Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming part of everyday life, with more people using AI-powered tools to answer questions and help them understand complex topics – such as their pension, their everyday finances, and planning their retirement.

While AI can be useful for explaining general financial concepts, it’s important to remember that it shouldn’t replace trusted financial guidance or regulated financial advice. AI-generated responses don't always provide accurate or up-to-date information that’s relevant to you, or provided with your personal circumstances in mind.

It’s also important to be mindful about the information you share. Public AI tools sometimes store or process the information you enter, so you should take care to avoid sharing personal, financial, or sensitive information, such as:

• Your National Insurance number
• Any details relating to your pension
• Personal details (for instance, your date of birth, or bank details), and
• Personal passwords

If you’re looking for information about your pension, or need any support with planning your financial future, we recommend using trusted, regulated resources instead, including:

• This website and any member communications you receive from us (find out how to contact us here)
• MoneyHelper is full of useful information about finances, including a whole section on pensions.
• Pension Wise is a free and impartial service to help you understand the options available for AVC funds and any other defined contribution benefits you may hold outside the RS Group Pension Scheme.
• MoneySavingExpert founded by Martin Lewis, provides free, independent guidance and practical tips to help people save money, cut household costs, find the best financial deals, and make informed decisions about their finances.

Please remember, Martin Lewis himself is not a financial adviser, he is a financial journalist. The information on his site does not constitute financial advice, and he recommends you always do your own research to ensure any decisions you make are right for your specific circumstances.

AI can be a helpful starting point for learning about financial topics, but should be used carefully. It's best to remain mindful of the risks, rely on trusted sources and where appropriate seek regulated financial advice, when it comes to making important financial decisions.

Guidance or advice?

Pensions can be a very complex subject and it's important that you have all the information you need when it comes to taking your pension, so you can make informed decisions on what's best for you.

You can choose whether you receive guidance or advice to help you and it's important to understand the difference between the two.

As a general guide, guidance will suggest what you could do whereas advice will recommend what you should do. When it comes to your pension, only a Financial Conduct Authority regulated adviser is authorised to give you advice.

An Independent Financial Adviser can look at all your financial arrangements and provide you with personalised advice to help. You should bear in mind that an adviser will charge for their services, but that expense might be worth it in order to ensure you’re making the best decisions for your future.

Guidance explains the different options you might have, how they work and what to consider. But you’ll need to decide what’s right for you.

It's also worth bearing in mind that regulated advice from an authorised adviser carries consumer protections that may include access to the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Decisions made based on guidance or information do not carry the same consumer protections.