FSS Reports 8% Increase in Free Financial Advisory Services Last Year

Free Financial Advisory Services for Consumers Continue to Rise
Personalized Consultations and Simple Inquiries Both See Growth
Interest Grows in Debt Management, Retirement, and Everyday Financial Planning

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) reported that its free financial advisory service for consumers increased by 8% compared to the previous year.

On the 6th, the FSS announced that a total of 14,742 financial advisory services were provided to consumers last year, marking an 8% (1,086 cases) increase from the previous year.

The FSS has been offering free financial advisory services by financial experts since 2015 to support consumers' stable financial lives. The service provides customized advice on topics closely related to everyday life, such as debt management, lifecycle financial planning, and retirement preparation, which has led to growing interest each year.

Among last year's consultations, financial-related consultations accounted for 81.4% (11,993 cases). Simple financial inquiries, such as incomplete sales of financial products, bond statute of limitations, illegal debt collection, lost credit cards, and responses to financial fraud, made up 18.6% (2,749 cases).

By topic, cash flow management consultations were the most common within financial consultations at 31.0% (3,722 cases), followed by debt management (18.0%, 2,153 cases), risk management (13.0%, 1,561 cases), savings and investment (11.8%, 1,420 cases), and tax planning (0.6%, 72 cases).

Regarding the age of consultees, those in their 30s accounted for the largest share at 34.1% (5,032 cases). People in their 20s mainly sought advice on income and expenditure management as early career workers; those in their 30s and 40s were interested in housing-related funds, children's education expenses, and debt management (mortgage repayment); while those aged 50 and above showed interest primarily in pensions, retirement, inheritance, and gifts.

The financial advisory service is divided into personalized advisory consultations and general consultations for simple financial inquiries. Advisory consultations are conducted for about 90 minutes either by appointment for in-person consultation (at the FSS headquarters, 1st floor Financial Civil Complaints Center) or by phone.

General consultations can be accessed without prior reservation via phone or online consultation (FSS website - Financial Advisory Service Online Consultation page).