Vince Smith-Hughes: Exploring retirement planning for vulnerable clients

Let's start with a straightforward question - who is a vulnerable customer? Well, the answer is anyone, potentially. What's more, in the context of a global pandemic and with all of the terrible news we have seen over the last 18 months, there may be more people than before who find themselves in a more vulnerable position. Indeed, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in its Financial Lives coronavirus panel survey, carried out in October 2020, found that 53% of adults displayed a characteristic of vulnerability. That's an increase of more than 3 million since February 2020, and it f...