new business plan.
He says the new service has a number of challenges looking, including the forthcoming Pension Dashboard, and work that was started by Pension Wise on building a drawdown comparison tool.
He adds: “There are early signs they are keen to get out and engage with the industry which is welcome. The delivery of financial help to consumers should be a partnership between the industry and this new service. I think it is also important commercial businesses and the new service adhere to the same regulatory standards in the provision of information and guidance.”
