As part of his speech to conference in October, IFP CEO Steve Gazzard CFPCM talked about his concerns over the Financial Planning Gap that exists in the UK and how IFP is getting on the front foot to fight it, reports IFP communications director Sue Whitbread.

His message was that given the state of UK household finances e.g. high levels of debt, lack of savings, complex pensions, limited take up of advice etc. then it could be argued consumers need more than advice to be properly engaged with their finances. Whilst it's absolutely clear that regulated advice produces better outcomes than no advice (annuities and open market options are a good example), he stressed his concern that 'advice' is being described as the panacea to all financial woes via the 'advice gap' message.

However, by its nature advice could be a one-off exercise in a single area of the consumer's need as these dictionary definitions highlight: The Oxford English Dictionary says: Advice is 'an opinion given as to future action', Planning is 'devising a scheme to achieve a purpose'; Planning precedes advice (specific actions) and needs to be ongoing. This is something we cover in our Integrated Financial Planning programme as a basic introduction to financial planning. Despite that the industry uses the terms interchangeably Financial Planning is not the same as Advice!

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What consumers actually needed was to be more engaged with their financial futures and that was an ongoing process; this is what financial planning by definition is. The guidance guarantee option is being accepted as a multiple access event i.e. one-off help doesn't do it which seems to reiterate that ongoing multiple touch point service is required.

IFP's 2013 Financial Planning Week consumer survey revealed that 82% of respondents worry about money some, most or all of the time, compared to just 60% in 2011. Just 2% said they never worry about money while only 4% of people have a comprehensive financial plan in place, defined by having goals identified,prioritised and costed plus a schedule of how and when they can achieve them financially. Only 11% said they were likely to make a comprehensive financial plan in 2014.

For IFP, we're on the front foot to highlight 'The Financial Planning Gap' – playing on the 'advice gap'. Consumers need proper context and understanding of their financial lives not just a single or a series of one-off advice experiences. Only a regularly reviewed financial plan brings peace of mind about their future.