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 it’s time to take things further.

Join us at 1pm on Wednesday 14 May 2025 for the second of Andy’s annuity two-part series, when the annuities expert returns to talk more 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:

• annuities can actually boost the value of the legacy client’s leave for loved ones
• annuities can be used as an asset class within broader portfolios
• and much more

With annuity rates remaining attractive, this is the ideal moment to brush up on an option that’s enjoying a bit of a renaissance in retirement planning.

So whether you’re already recommending annuities regularly, or just getting to grips with them, this session will offer practical approaches you can use right away.

Plus there’s one hour’s worth of CPD available.

Fancy coming along? Save your spot now.

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:

• CDC (collective defined contribution schemes)
• PAA (pensions advice allowance) 
• OTA (overseas transfer allowance)
• Crystallised and uncrystyallised pensions funds
• FP2016 or FP16 (fixed protection 2016)
• IP2016 or IP16 (individual protection 2016)

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.)

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:

• PCLS (pension commencement lump sum)
• LSA (lump sum allowance) 
• LSDBA (lump sum death benefit allowance)
• TTFAC (transitional tax-free amount certificate)
• MPAA (money purchase annual allowance)

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.)

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:

• How annuities work 
• What drives annuity rates
• The practical differences between pension annuities and purchased life annuities
• Why different providers offer different rates for similar circumstances

Tailoring annuities to client needs

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

• Rising payments: increasing the amount clients receive each year in retirement 
• Safety nets: making sure payments continue for at least 5 or 10 years, even if you die
• Family protection: keeping payments going for your partner or someone else after you die
• Money-back features

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?

The way pensions are treated for inheritance tax (IHT) is set for a big shake up in April 2027 when unused pension funds will count as part of a client’s estate and become liable to IHT.

In preparation for the change, the government announced a consultation on the liability, reporting and payment of IHT at last October’s Budget.

That consultation ended late in January 2025. But what are its conclusions likely to be? And what do paraplanners need to know so you, your firm and its clients are ready when the reforms go live?

What do you and your clients need to know?

Those are the questions that M&G‘s head of technical, Les Cameron, addressed when he joined us for an online Assembly to explores what the changes could mean for paraplanners and your clients (or clients of clients if you’re outsourced or freelancing).

What you can expect to take away from this Assembly?

Together with Assembly host Richard Allum, Les shared his thoughts on how the new IHT framework will affect pension death benefits after 2027. The conversation to covered things like:

• Whether it makes sense to think about taking money out of pensions earlier than planned
• Why bypass trusts might be making a comeback
• How the pension reforms could affect red-amber-green assessment
• Practical steps paraplanners can take now to prepare for the changes

Stop press: post-event answers to questions raised in the chat

There were loads of questions from paraplanners in the chat but, because we ran out of time, Les posted his responses to them in this thread at The Big Tent.

Scottish Widows’ pensions specialist (and Big Day Out 2024 ‘Quiz the Expert’ alumnus), Gareth Davies, joins host, Richard Allum, for the follow-up to his popular ‘Is there a recipe for successful retirement income advice?‘ Assembly which we held back in June.

Why a second helping?

An unbelievably busy Chat meant that Gareth fielded a fair few comments and questions which left too much ground to cover in just one lunch hour. So Gareth agreed to come back later in the year to conclude his survey of the retirement advice landscape.

In this concluding Assembly, Gareth and Richard…

• Revisit the annuities vs. drawdown debate – examining the case for ‘annuities plus drawdown’, exploring the latest annuity features, and discussing strategies for annuitising fully crystallised pension pots.
• Dig into pension death benefits: they’ll consider the options and potential pitfalls of death benefits – plus focus on the importance of nomination forms and their regular review.
• Assess the effect of regulatory change: if there’s time, they’ll consider how the FCA’s thematic review is influencing retirement income advice, what it may mean for centralised retirement propositions, and what it means for your ongoing assessment of suitability.

It makes for a lunch-hour Assembly that’s packed with valuable insights and practical ideas that you can apply to client cases right away.

Perennial Assembly favourite, Les Cameron of M&G Wealth, joined us to share his thoughts on Labour’s Budget on 30 October.

As well as the fact that Rachel Reeves made history by becoming the first woman to deliver a budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer, were there measures that are sure to feature when Budget history is written?

Or were the widespread jitters among savers and investors ill-founded as Labour delivered its first Budget since Alistair Darling’s on 20 April 2010 – no fewer than 5,334 days earlier.

What actually happened?

Were the headlines screaming about capital gains and inheritance tax? How about pension tax relief and fuel duty? Or national insurance and the British ISA? Perhaps even VAT on school fees or measures affecting non-doms? And what about a wealth tax?

Les was on hand to offer his thoughts and insights, and address lots of questions and comments posted by paraplanners in the Chat.

So did it turn out to be one of the most consequential Budgets of recent years? Was it more of a ‘pitch-rolling’ statement in preparation for future measures? Or something else altogether?

Tune in and find out.

Believe it or not, it’s already been nine years since the introduction of pension freedoms. And while it’s fair to say that the arrival of drawdown has transformed the way that clients can plan income in retirement, when the new measures were announced back in 2015, they were made against the backdrop of a generally benign economic climate.

What had changed and what could paraplanners do?

Today, high interest rates and stubborn inflationary pressure, coupled with greater regulatory scrutiny courtesy of The Consumer Duty and the FCA’s retirement income review, make for altogether more changeable weather.

So how are paraplanners expected to make forecasts and hatch plans that will deliver sustainable incomes for clients in their retirement? Plans that stack up under scrutiny – and against the demands – of The Consumer Duty?

During this lunch-hour Assembly, Gareth not only explored these issues but dug into other considerations that could influence paraplanners, advisers and clients when thinking about accumulation and decumulation strategies including:

• Cash flow modelling and stress testing – and its importance
• Is it ‘annuities vs drawdown’ or ‘annuities + drawdown’?
• Platform selection and what to consider
• The abolition of lifetime allowance – what does it mean?

No matter what your experience or expertise as a paraplanner, this 60-minute session offers insights and ideas when considering options for successful and sustainable income in retirement for your clients.

A special tax year end Assembly combining expert insights and Chat-powered Q&A.

Coming just a week after the Budget statement on 6 March, a little over a fortnight before tax year end, and while the Finance Bill from last October’s statement is still making its way through Parliament, it was the ideal time to tune in to what you really need to know as the tax year hits its paraplanning peak.

To help, we gathered together a stellar panel of experts to share their knowledge and know-how: Les Cameron from M&G Wealth, James Jones-Tinsley of Barnett Waddingham and Transact’s Brian Radbone. (Scottish Widows’s Tom Coughlan, was due to join us but technical gremlins proved too much of an obstacle.)

Expect a lunch-hour discussion laden with lashings of insights on allowances, reliefs and exemptions spanning pensions, ISAs, capital gains tax and inheritance tax (and everything in between).

Paraplanners from all over the country gathered for the Paraplanners’ Assembly’s Big Day Out 2024 on 12 September 2024.

From its first meeting in 2013, the Paraplanners’ Assembly’s annual gathering has created space for sparking collaboration and conversation among paraplanners that is unlike any other event in the world of wealth management.

Why?

The Big Day Out is an informal gathering that offers six hours’ worth of CPD thanks to its combination of tailor-made interactive sessions led by hand-picked experts (and designed especially for the event), and group discussions facilitated by paraplanner hosts.

It makes for a supportive and encouraging space in which you can listen and learn, and share ideas, knowledge and insights. And it’s a unique environment in which you can really focus and flourish – both professionally and personally.

You’ll feel you belong at The Big Day Out because The Big Day Out belongs to you. Here’s what happened at The Big Day Out 2024.

Welcome!

Assembled paraplanners joined us in the conference barn for a welcome from Big Day Out hosts, Sam Tonks and Chris Wormwell.

Then we got straight into…

Hone it. Own it: One hour to perfect your development plan

New for this year, and designed especially for the Paraplanners’ Assembly, we open and closed the day with two really interactive sessions led by Arch Inspire’s Rachael Hurdman.

What were they all about? How to create an actionable and practical plan to achieve your personal and professional development goals.

But this wasn’t some dry run-of-the-mill classroom-type session because IT WAS A BIG DAY OUT! So Rachael shared practical tools, techniques and insights that (1) participants could try out throughout the sessions at your Big Day Out and (2) will last participants (and people back at the office they shared them with) for years.

Crop Rotations

Following the opening session, the Assembly split into three groups (called Crop Rotations) to tackle three topics over three 45-minute sessions.

Lunch

Locally sourced and freshly prepared, we tucked into pulled pork or vegetarian chilli (or both!) along with loads of healthy salads and slaws that were grown on the farm.

Hone it. Own it: Part Two

Rachael Hurdman returned and, in this closing session, invited participants to take a couple of practical steps that will enable you to gather the loose ends of your personal action plan. It was another really interactive session where you could try out your new tools, and round off your development plan – and Big Day Out – perfectly.

And finally…

The Paraplanners’ Assembly

It was time for the session after which the Assembly is named. Just like at our first gathering in 2013, Sam and Chris will opened up the floor for you to share anything that’s on your mind.