Over half (52%) of advised clients have only one partner attending regular review meetings, according to new research.
The research, from Scottish Widows, found that 51% of advice relationships are centred around a single primary contact, holding the adviser relationship in one name only.
While 37% of couples said they try to attend meeting together, in practice only one attends. One in ten said it was a choice to go to meetings solo, preferring to update their partner afterwards.
Some advisers surveyed for the report were also unsure how to engage partners. One in five (20%) of advisers said they are not confident they understand the goals of their clients’ partners, while just 3% of advice firms have a defined a formal process for them.
The participation gap also stretched beyond partners and into the next generation.
A quarter of advised clients said adult children are not involved in their Financial Planning at all, with 21% of advisers saying beneficiaries are not involved in annual review meetings.
Jenny Davidson, intermediary wealth director at Scottish Widows, said: “There's a lot at stake here. Women are set to be the major beneficiaries of an estimated £7trn transfer of wealth over the next 30 years. Meanwhile, changes bringing unused pensions into scope for Inheritance Tax from April 2027 will make conversations across generations even more important.
“Advice firms that adapt their approach and engage partners, beneficiaries and wider family members earlier will be better placed to understand their clients’ needs, deliver stronger outcomes and build relationships that endure as wealth passes between generations.”
The participation gap was having some impact of adviser-client satisfaction.
While most clients were generally happy with their adviser, with 86% saying they would recommend their adviser to someone else, nearly a fifth (19%) said they do not feel recognised as an individual, and nearly half (48%) say their adviser sometimes uses terms and phrases they do not understand.
A separate report from the Chartered Insurance Institute, parent of the Personal Finance Society, in May warned that the Financial Planning profession is “underprepared” for the biggest intergenerational wealth transfer in UK history, estimated to be as much as £5.5trillion by 2050.
Its report suggested that the greatest barriers are behavioural, with advisers highlighting difficulties in navigating complex family dynamics, building trust with inheritors and encouraging families to discuss inheritance and end-of-life planning.
NextWealth surveyed 200 financial advisers and 251 advised and non-advised consumers in May on behalf of Scottish Widows. The quantitative survey findings were supported by historic data from NextWealth’s Financial Advice Business Benchmarks database (comprising over 500 adviser responses) and qualitative in-depth interviews with 8 financial advisers and 8 consumers conducted during May and June 2026.