Member Article

Darlington Citizens Advice reveals advice gap

More than a third of people could have benefited from money advice when going through a divorce or separation, says Citizens Advice Darlington.

Millions of people could have benefited from money advice at key times of their lives, such as when they have a baby, buy a house, get divorced or fall ill in order to avoid financial problems in the future.

Citizens Advice Darlington is encouraging people living and working in the Darlington borough to come to them if they need help with their finances.

In a new report, national Citizen Advice reveals almost half of the adult population (48 per cent) – more than 23 million people – would have taken money advice at different key moments of their lives if they had been offered it.

The findings highlight the number of people who would accept money advice available at the key life stages they had been through:

● More than a third (35 per cent) when they start working or change jobs;

● More than one in four (28 per cent) when buying a home;

● 37 per cent when going through a divorce or separation;

● More than two in five (44 per cent) when seriously ill;

● 38 per cent after a bereavement.

A pregnant woman recently contacted Citizens Advice Darlington’s outreach service to help her budget because she would be expecting her monthly income to reduce while on maternity leave. A Citizens Advice staff member went through her finances and advised her about child tax credits, maternity grants, housing options and the bureau’s in-house financial capability training.

She said: “The financial capability support from Citizens Advice Darlington will help me plan for going forward. The training covers budgeting, savings and understanding affordable credit. It was a great option for me.”

The Four Advice Gaps report finds that financial advice, support and guidance need to respond to the realities of people’s lives but currently there are multiple gaps.

In particular it identifies the “preventative advice gap” whereby people would appreciate advice and help with their financial circumstances during big changes in their life but it is not presented to them. For instance while two in five people (39 per cent) who have been in the situation said that they would have taken money advice when they were having a baby, only one in seven (14 per cent) were offered it.

The study looks at people’s experiences of money advice which includes everything from regulated independent financial advice to general money guidance, and draws on evidence from across the Citizens Advice service and a YouGov poll of 2,041 British adults.

Neeraj Sharma, chief executive at Citizens Advice Darlington, said: “Getting the right money advice at the right time can be the key to a secure financial future. It’s clear from this research that too many people aren’t getting money advice, support and guidance at important times in their lives such as when they have a baby, move house or get divorced. This kind of support could make all the difference to people in moments such as when they are experiencing higher costs or a reduced income.

“At Citizens Advice Darlington we support people across borough of Darlington every day to better understand their finances and help them to make decisions which work for them. We urge anyone worried about money to come visit us to talk about how we can support them.”

The report identifies the three other advice gaps as:

● Affordable advice gap: consumers who are willing to pay for money advice but not at current prices for the services on offer. The new report suggests 5.4 million people would consider paying for money advice if it cost less.

● Awareness and referral gap: people who are unaware money advice exists, the different services available or how to access it. Over three million people said they needed free money advice in the last two years and failed to get it because they didn’t know it existed or where to find it.

● Free advice gap: people who would benefit from money advice but are unable to pay for it. Many households are not in the position to pay for advice with 49 per cent of households having a net financial wealth of less than £5,000

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Citizens Advice Darlington .