Retirement planning rises as a client priority

Planning for retirement has grown in importance since a year ago, a survey has found. Research looking at client attitudes, carried out by Canada Life among advisers, found life after work was seen as mattering more compared to a year ago.It was cited as a client priority by 56% of advisers, up from 52% last year.Nick Harding, propositions and marketing director, distribution at Canada Life, said: "The further we move out of the shadow of the recession, the more client focus has shifted to longer term retirement and pension planning, an issue heightened by so-called 'Lamborghini' announcements made in the Budget."We expect retirement planning to remain a key topic of conversation for both advisers and investors over the coming months, especially once the changes made are fully introduced." {desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile} Future income has also grown in importance to clients - up to 41% from 39%. But tax planning and protection have both dropped as priorities, falling from 19% to 17% and 11% to 9% respectively.Capital growth remains the biggest priority, but this has fallen as a priority from 70% to 65% in the last year.Mr Harding said: "It is concerning that tax planning and protection have both fallen further down the pecking order as priorities for clients. While it is indeed important that clients have a forward thinking and long-term approach to looking after their finances, the need to safeguard assets in the here and now should not be forgotten."We therefore urge people to also carefully consider their current level of protection and the tax implications, and be sure to take action wherever necessary."One in three (32%) advisers observed a change in the profile of their clients over the past year, with one in five highlighting that their clients' profile has become 'more affluent'. The average amount of investible assets per client in the last 12 months has increased by 3.9% – almost £6,000 – to £159,348 per client.Pensions and annuities (77%), ISAs (73%) and collectives (40%) were the three most in demand product areas. This was consistent with last year, but all three have seen their dominance grow – something researchers attributed to the Budget reforms.Pension savings have also increased as a source of investment up 4% from last year (to 55%) while savings have declined by six percentage points (to 56% in 2014) over the same period.

Retirement planning rises as a client priority

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