Clients’ decisions on hold before Budget, but demand for advice high

Clients’ decisions on hold before Budget, but demand for advice high

• Half of advisers say clients less keen to make decisions before the Budget

• Over a third say clients are resigned to the idea that they’ll be worse off after

• Four in ten advisers seeing more demand for advice than before

• Nearly 9 in 10 advisers very concerned that tax-free pension lump sum will be reduced

Speculation and rumours surrounding the upcoming Budget (on 26 November) are forcing clients to put on hold their financial decisions, but continue to demand high levels of advice, according to Flagstone’s latest poll of UK financial advisers*.

Key findings

• Half (49%) of advisers say clients are less keen to make decisions about their finances until the Budget has been presented

• 60% say that clients are worried about the Budget

• 35% believe clients are resigned to the idea they’ll be worse off after 26 November

• And almost a third (31%) say clients feel they are being penalised for working hard and saving throughout their careers

This caution among clients is not, however, slowing business for the UK’s financial advice community:

• Four in ten (38%) advisers report seeing greater demand to provide ongoing advice to clients

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• And 17% report more demand than usual from new clients.

Claire Jones, Head of Strategic Relationships and New Business at Flagstone, comments: “It’s hard to think back to another Budget in recent history that has been so hotly anticipated as the one we’ll hear on 26 November. Usually by this point in the run-up to a Budget, we have a very clear idea of what’s coming down the line. That typical status quo is useful to advisers and wealth managers, providing them with a sense of certainty on which to base their recommendations and advice.

This year, anything goes. The number of rumours circulating around pensions, ISAs, income tax hikes and other so-called wealth taxes is vast and disconcerting for advisers and their clients alike. It is unsettling to hear of so many of our adviser-partners’ clients putting financial decisions on hold, preferring instead to ask for advice and expertise so they can make plans for whatever might happen.”

Flagstone’s poll also explores what, specifically, is most concerning advisers when they consider the various rumoured Budget changes to pensions:

• 85% of poll respondents are worried that the tax-free lump sum will be reduced

• And 28% worry that HM Treasury will flatten the rate of pension tax relief at c. 20-30%

Jones continues: “Any change to pensions is highly emotive. People have spent years, if not decades, building up pension pots, and it’s understandably worrying to think that those funds could be impacted in a way that reduces the amount you may have in the end. If the tax-free lump sum is reduced, advisers will have their work cut out for them advising clients to manage the cash they receive cleverly and effectively. At Flagstone, we’re talking to more advisers than ever about how they can alert their clients of the cash management strategies available to them – this work will be more important than ever.”

* Survey of 103 UK financial advisers by Flagstone, November 2025

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