Closing the Advice Gap: providing financial advice for people on low incomes

Low earners

• The majority of the group hold basic financial products, however they often lack key long term risk and mitigation products
• People in the group are more aware of the financial challenges they face than the rest of the population, however they are less likely to act on this and, unlike those on higher incomes, they do not have the cushion of greater wealth to offset this
• Nearly a quarter of the group display ‘chronic’ signs of financial stress and one in ten are facing ‘acute’ financial difficulties

Service delivery options

• There is a high need and stated demand for a national financial resource
• People indentified a range of different advice needs and indicated that advice should be simple, personalised and independent
• There is strong backing for a service funded by a partnership between the Government and the financial services industry, as long as it is independent