The financial advice market is predicted to experience an influx of consumers who have previously not considered receiving financial advice, as 19% say they now intend to do so. 

AXA Wealth managing director of specialist products Nick Elphick said the figures, taken from a YouGov poll of more than 2,000 respondents, also revealed 16% of consumers who have sought professional advice in the past plan to do so again in the future.

The research suggested 40% of UK adults were not confident in managing their finances to ensure they have sufficient income in retirement.

Elphick said: “Initiatives such as auto-enrolment will hopefully encourage more people to consider their financial future and where their income will come from when they stop working. Financial advice can not only help to maximise investment decisions, but proper use of tax efficient savings vehicles can help to boost their overall income.”

Unbiased.co.uk chief executive Karen Barrett said: “Seeking financial advice for your individual circumstances is an important step in taking control and preparing your personal finances, not just for the here and now, but also for the longer-term.

“We often hear from advisers who first started working with a client in the early stages of their ‘finance journey’, arranging their first mortgage or investment, who then supported and advised this client for years and decades on other areas such as retirement planning or protection needs.

“Getting more people engaged in the financial advice process is key to tackling some of the nation’s biggest finance problems such as the retirement, savings or protection gap.”