How targeted support will inform pension decisions

How will the UK Government’s Advice Guidance Boundary Review impact workplace financial wellbeing support?

The landscape of financial help in the UK is changing, with the Advice Guidance Boundary Review (AGBR) at the heart of this transformation.

The Review is a regulatory reform initiated by the UK government. It’s designed to close the ‘advice gap’ by creating a sliding scale of help through a new addition - Targeted Support. This shift is especially important for employers and workplace pension providers, as it’ll change how millions manage their money, particularly during key life stages like reaching pension age.

At the core of the Review is Targeted Support - a new way to provide structured, actionable help. It aims to bridge the long-standing lack of access to financial advice for many people, offering a scalable middle ground between generic guidance and fully individualised advice - making meaningful help more widely available.

Right now, only a small number of individuals pay for financial advice, leaving many without the help they need. Targeted Support aims to ensure more people can make informed decisions, for free, when they need it most.

How the AGBR is expanding financial support

The Review aims to tackle a deepening issue - most people don’t get the financial support they need, despite financial decisions becoming more challenging. While traditional financial advice remains vital for complex, individualised needs, it’s often perceived as expensive and out of reach for many.

Existing online guidance can be too generic, often failing to give people the confidence to make real decisions. As a result, engagement can be low.

The review has created a more flexible, tiered system for financial help, allowing people to receive more tailored and practical recommendations without crossing into the strict regulatory territory of full advice. Within this new system, Targeted Support stands out as a key innovation.

Targeted Support. A game-changer for financial help

Targeted Support introduces a new era for how people engage with financial decisions. The ABI states "Targeted Support could represent one of the most significant engagement shifts in pensions since auto-enrolment." It bridges the advice gap in a profound way, not by providing bespoke one-to-one advice, but with actionable recommendations to groups who share similar characteristics - like age, income, pension savings size, life stage, spending behaviours, and proximity to pension age.

This group-based type of advice draws on collective data, offering relevant and evidence-based recommendations.

Think of it like this - just as streaming services suggest shows based on what similar users have enjoyed, Targeted Support helps people make smarter financial decisions by offering recommendations based on what works for others with similar goals and circumstances.

For workplace pension members, who may feel uncertain or overwhelmed by choices as they approach retirement, this support will be highly effective in building understanding to make confident decisions.

It’s important to note Targeted Support isn’t a replacement for paid for, individualised financial advice. Instead, it helps people engage earlier in their financial planning journey, understand their options, and take positive action. Increasing initial engagement and support and reinforcing the value of advice.

Why Targeted Support matters for workplace wellbeing

Targeted Support will have a big impact on workplace pensions, wider workplace savings and employee financial wellbeing. By offering free, actionable recommendations, it helps approved providers like Royal London to support a wider range of individuals. Employees who may have previously struggled to make decisions or lacked confidence are now more likely to get timely, relevant help.

This approach is particularly valuable during key life moments, like planning for retirement or dealing with financial challenges. Instead of generic guidance, employees will get tailored help that could reduce stress and improve their financial outcomes. For employers, this means a more financially secure workforce, better prepared for the future.

Targeted Support also encourages employees to take steps early to understand their financial options. This proactive approach helps them feel more secure about their money and better equipped to seek full advice if their needs become more complex. By addressing financial concerns early, employees can avoid bigger issues down the line and reduce the long-term costs of poor financial decisions.

What does this mean for employers?

The Review and Targeted Support represent the most significant change in financial help delivery in a generation. By expanding access to meaningful, practical and actionable help, the UK aims to close the advice gap and empower millions to take better decisions.

For approved providers, these reforms offer completely new opportunities to support employees and improve financial wellbeing across the board.

Find out more about targeted support and how we're helping employees make better financial decisions.