Today’s whopping £2.4m FCA fine imposed on a South Wales financial adviser firm shames the sector and the damage to consumer trust will be substantial.

News late this week that personalised financial guidance is to move a step closer has left me in two minds but I’m not opposed in principle to the idea, for reasons I’ll explain.

While reading through the Autumn Statement changes this week I was reminded of one of the most famous songs from the 1964 Disney movie Mary Poppins: A Spoonful of Sugar (Makes the Medicine go down).

There has been a wave of stories recently suggesting that people are pushing back their retirement or opting for a ‘phased’ retirement due to the cost of living crisis.