A horizontal cover image featuring a purple coloured background. The title ‘How paraplanners can transform women’s financial fortunies’ appears in large text on right of the image. Left of centre, there’s cut-out headshot of Sam Secomb of Women’s Wealth. Toward the bottom right-hand corner there are cut-out headshots of Susan Hope of Scottish Widows and Sam Tonks of Canaccord Wealth. At the top of the image, the word ‘Online’ is shown in purple text within a yellow-green-coloured rectangular block followed by ‘1pm on 25 June 2025’ and ‘1 hour CPD’ in white text on a purple background.

Now don’t take this the wrong way, but is there a chance that last time you put together recommendations or financial plans for a woman, the approach was unknowingly influenced by assumptions that generally apply to a man?

As paraplanners, we have the power to directly influence financial outcomes that are better for women – whether we’re reviewing fact finds, drafting recommendations, or creating financial plans.

But are we truly creating plans for the individuals in front of us? Or are we unwittingly relying on conventional thinking and assumptions which are actually more likely to be rooted in men’s experiences rather than women’s?

It matters because, more often than not, women’s financial journeys follow distinct and different paths compared to men. So to deliver genuinely effective financial planning, it’s vital we need to understand the differences and how to adapt our approach.

A chance to challenge your thinking in just one lunch hour

Join us online at 1.00 pm on Wednesday 25 June to explore how paraplanners can better understand and address the unique financial planning needs of women.

We’ve invited Sam Tonks, senior paraplanner at Canaccord Wealth, to host this conversation with two fantastic guests: Sam Secomb, chartered financial planner at Women’s Wealth, and Susan Hope, business development director at Scottish Widows.

Together, they’ll explore women’s distinctive financial journeys and the stark disparities that exist – including the startling 30 per cent gender pension gap – and ask how paraplanners can help create better financial outcomes for female clients.

During this lunch-hour Assembly we expect to

What can you expect to take away?

You’ll leave this Assembly with actionable insights that we’re certain will help you improve your paraplanning approach, challenge conventional thinking and assumptions, and – most importantly – help deliver more tailored financial plans for your female clients.

Just as importantly, this session will give you practical tools and ideas so you are able to exercise the power you have to improve financial planning outcomes for women through your work everyday.

Sound like a good idea? Save your spot now.

Remember our Assembly on annuity essentials back in March?

Over the course of one lunch-hour, Andy Powell from Standard Life walked us through the basics of annuities – how they work, the differences between pension and purchased life annuities, and the kinds of options available like inflation protection and guarantee periods.

Now annuity expert Andy is back and he’s taking things a little bit further.

In the second of his two-part guide to annuities essentials for paraplanners he talks to host, Richard Allum, about how annuities can feature as part of your clients’ retirement income strategies. For instance, among the practical planning tips that go beyond the basics, are things like:

After years of being out of fashion, annuities have been enjoying a bit of a renaissance lately. So what better time to refresh your annuities knowledge and – who knows? – maybe challenge your thinking about how they can contribute to a client’s retirement strategy these days?

Fancy topping up your annuities knowledge? Then tune in now.

Promotional image for "An informal Assembly for outsourced paraplanners". An online gathering in Zoom from 1-2 pm on Thursday 19 June 2025.

Are you an outsourced paraplanner?

Whether you’re the only employee of your paraplanning practice, or you lead a paraplanning powerhouse with employees and a hefty bank of clients, outsourced paraplanners share lots of things in common.

You just do.

But here’s the thing: despite the growing number of outsourced paraplanners in the UK these days, opportunities to get together to talk only about things that matter in the outsourced world, are surprisingly few and far between.

Switch off. Show up. Join in. 

So, if you’re an outsourced paraplanner, here’s our invitation: at 1pm on Thursday 19 June 2025, set your notifications to ‘do not disturb’, click on the Zoom link in your event invitation and gather with other outsourced paraplanners across the UK for an hour of conversation, ideas and practical insights.

There’s nothing to prepare. Just come along ready to share your answer to one question: 

‘What’s on your mind today?’

Spaces are limited. To save a spot hit ‘Book Event’ and look out for the calendar invitation in your inbox.

When it comes to the idea of innovation are you more likely to radiate Ted Lasso energy rather than Roy Kent? More Bandit than Bluey? Or put another way (that doesn’t rely on eclectic TV viewing habits): does the prospect of change make you feel more ‘Yeah!’ than ‘Meh!’? 

The reason we ask is that we were inspired by paraplanner Zara Okoro’s recent thought-provoking article in Professional Paraplanner all about innovation. So we invited Zara from Abacus Associates, who’s also a PFS Paraplanner Panel member, to share her thoughts on how paraplanners can adapt rather than risk getting left behind.

Alongside Zara, we were joined by PSA Financial Services’ head of paraplanning, Ceetal Katechia, to join in the conversation. Ceetal has bags of practical experience in creating team environments in which new ideas flourish.

Together with host Richard Allum, this Assembly asked what innovation actually looks like, whether it’s always a good thing, what fuels it, and how can you influence it when you’re not the decision-maker?

It’s an Assembly that’s all about how you can embrace innovation and shape our profession rather than be subject to changes happening around you.

What can you expect when you listen?

You’ll come away with practical ideas to try out, whether you’re looking to improve your processes and workflow, make better use of existing tools and tech, or create space for bigger changes in your work.

Most of all, this is a chance to step back from day-to-day demands and take a few moments for yourself to think about how even small changes can shape your role and influence the direction of your career in paraplanning.

In the second of two specially recorded bite-sized Assemblies, Barnett Waddingham’s James Jones-Tinsley returns to tackle six items of new pension terminology including:

For each item, expect an easy-to-understand definition that also offers a bit of background per term. 

In a world that’s awash with word soups and acronyms, James’s jargon buster offers a welcome source of straightforward explanations of often quite complex ideas.

You can also watch the video of this episode on Vimeo or the event page at our website.

Can’t get enough pensions jargon?

Then look out for part one, where James tackles even more new pension terms.

In the meantime, why not tune into James’s trio of old pensions jargon guides? Scroll down and follow the links to watch the videos and podcasts (and visit the event pages for each episode.)

How often do you recommend investment bonds compared to ISAs or GIAs for non-pension money these days?

If it’s rarely or not at all, that’s not so surprising.

Because bonds seem to have become a bit neglected planning option in recent years haven’t they?

It’s a trend which means that paraplanners can be forgiven for being a bit rusty when it comes to the latest investment bond knowledge.

Yet they’re an option which offers plenty of planning potential. So we thought it was about time we hosted an online Assembly where you can rekindle your bond with bonds.

So you’re invited to join us online at 1pm on Wednesday 16th April for a lunch-hour refresher on the essentials of investment bonds.

To guide us, we’ll be joined by bond expert, M&G’s Barrie Dawson, who plans to cover:

Whether bonds are something you’re just getting to grips with, or you just need a refresher, this Assembly will offer clarity about when and how bonds bonds can feature in your planning recommendations.

Learn, fix, share

It’s an Assembly, so feel free to ask questions and share ideas with other paraplanners in the chat. Oh and CPD certificates will be available for all attendees (just look out for the link at the conclusion of this Assembly).

Book your spot now.

Sound interesting? Then tap ‘Book event’ to save your spot and we’ll see you there!

After his popular ‘Plain English guide to old pensions jargon’ Barnett Waddingham’s James Jones-Tinsley has returned to record two specials on new pension terminology called – and we bet you’ll never guess this – ‘A plain English guide to new pensions jargon’ (parts one and two).

In part one, James’s conversation covers five essential terms:

For each item, expect an easy-to-understand definition that also offers a bit of background per term. 

In a world that’s awash with word soups and acronyms, James’s jargon buster offers a welcome source of straightforward explanations of often quite complex ideas.

You can also watch the video of this episode on Vimeo or the event page at our website.

Can’t get enough pensions jargon?

Then look out for part two, where James will tackle even more new pension terms.

In the meantime, why not tune into James’s trio of old pensions jargon guides here in podcast or video formats? (Or visit the event pages for each episode at our website.)

Promotional image for "An informal Assembly for outsourced paraplanners". An online gathering in Zoom from 1-2 pm on Thursday 24 April 2025.

Are you an outsourced paraplanner?

Whether you’re the only employee of your paraplanning practice, or you lead a paraplanning powerhouse with employees and a hefty bank of clients, outsourced paraplanners share lots of things in common.

You just do.

But here’s the thing: despite the growing number of outsourced paraplanners in the UK these days, opportunities to get together to talk only about things that matter in the outsourced world, are surprisingly few and far between.

Switch off. Show up. Join in. 

So, if you’re an outsourced paraplanner, here’s our invitation: at 1pm on Thursday 24 April 2025, set your notifications to ‘do not disturb’, click on the Zoom link in your event invitation and gather with other outsourced paraplanners across the UK for an hour of conversation, ideas and practical insights.

There’s nothing to prepare. Just come along ready to share your answer to one question: 

‘What’s on your mind today?’

Spaces are limited. To save a spot hit ‘Book Event’ and look out for the calendar invitation in your inbox.

Following his popular Assembly debut in February, Jon Hall returns to finish his exploration of protection essentials at 1pm on Wednesday 2 April 2025.

And this time it’s the essentials of business protection that the Scottish Widows’ protection expert will be focusing on.

And with good reason.

A Swiss Re report in 2024 claimed that of almost 1.4 million new protection policies sold in the UK in 2023, just 2.8% were related to business protection and relevant life policies [1]. And in a country where 99.8% of the 5.6 million privately owned businesses are SMEs – that’s according to the UK Government data – it doesn’t half seem like there’s a BIG business protection gap in the UK. (The source of those stats, you ask? See below.)

The chances are you’ll have business owners among your clients. And plenty of you run your own businesses as outsourced and freelance paraplanners.

So what happens when someone running a business becomes critically ill or dies? What steps can you take to address the risk? How do you start a conversation about business protection?

Tune in to hear Jon as he shares his expertise on:

Whether you want to develop your knowledge or make sure clients with business have the right plans in place, you’ll find this Assembly really valuable.

PS.

Shortly after the event, Jon popped over to The Big Tent and answered questions that paraplanners had raised during the gathering, but he hadn’t had time to answer live, in a dedicated thread. Be sure to take a look at his responses.

[1] The Business Protection Opportunity.

If you don’t feel all that confident about annuities, you’re not alone.

Once the default choice of guaranteed income in retirement for generations of UK pension savers, for a whole bunch of reasons, annuities had been falling out of favour for year and years.

Why annuities matter again

Higher interest rates and inflation have led to a revival of interest in securing certainty of income in retirement. 

The trouble is that an emerging generation of paraplanners – and a sizeable chunk of the more established paraplanning population – had barely any recent experience of annuities.

So we invited Andy Powell from Standard Life to join us to explain:

Tailoring annuities to client needs

During this Assembly, Andy explores the different ways annuities can be designed to meet different requirements. For instance:

Andy also covers newer developments like fixed-term annuities and platform-based solutions that let clients combine secure income with investment flexibility without splitting pension assets across different providers.

For paraplanners, perhaps one of the most valuable takeaways is understanding enhanced terms where, in contrast to other insurance products, health conditions actually increase and not decrease income.

This practical session will give you paraplanners useful knowledge to help clients weigh up their retirement income options. So why not watch or listen now?