The replacement for the Money Advice Service must track the number of referrals it makes to regulated advisers, a pensions firm has told the Government.

Final outcomes for consumers must be a cornerstone of reporting when the new guidance body is created, LV= said.

A consultation on how the new organisation should shape up ran until last week. MAS, TPAS and Pension Wise are set to be amalgamated before the end of 2018.

Philip Brown, head of policy at LV=, said: “Requiring the body to focus on achieving quality outcomes from guidance, and report on the number of referrals to regulated advice, should ensure consumers have the help they need to make important financial decisions.

“Consumers genuinely value Government-backed guidance, particularly at key events such as retirement, and we expect the new body to provide the high quality, impartial guidance that UK individuals need.”

LV= bosses believe there is a “genuine risk of a ‘mis-buying’ crisis with people making critical decisions without support”.

But the company said that expanding the guidance body’s pensions remit to “focus on helping consumers make active, informed decisions – as well as reporting on these outcomes – should help avoid this crisis”.

It believes the new body must actively promote financial advice where guidance identifies someone would benefit from it.

LV= is also calling for the single guidance body to focus on providing guidance for specific events, for example when someone buys a property or has a child, and prioritise helping people build financial resilience against the consequences of illness, unemployment, retirement and death.

This follows research from LV= which found that just one in ten (12%) over 55s who aren’t yet retired were planning to use the Government’s free guidance service, Pension Wise, while nearly four in ten (37%) have never even heard of it. A similar percentage (41%) said they don’t plan to take regulated advice when they retire.

Mr Brown said: “We fully support the creation of a new single financial guidance body and believe this is a golden opportunity to tackle the issue of people retiring without support.

“There are many positive aspects of existing guidance services which should be retained, for example the Money Advice Service comparison tables and The Pensions Advisory Service’s dispute resolution service, but the new body’s remit could be expanded to help even more consumers.”