Financial advisers should play a greater role in client wellbeing and offer more emotional, mental and general health support, a national IFA firm has recommended.

IFA firm Continuum has warned advisers to be alert after a client was targeted by scammers in a sophisticated attack.

National IFA Continuum saw a 23% increase in assets under influence year-on-year to £12.4bn at the end of 2024, it has revealed in financial results published today.

Chartered Financial Planner James Herbert has joined Plymouth-based national financial advice firm Continuum as a financial adviser.

Eight in 10 financial advisers (79%) are unhappy with the measured announced in the Budget, according to a survey.

Northern Ireland pension savers are the least confident in the UK that they will enjoy financial freedom in retirement, according to a new study.

Savers from Scotland and the East of England were also concerned about later life finances, with many of those surveyed saying they were not confident that they would be able to have financial freedom in retirement (see table below).

The most confident savers were those from London (47%) and the Midlands (44%).

Only 42% of Northern Ireland pension savers say they felt confident they would retire in 'financial freedom' - meaning few worries about funding their lifestyle.

Despite confidence being relatively low, over half (52%) of those surveyed in Northern Ireland had sought advice from someone about their retirement, with 15% having sought the services of a financial adviser.

Over half (52%) of Londoners had reached out to someone for advice on their retirement finances, with 9% having used a financial adviser. Half of those in the East of England had turned to someone for advice, with 13% having used a financial adviser.

Northern Ireland savers were also the most likely to be concerned about the costs of healthcare in retirement. Some 21% said healthcare costs were a worry, according to a survey of over 2,000 retirement savers by national financial adviser Continuum. This is more than twice the number of Londoners who shared this concern.

Ben Alcock, Chartered Financial Planner in Continuum, said that the research highlighted how Northern Irish savers were seriously worried about healthcare costs in retirement and about retirement finances generally.

He said: “Despite 81% of Britons telling us that maintaining their current lifestyle in retirement was important to them only 8% of Northern Irish savers said that this was one of their main concerns when it comes to their later life finances. Other worries, such as being able to pay for healthcare, seem far more pressing.” 

How confident are you that you will be able to have financial freedom in retirement?

Source: Survey of 2067 adults by YouGov on behalf of Continuum.

• YouGov surveyed 2067 adults on behalf of Continuum between 28 and 30 June. Fieldwork was undertaken between 28 - 30th June.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).

Londoners are among the least likely people in the UK to seek retirement planning financial advice with just 9% stating that financial advisers have been their main source of retirement advice compared to 18% in Scotland.

Britons are woefully unprepared for retirement, with half saying they do not feel confident they will have financial freedom when they stop work.