The paper 16/1: Ageing population and financial services aims to examine the array of issues at stake and kicks off a process which will end with a series of recommendations for action in 2017.
Since the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) the affordability requirement has meant lenders have been less willing to lend into retirement without a demonstrable form of repayment, including pensions or other savings vehicles, for example.
Issues older people face include the fact products and services can be designed for a ‘typical’ consumer and are not flexible enough to capture individual situations. Firms and consumer organisations have told the FCA that it is more important than ever that financial products and services are able to adapt to meet the diversity of needs that are relevant for older consumers.
“This discussion paper is only ever going to scratch the surface of the issues presented by demographic change, and we fully acknowledge that there will be many interesting and important aspects which we have not covered in this discussion paper,” said the FCA.
The paper includes a variety of think pieces from industry experts including spokespeople from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), Building Societies Association (BSA) and Money Advice Service (MAS).
Click here to respond to the discussion paper.
The FCA plans to use the information gathered through the paper to help it prioritise a programme of work, with research scheduled to begin in Q2 2016.
Tracey McDermott, acting chief executive of the FCA, said: “The number of people aged over 65 in the UK is expected to increase by 1.1m in the next five years. There is a real and urgent challenge for the financial services sector to develop new and innovative products to meet the needs of our changing population.
“The publication of this discussion paper is intended to stimulate debate and discussion about these needs and how to meet them. Ultimately, the industry must take the lead but we recognise that the FCA has a key part to play in ensuring we encourage appropriate innovation that also provides proper levels of protection for consumers. This work will help us and the industry to develop our approach with the benefit of insights from others, in particular those representing the end consumers of these services.”
The FCA has been tweeting on the discussion paper with the hashtag #ageingpopulation
Find the discussion paper here.
Comments are being requested by Friday 15 April 2016.
