“The point where we should be nudging them is probably much earlier, when they start thinking about it. A lot of the information we have already on our webpages and communications push people towards Pension Wise. It’s not like we keep it a secret.”
Although Vahey highlights the importance and value of Pension Wise, she adds that it is not the only way to get guidance.
Indeed, a Work and Pensions Committee report from January says AJ Bell particularly supports the development of "enhanced guidance", which should be available not just from the Money and Pensions Service.
“What we really need to do is to make sure that people can have proper guidance from a variety of places,” says Vahey.
“I think there’s a really good opportunity here for providers, working with regulators, to think about what we’re saying to people, because we already have a relationship of trust with them – people turn up and say, ‘I’d like a pension with you’.
“They already believe in us and we believe in them. We already have that relationship in place. So I think it’s about how we can help people now that we do have that relationship, and we have lots of experience and people who have gone through the same processes they have.
“It’s about us being able to help people more proactively but without being worried about stepping over this invisible line that we’re suddenly giving people advice. Because we don’t want to give people advice, we just want to give them help and nudges and guidance.”
While she is also starting to think about planning her own retirement, Vahey says she does not think about what life after retirement might look like.
“At the moment, I’m a person who lives in the moment. So at the moment, I’m just liking where I am, and I’m thinking about where I am.”
Chloe Cheung is a features writer at FTAdviser
