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 16 October 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.
Here’s a question that might keep you awake at night: what do you tell clients who’ve spent years building pension pots specifically because they were IHT-free, only to discover that’s all changed?
On 21 July 2025, HMRC published their response to the pension IHT consultation, along with draft legislation that will bring unused pension pots into the inheritance tax net from April 2027. The writing’s been on the wall since Rachel Reeves’ October 2024 Budget announcement, but now we have the detail and it’s time to work out what this means for our clients.
As paraplanners, we’re about to face some of the most fundamental shifts in retirement and estate planning strategy we’ve seen in years. The days of treating pensions as the IHT-free golden goose are numbered, and clients will be looking to us for answers.
This isn’t just about understanding the new rules. It’s about completely rethinking how we approach pension planning, estate planning, and the delicate balance between the two.
Your crash course in the new pension IHT landscape
Join us and M&G’s Les Cameron for what promises to be an essential Assembly as we dive deep into the practical implications of these seismic changes. We strongly recommend reading M&G’s detailed response before joining us as it provides crucial context for our discussion.
During this Assembly, we’ll roll up our sleeves and evaluate the different options to mitigate pension-driven IHT liabilities, including:
- Are pensions dead? – separating the headlines from the reality for long-term retirement planning
- Is whole of life the answer? – when life assurance might fill the IHT gap
- Moving client money – the practical considerations of reshuffling portfolios
- Annuities vs drawdown – how the IHT changes affect this fundamental choice
- Bypass trusts – exploring whether trust structures can still provide solutions
What can you expect to take away?
You’ll leave this Assembly with a clear understanding of how the new IHT rules will work in practice and with strategies you can implement immediately to help clients navigate this changing landscape. We hope to give you the confidence to tackle those difficult conversations about restructuring retirement plans that took years to build.
Fair warning: there’s so much ground to cover that we may run slightly over our usual 60 minutes. If we do, we’ll schedule a follow-up session to tackle any outstanding questions.
Ready? Save your spot now.
Whether you’re just starting out in paraplanning or looking to make your next move, having a clear career plan makes all the difference. But how do you actually build one that works?
In the fourth episode of our career series, we’re focusing on something practical: creating a strategy for your next career step that you can actually use, whatever stage you’re at.
Your career roadmap in just one lunch hour
Join us online at 1pm on 1 October as we help you map out your next move with clarity and confidence.
Caroline Stuart, owner and founder of Sparrow Paraplanning, will guide this conversation with four brilliant guests: Ellie Welling paraplanning team leader at Succession Wealth, Joe Jacob, paraplanner at FLP, Peter Spence, advice and paraplanning team leader at Fintuity, and Sarah Purves, learning and development expert at Aegon.
Together, they’ll take you through a practical framework for career planning that goes beyond wishful thinking to create actionable next steps.
What can you expect when you listen?
During this lunch-hour Assembly we’ll:
- Explore your career aspirations and help you define what type of role you actually want
- Identify the constraints and opportunities that will shape your path (including your non-negotiables)
- Create objectives that move you forward, making sure they are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound)
- Build out your personal career action plan
- Learn from the panel’s experiences
What will you take away?
You’ll leave with a practical framework you can use immediately to plan your next career step, plus real-world insights from paraplanners who’ve successfully navigated their own career transitions at different stages.
Most importantly, you’ll have a clear action plan rather than just good intentions.
Thanks to Aegon
This Assembly would not be possible without the generous support of Aegon. Thank you to the team at Aegon for supporting and for backing the development of paraplanners and paraplanning in the UK through their support of the Paraplanners’ Assembly.
Catch up on the series
This builds on our previous career episodes:
- Breaking into paraplanning: ‘Where do I even start?’
- Breaking into paraplanning: ‘Who should I work for?’
- Developing as a paraplanner: ‘Where could I go from here?’
Ready to turn career planning into career action? Save your spot now.
Once upon a time, when taxes were relatively low, ISAs and unwrapped investments seemed like pretty obvious choices for clients’ money.
But the big cut in the capital gains tax allowance and rises in tax on gains and dividends has changed things. Tax wrappers that once seemed like more hassle than they were worth (like investment bonds) could now be the ideal vehicle – especially for higher rate taxpayers.
But which wrapper is right in which circumstances and why?
That’s the question that guest Neil Macleod from M&G’s technical team was invited to answer when he joined host, Leanne Pickering, for this Assembly.
What you’ll learn by listening
Over the course of one lunch hour, Leanne and Neil explored when bonds are more suitable, when offshore makes sense, and why the ‘best’ mathematical answer might not actually be the right choice for your client. In this Assembly you’ll:
- learn from real case studies that compare basic rate versus higher rate taxpayers
- find out how to use withdrawals strategically to fund ISAs
- discover why different asset types work better in different wrappers
- tackle those tricky questions about investing within trusts
- understand why paying a bit more tax sometimes makes perfect sense
You’ll discover that the right choice for your clients isn’t just about what the spreadsheet says but about the broader thinking
What’s more, once you’ve listened, follow the link below and you can request a record of 1 hour’s worth CPD too.
Last Monday (21 July 2025), the UK Government published draft legislation which means that, from April 2027, most unused pension savings and death benefits will count towards your estate when you die.
If you’re wondering…
- which pension benefits are in scope (and which aren’t)?
- who’s responsible for paying the tax?
- how will the income tax offset actually work in practice?
- what’s the timeline for implementation?
…you’re not alone.
So in this bonus podcast episode, host Richard Allum met up with Barnett Waddingham’s James Jones-Tinsley to talk through the Government’s planned changes, what they mean for paraplanners and your clients, and suggest practical steps that you can already take to help clients get ready for the change.
The measures, which feature in the Finance Bill 2025-26, could still change as the proposals make their way through Parliament from September. But if you’re wondering where things stand right now and what you should be thinking about for clients with decent-sized pension pots, this is a fantastic update that gives you the current picture.
Speaking of the Finance Bill…
If you’ve ever wondered how Budget measures become law, James met up with Leanne Pickering of Pivotal Paraplanning last year to walk through each step in the process. Follow the link for more:
Listen: From Parliament to paraplanner: How do Budget measures become law?
And speaking of pensions…
James has recorded a series of really helpful jargon busters on new and old pensions exclusively for the Assembly. Help yourself by following these links:
New pensions jargon: part one
Listen: A plain English guide to new pensions jargon: part one
Watch: A plain English guide to old pensions jargon: part one
New pension jargon: part two
Listen: A plain English guide to new pensions jargon: part two
Watch: A plain English guide to old pensions jargon: part two
And if that’s not enough and you want OLD pensions jargon, here are links to James’s trio of episodes:
Podcasts: old pensions jargon
Listen to part one: A plain English guide to old pensions jargon: part one
Listen to part two: A plain English guide to old pensions jargon: part two
Listen to part three: A plain English guide to old pensions jargon: part three
Videos: old pensions jargon
Watch part one: A plain English guide to old pensions jargon: part one
Watch part two: A plain English guide to old pensions jargon: part two
Watch part three: A plain English guide to old pensions jargon: part three
Event pages: old pensions jargon
Event details for part one: A plain English guide to old pensions jargon: part one
Event details for part two: A plain English guide to old pensions jargon: part two
Event details for part three: A plain English guide to old pensions jargon: part three
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 Wednesday 13 August 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.
You’re invited to join paraplanners from all over the country at the Paraplanners’ Assembly’s Big Day Out 2025.
We’ll be gathering on Thursday 9 October 2025 at FarmED in rolling Cotswold countryside – the last time the Big Day Out will be held at the venue.
What’s it all about?
The Big Day Out is unlike any other event in the world of wealth management.
No presentations. No muzak. No boiled sweets. No exhibition areas. No product pitches.
Exclusively for paraplanners, it’s a gathering that offers a combination of tailor-made interactive sessions involving hand-picked experts (and designed especially for the event), group discussions facilitated by paraplanner hosts, and six hours’ worth of CPD.
Together we’ll explore topics affecting paraplanners and the practice of paraplanning – with case study-led technical sessions, the chance to gain insight and exchange ideas on the trends affecting the future of work, plus plenty of chance to make new paraplanning connections, and share tools and tips to perfect your day-to-day work.
The Big Day Out is a supportive and encouraging space in which you can listen and learn, and share ideas, knowledge and insights however suits you. It’s a unique environment in which you can really focus and flourish – both professionally and personally.
What’s on the agenda?
Once you’ve booked your spot, you’ll be invited to influence the content of the day, so the fine details won’t be locked down until about four weeks before the event. However, here’s the expected running order for The Big Day Out 2025.
09:00: Breakfast and gathering
Arrive. Check in with our registration team. Then help yourself to a delicious hot breakfast bun (or buns), and coffee and tea. Take the chance to say ‘hello’ to people you know. Take a deep breath and muster the courage to introduce yourself to people you don’t know. Weather-willing, take a wander around the RIBA award-winning site (it really is a lovely location). See if you can spot The Big Day Out chicken.
1000: AI for Paraplanners: Practical tools for better writing
Join us in the conference barn for a warm welcome from your Big Day Out hosts, Aleks Sasin and Chris Wormwell. We’ll then get underway with our first session, AI for Paraplanners: Practical tools for better writing.
Used properly, artificial intelligence can be a powerful tool to enhance the writing that sits at the heart of your role. From client communications to suitability reports, the quality of your written work directly impacts client outcomes and regulatory compliance. In this highly interactive session, led by award-winning financial journalist and AI trainer Harriet Meyer, we’ll cut through the AI hype to focus on practical applications of tools that can genuinely improve your daily writing tasks, from client communications to suitability reports.
Whether you’ve never used AI tools, have experimented with basic applications, or are already incorporating AI into your workflow but want to improve your technique, in this hour we want to provide value regardless of your starting point, with lots of opportunities to learn from your fellow paraplanners peers similar challenges.
We’re focussed on ensuring this session gives you concrete, actionable strategies for using AI to enhance your writing across key paraplanning tasks. Through hands-on exercises, you’ll practice effective prompt design and see real examples of how AI can improve client communications, streamline report writing, and support documentation tasks.
We’ll also explore the common pitfalls and share practical guidance on what to watch out for.
1100: Technical and financial planning: No 1
Ahead of the Big Day Out, you’ll be invited to pick two technical and financial planning scenario sessions (from a choice of four). Each session will last an hour. This is the first session.
1200: Technical and financial planning: No 2
This is the second session.
You’ll be invited to pick two from the following four topics.
Topic 1: IHT Planning – Foundation scenario
This session focusses on helping you looking strengthen your foundational understanding of inheritance tax planning, and gives a structured refresher on core principles.
Through an interactive scenario-based discussion, you’ll work through client situations and explore different approaches, understanding the practical application of IHT planning principles and the trade-offs involved in different strategies. We’ll explore the essential framework of “spend it, gift it, or insure it” and understand how these principles apply in practice. We’d expect you to cover residence nil rate bands, tapering rules, and gifting allowances, alongside practical solutions like life cover. You’ll also touch on the importance of Wills and Powers of Attorney, and there may even be some discussion of deed variations.
Topic 2: IHT Planning – Advanced scenario
If you’re with basic IHT concepts and want to tackle more complex planning scenarios involving multiple strategies and significant assets, this is the hour for you. You’ll navigate the complexities of advanced planning strategies, examining real-world trade-offs and the practical challenges of implementing sophisticated solutions, including the order of gifting, trust planning, and business relief considerations. With pensions now in the IHT net from 2027, you’ll explore how pension planning intersects with inheritance tax strategy. The session will examine when and how to use different planning tools and the consequences of getting the sequencing wrong. You don’t have to have attended the basic IHT planning to attend this session.
Topic 3: Retirement Income Planning – Foundation scenario
If you who want to strengthen your understanding of retirement income options and, particularly, build your confidence around annuity recommendations, this is the session for you. In discussion with your paraplanning peers, you’ll get a comprehensive grounding in the core retirement income options available to clients. The session will cover the fundamentals of drawdown versus annuities, tax-free cash decisions, securing essential income, and how State Pension fits into the picture.
Topic 4: Retirement Income Planning – Advanced scenario
If you are comfortable with retirement income products but want to enhance your skills in creating comprehensive, client-focused retirement strategies that meet FCA expectations, this is for you.
In discussion with your fellow paraplanners, you’ll explore sophisticated techniques for capturing client requirements, categorising needs into essential, desired, and legacy funds, and creating robust cash flow models. You’ll discuss tax wrapper strategies, sequencing risk, and how to build retirement plans that will withstand regulatory scrutiny while truly serving client needs.
1300: Lunch
Locally sourced and freshly prepared, we guarantee that this will be a *chef’s kiss* of a lunch for you to tuck into. Bon appetit!
1400: Your career, your choice: Designing your professional future
Ever wondered what your ideal paraplanning career would actually look like? Or maybe you’re feeling uncertain about where you’re headed professionally? Both curiosity about possibilities and concerns about the future are natural parts of career development.
In this part of the day, paraplanner Zara Okoro (Abacus Associates, PFS Paraplanning Panel member) will help you explore these questions and move from wondering what might happen next to actively shaping what you want to happen.
You’ll dig into what really drives you professionally, where your strengths lie, and how to turn sector changes into career opportunities. This isn’t about abstract planning – it’s about practical steps you can take to become the kind of team member your firm genuinely values.
Whether you’re early in your career or well-established, this session works for anyone ready to take ownership of their professional development. You’ll walk away knowing where to focus your efforts and how your career growth can benefit both you and your employer.
1515: Break
There may be ice cream.
1545: All Together Now
Led by Big Day Out hosts Aleks Sasin and Chris Wormwell, this open session hands the floor over to you. Whether you want to dig deeper into topics covered earlier, raise something completely new, or simply pick the brains of the experts and fellow paraplanners in the room – it’s entirely up to you.
No set agenda, no predetermined topics. Just the opportunity to have the conversations that matter to you right now, with a room full of people who understand the challenges and opportunities you’re facing. Come with questions, insights, or just curiosity about what others are thinking.
1630: Cheerio and close
Questions and answers
Jump to
- Where can I stay?
- What if I have to be careful about what I eat?
- How accessible is FarmED for people who use wheelchairs or have other needs?
- I’m not a paraplanner or administrator. Can I take part?
- What is FarmED?
- Will there be photography at the event?
Where can I stay?
Chipping Norton (10 mins drive to FarmED): the nearest town to FarmED and there are a number of hotels and pubs with rooms in the town centre: Premier Inn; Kings Arms; Crown & Cushion and The Fox.
The rates at the Premier Inn are remarkably expensive, we’re afraid. The combination of the annual Fair in Chipping Norton plus the proximity of Soho Farmhouse, Daylesford Farm and Diddly Squat perhaps inflating prices. The rates at the Kings Arms, Crown & Cushions and The Fox do seem reasonable compared to previous years at the moment.
Shipton-under-Wychwood (5 mins drive to FarmED): the nearest village to FarmED and there are some really good options there which appear reasonably priced for September: The Crown, Wychwood Inn and Lamb Inn.
Long Compton (20 mins drive to FarmED): The Red Lion is a popular country pub with rooms. Long Compton is on the main road from Oxford to Shipston-on-Stour. It’s a little bit north of Chipping Norton but you can reach FarmED without having to drive via Chipping Norton. Speaking of Shipston-on-Stour…
Shipston-on-Stour (30 mins drive to FarmED): There are a number of places to stay in the centre of this market town including The George Townhouse, The Lazy Pug, The White Bear and The Bower House Restaurant and Rooms
Banbury (30 min drive to FarmED): Don’t rule out Banbury too. It’s just a 30 minute drive from Banbury Cross to FarmED with a Premier Inn in the centre of town and one on the outskirts by the M40. However, the newly refurbished Whateley Hall, which is just a stone’s throw from Banbury Cross itself, is offering good rates too at the moment. The operator of the Big Night In BBQ coach is based in Banbury so, if you decide to book a room in Banbury, let us know, and we can arrange for the coach’s first stop to be in Banbury.
Burford (15 mins drive to FarmED). Burford’s a popular tourist spot so the hotels do tend to be very pricey. But it’s an option and there’s a Travelodge too so it may be worth a look.
Airbnb: we haven’t researched Airbnb but, because it’s a popular tourist destination, there may well be B&Bs available for overnight stays within an easy drive of
What if I need to be careful about what I eat?
You can let us know if there are any foods you’d like to avoid for the Big Day Out and the Big Night In as part of the checkout process. (By the way, because it’s a working farm, FarmED’s kitchen uses organic produce grown in its own fields so you’re in for the FRESHEST ingredients imaginable!)
How accessible is FarmED for people who use wheelchairs or have other needs?
Our event takes place in FarmED’s award-winning buildings. There are no steps in any of the buildings. Wide side doors can be opened to assist wheelchair access. Assistance dogs are welcome in the buildings. There are two disabled car parking spaces next to the entrance of the main building.
I’m not a paraplanner or administrator. Can I take part?
Assemblies are designed by paraplanners for paraplanners and we also welcome administrators, so if you are not one please don’t book a ticket. If you’re still really interested in coming along then get in touch with us at [email protected].
What is FarmED?
FarmED’s mission is to provide learning spaces and events that inspire, educate and connect people to build sustainable farming and food systems that nourish people and regenerate the planet. These really chime with the Assembly’s role in the lives of paraplanners. (Plus it’s a lovely venue.)
Will there be photography at the event?
Yes. We love a good a photo featuring our events so don’t be surprised if you spot a photographer or Assembly host lurking with a camera. If you don’t want to appear in photographs that we publish online, please let us know when you arrive at the event.
The choices clients make during the 5-10 years either side of retirement can decide how comfortable they’ll be once they stop working.
In fact, it’s such a distinctive stage in our financial lives that, among a growing number of advice professionals, it’s known as the ‘retirement risk zone’.
The data says – and you’ll know this yourself – that clients tend to become more risk-averse on their approach to retirement. Yet the likelihood of longer lifespans – and the costs associated with it – mean that ‘playing it safe’ could actually prove to be risky.
What’s more, persistent economic uncertainty and instability, not forgetting the FCA’s retirement income review exposing gaps in advice quality, means hatching a plan that helps clients swerve unnecessary risks around retirement has never been more important.
Zone in on the risks in one lunch hour
In this online Assembly Connor Stewart from Standard Life joins host, Richard Allum, to explore the features of the retirement risk zone.
Together they consider the risks that can trip clients up – things like the shift from accumulation to decumulation, sequencing returns, and adapting to changing financial priorities in an uncertain world – before considering practical ways to tackle them.
Tune in now
Listen and you’ll hear practical ideas to help guide clients through one of the trickiest phases of their financial lives. So how about it? Fancy zoning in on retirement risk? Then tune in now.
Whether you’re considering a move into paraplanning, just landed your first role or are just curious about the options, one question you might keep wondering about: ‘What kind of organisation should I work for?’
Do you choose in-house team or outsourced provider? A small boutique practice or large corporate? Whichever you choose, there will be pros and cons, so how do you decide which is most suitable for you?
This Assembly – recorded on 6 August 2025 – lifts the lid on different paraplanning career paths and workplace structures. It’s the second in a series of Assemblies looking at careers in paraplanning and supported by Aegon.
Our host Caroline Stuart of Sparrow Paraplanning is joined by Julie South, owner of Bee Paraplanning, Sarah Lees, senior paraplanner at Forvis Mazars and Jo Parkes, paraplanning manager at Navigatus – paraplanners with experience of working in all kinds of organisations and are ready to share what it’s meant for their careers.
Over the course of the Assembly, they discuss:
- The different paraplanning structures out there – and what they’re really like to work in
- How to get your foot in the door – and what to look for in potential employers
- What support and development you can expect from types of organisations
- Practical tips for adapting and thriving wherever you land
You’ll leave with a clearer picture of your paraplanning options, practical insights from experienced practitioners, and the confidence to take your next career step.
Don’t forget your CPD
Once you’ve listened to this Assembly, you can request a certificate for 1 hours CPD. Just follow the link below.
Don’t miss the first Assembly in this series
This is the second Assembly in a series on breaking into and developing your career in paraplanning. Discover the first in the series Breaking into paraplanning: where do I even start?.
Thanks to Aegon
This Assembly would not be possible without the generous support of Aegon. Thank you to the team at Aegon for supporting and for backing the development of paraplanners and paraplanning in the UK through their support of the Paraplanners’ Assembly.
What knowledge, experience and skills will help you get hired? And, once you are hired, how will you know you’ve actually made the right choice?
Whether you want to get into paraplanning, are just starting out, or know someone who would love to get their break, this online Assembly – recorded on 9 July 2025 – is jam-packed with insights on making your move into paraplanning.
Hear for yourself how our guests took their unique paths into paraplanning
Host Caroline Stuart is joined by paraplanning guests Chris Wormwell, Ceetal Katechia and Kez Condy, plus personal development expert Sarah Purves of Aegon.
Over the course of one podcast, you’ll discover how each of our paraplanners took very different routes into the profession.
One is a former barista who swapped one daily grind for another kind altogether. Then there’s the university marketer who yearned to change career. Finally, there’s the ex-administrator who set their heart on changing lanes into paraplanning.
Among the topics covered are
- The multiple pathways into paraplanning (because there’s never a ‘right’ route is there?)
- Tried and tested strategies for overcoming obstacles when starting out (or just started)
- Building a career plan that works for you
- Creating your support network
- Tackling imposter syndrome head-on
- Vital conversations to have with current or potential employers
Let’s be honest, how many of us can claim that we had our careers sussed out from day one? So don’t miss this fantastic chance to listen, learn and take your first step into paraplanning.
Don’t forget your CPD
Once you’ve listened to this Assembly, you can request a certificate for 1½ hours CPD. Just follow the link below.
Thank you Aegon
This online Assembly would not be possible without the generous support of Aegon. Thank you to the team at Aegon for supporting this Assembly – and for backing the development of paraplanners and paraplanning in the UK through their support of the Paraplanners’ Assembly.