The Money Advice Service: what happened to it

The Money Advice Service no longer exists under that name. Its work was brought together with the Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise into a single service called MoneyHelper, launched in June 2021¹. MoneyHelper is a free, impartial, government-backed service offering money and pension guidance, and it is coordinated by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), an arm's length body of the Government sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions².

If you searched for the Money Advice Service, you were looking for what is now MoneyHelper. The old name still appears in some places, and the service is sometimes described as "formerly the Money Advice Service"³. Nothing about the help changed in substance: it is still free, still impartial, and still will not recommend a particular product or provider or try to sell you anything⁴.

The Money Advice Service is now MoneyHelper

The Money and Pensions Service replaced the three existing providers of government-sponsored financial guidance: the Money Advice Service, the Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise¹. MoneyHelper brings together the support and services of all three⁸. It was launched in June 2021 as a consumer-facing service to offer free and impartial money and pensions guidance².

For anyone who used the old Money Advice Service, the practical effect is a change of name and a wider remit rather than a change of purpose. The Money Advice Service's online money planner, sometimes called a health check, would not recommend a particular product or provider or try to sell you anything⁴. MoneyHelper works on the same principle: it explains options and how things work, and points people to trusted services where that helps⁹.

MaPS is an independent, non-profit making organisation which provides independent, free advice about pensions¹⁰. It provides free and impartial debt advice, money guidance and pension guidance to members of the public¹. MoneyHelper itself is a free service sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions¹¹.

What MoneyHelper offers: money, pension and debt guidance

MoneyHelper offers free, impartial money and pension guidance, backed by government¹². It covers all areas of pensions advice, and it is a free, impartial, government-backed service with a large amount of information about pensions¹³. It gives free, unbiased money advice to everyone across the UK, online, over the phone or via webchat¹⁴.

The guidance spans the everyday and the long term. It includes help with money troubles and scams, retirement guidance, and guidance on the Lifetime ISA that covers the implications for benefit eligibility¹⁵. It also runs a free pensions and divorce or dissolution telephone service¹⁶. MaPS is a core member of the Pension Scams Action Group, which coordinates work against pension scams¹⁷.

MoneyHelper is a government-backed service that can help you find a way forward if you are worried about money and finding it difficult to know where to start¹⁸. It is a free service coordinated by MaPS¹⁹.

MoneyHelper is free and never contacts you out of the blue

MoneyHelper's support and guidance are free, and calls to its numbers are free⁵. It offers free, unbiased money advice to everyone across the UK, online, over the phone or via webchat¹⁴. MoneyHelper states plainly that it will never contact you out of the blue or charge anyone for its services⁷.

That last point matters because scammers impersonate well-known services. The Money and Pensions Service has never, and will never, turn up at your home or contact you out of the blue via phone, WhatsApp, email or text⁷. If someone does, it is not MoneyHelper, whatever they claim.

If you think you have been targeted, MoneyHelper's Financial Crimes and Scams Unit can be reached on 0800 015 4402⁷. For more on spotting and reporting fraud, see Scams and fraud: a complete guide.

Ways to get help: phone, webchat, WhatsApp and face-to-face

MoneyHelper offers clear guidance online, over the phone and face-to-face, and also points users to trusted services where that helps⁹. You can get money advice online, by phone, or face-to-face²⁰.

The channels and their hours differ, so it helps to know which one suits when.

The phone number is the part that trips people up. MoneyHelper publishes more than one number: one official source gives 0800 138 7777, while another gives 0800 011 3797⁶. A third number, 0800 015 4402, is specifically for the Financial Crimes and Scams Unit⁷. Check the number shown on the MoneyHelper website before you call.

If you want to understand how guidance differs from paid advice before you pick up the phone, Financial advice or guidance: what is the difference sets out the distinction.

Help in Welsh, other languages and accessible formats

MoneyHelper offers a bi-lingual service via a variety of channels, with tools and helplines in English and Welsh². A selection of guides is available in English and Welsh, and in print, braille or audio format, for free¹².

That commitment to Welsh is part of a wider pattern in UK public guidance. Government guidance on disability-related financial support, on making a court claim for money, and on responding to a court claim for money is also published in Welsh (Cymraeg)²¹. If you would rather deal with money matters in Welsh, the option exists across several official services, not only MoneyHelper.

For readers in Wales, Money help in Wales: free guidance and Welsh support covers the local picture. Readers in Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own pages at Money help in Scotland: free guidance and Scottish payments and Money help in Northern Ireland: free guidance and local support.

Can MoneyHelper help with a pension complaint?

Sometimes. You can complain to MoneyHelper or the Pensions Ombudsman about how your workplace pension is managed²². For a workplace scheme, though, there is a step first: only after the scheme's internal process has been exhausted can the member go to MoneyHelper or the Pensions Ombudsman to try to resolve the complaint²³.

So the order is: raise the issue with the scheme through its internal dispute resolution procedure, and if that does not resolve it, the complaint can go to MoneyHelper or the Pensions Ombudsman²³. MoneyHelper's role here sits alongside its general pensions guidance, which covers all areas of pensions advice¹³.

If your complaint is about a workplace pension and you are unsure whether the internal process has run its course, the scheme's own documents set out its procedure. For the wider picture on workplace and personal pensions, see Pensions: a complete guide.