The government-backed Money and Pensions Service (MAPS) has today launched Pension Wise Digital, a digital version of its face to face service, to expand its free guidance offering to more people.

The service will enable consumers to receive pensions guidance from Pension Wise in their own time, overseen by an expert, without the need for a fixed, working day appointment as currently happen.

The launch coincides with the launch today of Pensions Awareness Week.

Pension Wise, which has so far helped nearly 650,000 people receive pensions guidance, said that in early testing, Pension Wise Digital reported a 94% customer satisfaction rate.   

MAPS, which runs Pension Wise, a free to use pension guidance service for consumers, says the new development answers customer demands for more flexibility.  

Pension Wise Digital is a new flexible digital appointment service which will sit alongside the existing Pension Wise service which will continue to offer telephone and face-to-face appointments.

Consumers will get the equivalent guidance of a telephone or face-to-face appointment but through a new digital online interface, MAPS says.  

Digital appointments can be accessed at any time, opening the service to those who cannot commit to a working–hour appointment, MAPS says. Individual progress through the digital platform can be saved and returned to when convenient.  

As with existing channels for a Pension Wise appointment, Pension Wise Digital can be accessed by anyone over 50 with a defined contribution pension.  

Pension Wise Digital users can still receive support from pension experts, as the new digital service includes access to webchat, manned by MoneyHelper’s pensions specialists.  

Pension Wise Digital has been developed and designed for consumers, including ensuring the service will be appropriate for those in all four nations of the UK and for those with "both broad and limited" digital and financial literacy. 

Rigorous user research and testing has taken place, including focused accessibility and neurodivergence testing, to ensure that Pension Wise Digital is accessible for all those who might want to use the service, MAPS said. 

The Pension Wise Digital service began testing in April and has already helped more than 5,000 people. 

Jackie Spencer, head of Money and Pensions Policy at the Money and Pensions Service, said: “Pension Wise Digital will help to engage more people in their pensions and reach those who may have struggled to access the service before, so we’re looking forward to seeing how people make the most of this new service.”  

• Pension Wise was developed by MAPS in 2015. Since 2018, the service has supported hundreds of thousands of people over the age of 50 with their pension options.  Many pension providers encourage consumers to seek Pension Wise appointments.