Nearly a fifth of people ‘too proud or embarrassed to get financial advice’

Nearly one in five people who have not taken financial advice would be too proud or embarrassed to do so, a survey has found.

Pensions provider Royal London gathered views from more than 4,000 customers to highlight the barriers standing in the way of people accessing financial advice.

Some 17% of non-advised customers said they are either too proud or embarrassed to talk to someone about how to manage their finances.

Nearly half (47%) of non-advised consumers thought advice would be too expensive. But four in 10 admitted they did not know what an adviser might charge.

More than a third (35%) of non-advised customers, meanwhile, said they could look after their own money.

However, previous Royal London research has indicated advised customers feel more informed and are financially better-off by more than £47,000 over a 10-year period than their non-advised peers.

About one in six (15%) people feel their finances are either too simple or that advisers are only interested in customers who are wealthier than them.

But nearly a third (31%) of this group had more than £50,000 in investable household assets.

Royal London’s director of policy and external affairs Jamie Jenkins said: “The advice gap is undoubtedly one of the biggest issues we face as a nation when it comes to people getting their finances in order.

“This is particularly the case over the last year when so many people have faced a multitude of challenges in their lives.”

He said that as long as misconceptions around advice exist “these people are missing the opportunity to build a sustainable financial plan that safeguards their present and future”.

Mr Jenkins added: “As an industry we must look at how we can break down these misconceptions as well as helping advisers to scale up their business so they can offer support to more people.”