Almost a quarter (23%) of UK adults have said they would not seek financial advice, even if it was free, Canada Life has found.

As part of the UK’s financial planning week, Canada Life and AKG’s State of Flux report revealed that 45% of UK adults have never seen a financial adviser, and 21% who are not engaged with advice say they do not believe they have enough wealth to warrant seeing an adviser.

Canada Life and AKG also found that over one in 10 (11%) of those who do not receive advice do not trust financial advisers and 9% are ‘afraid of pushy sales techniques’.

Despite scepticism towards financial advice from some, 12% of UK adults said they regret not seeing an adviser and as a result, 35% are worried they now do not have enough money to fund retirement.

The results also found that over three in 10 (31%) have underestimated the impact of inflation, with the same number of people stating that they have lost money because they did not seek advice.

Managing director for retirement at Canada Life, Tom Evans, said: "Financial planning week marks an opportunity to discuss financial literacy and money management – and to address the advice gap. We are facing a pivotal moment where a significant proportion of UK adults say they aren’t willing to engage with financial advice and yet many share regrets later down the line for not doing so sooner.

"As an industry, we have a role to play in communicating the benefits of financial advice, and the value it has for consumers' current and future financial success. Now is the time to be bold and challenge the current status quo."

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