The UK needs about 5,000 extra financial advisers to cope with the rising demand for retirement advice, research from Standard Life concludes.
The provider based its calculation on Office for National Statistics figures showing there are some 3.8 million 55-and-overs with at least £100,000 in financial wealth, but just 20,500 advisers to service them.
Based on a 150-clients-per-adviser metric, Standard Life estimated the shortfall in the number of professional financial advisers needed to cater for this market currently stands at about 5,000.
Figures from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) showed there were 20,453 independent financial advisers in the UK at the end of 2012.
Standard Life head of adviser and investment proposition Eddy Reynolds said its estimation may be considered conservative.
"If we take the number of people aged 45 and over with more than £100,000 in financial wealth, the total is close to five million. While not all of this younger age group might immediately need financial advice, as they start to approach the at-retirement stage it is likely they will turn to a financial adviser.
"This means there could potentially be an adviser gap of 12,674 in the next ten years if the current number of advisers remains static.
"The belief that there is a decline in potential demand for the financial adviser market couldn't be further from the truth. There are a significant number of people aged over 45 who are asset rich and the financial adviser marketplace needs to grow in order to match the demand for advice that will inevitably be coming in future years."
Standard Life recently said it was looking into the possibility of launching a direct-to-consumer proposition, aimed primarily at lower net worth clients, in response to auto-enrolment.
