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The Paraplanners' Assembly Podcast

The Paraplanners' Assembly Podcast

Hosted by Paraplanners' Assembly

Episodes

114

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN

About the show

Listen to our latest online Assembly PLUS bonus content created to help paraplanners from across the UK learn, fix and share. To join our Assemblies live, look and book for upcoming events at paraplannersassembly.co.uk/events Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to episodes

60 recent
September 10, 20261 hr 0 min

What the Dickens do wills and LPAs actually say?

The near-Dickensian language of a Will doesn’t half make the clarity of its contents harder to grasp, doesn’t it? And then there’s LPAs, which come with limits that catch you out. Things like what an attorney can and can't gift, whether they can set up a trust, what happens if the attorney themselves loses capacity. So if you’re prone to befuddlement – and, let’s be honest, who isn’t? – then tune into this conversation with Shaun Moore, Technical Specialist at Quilter . Because Shaun joined us for a lunch-hour conversation that’s all about deciphering what wills and LPAs actually say. But this isn't about which form to fill in or which portal to log into. It's a planning conversation about why these documents matter, what they can and can't do, and what paraplanners need to look out for. And with pensions becoming vulnerable to IHT, and plenty of plans now out of date, this is the ideal time to revisit both documents. So during this Assembly we covered why pensions coming into the estate means old wills need a second look Residence Nil Rate Band (RNRB) pitfalls and old discretionary trusts left over from before the transferable nil rate band deeds of variation, and what your options are when a will hasn't been drafted well investment powers in will trusts, including bonds for life tenants, STEP provisions and when the Trustee Act 2000 defaults apply the limits on what an attorney can do, including gifting and setting up trusts LPAs and discretionary fund management, and the Office of the Public Guardian's reversed guidance on discretionary fund management (now allowed unless the document says otherwise) what happens when an attorney themselves loses capacity, and whether a will can be changed or revoked What can you expect to take away? Watch or listen and you'll gain a clearer idea of the role of wills and LPAs so you can spot the planning opportunities. Useful links We’ve listed useful links below, as well as all the places you can catch up on the Assembly. If you watch the Replay at Crowdcast, you can also see the very active Chat contributions posted throughout the session. CPD: Grab your certificate Watch in Crowdcast (with chat) What if someone dies without a will? Power of Attorney info for Northern Ireland Article on charitable gifting and unused pensions Article on deeds of variation covering setting up trust through a DOV Technical guidance from Quilter Quilter’s support page for paraplanners Tools and calculators from Quilter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

September 8, 202656 min

The Self-Assembly Paraplanning Show for September 2026

Thanks for tuning into this Self-Assembly Paraplanning Show. Just so you know, guests appear in a personal capacity and not on behalf of the business that employs them – even if it's their own business! Anyway, in this month's Show, host and ParaplanX founder Jawaad Tanwir is joined by Ceetal Katechia from Cooper Parry Wealth and Luke Sparkes from Sparkes Paraplanning for this month's unscripted conversation in which paraplanners compare notes on what's happening in their world and the wider paraplanning profession. Among the things on Jawaad, Ceetal and Luke’s minds in September 2026 are: The incoming pension and IHT changes – especially the work they’re doing to help clients try to simplify things before April 2027 The way the focus of client and adviser conversations have shifted from decades of ‘don't touch your pension’ to factoring pension savings into IHT calculations – it’s a big change The FCA's simplified advice proposals: what could a more streamlined process mean for the advice gap? Is there a risk of sacrificing the place of professional judgment in the interests of speed? Could a reduced suitability letter serve some clients better anyway? Where AI does and doesn't fit into paraplanning UK life expectancy fell over the last decade so what might that mean for cashflow assumptions? And more generally, what are the wider forces shaping how people plan for their financial futures? This is a wide-ranging chat among paraplanners which covers some crunchy and very topical issues. Is what’s on your mind on the mind of other paraplanners? Listen now and find out. Useful links Ceetal and Luke mention a couple of reviews and consultations by the Financial Conduct Authority. Here are the links: Simplifying the pensions and investment advice rules (FCA CP26/10) Thematic Review of Retirement Income Advice (TR24/1) AI in this episode We used Adobe Podcast's Enhance tool to clean up audio levels and quality, and Async's text-to-voice feature to generate the listener message at the start of the episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

September 3, 202634 min

Westminster Watch: Burnham, budgets and by-elections

In their regular quarterly political catch-up, host Leanne Pickering from Pivotal Paraplanning and self-invested pensions technical specialist at Barnett Waddingham (soon to be called Howden), James Jones-Tinsley, to chat about political goings on over Parliament’s summer recess, and what paraplanners should look out for in the new Parliamentary session. Their conversation covers: Andy Burnham’s by-election win and rise to become the UK’s new Prime Minister Ministerial appointments in Burnham’s first Cabinet reshuffle including the arrival of John Healey as Chancellor of the Exchequer The Clacton by-election and what Reform's result there might tell us about the wider picture The run-up to the 28 October Budget – including possible changes to capital gains tax and a windfall tax on oil companies or banks; and Gaps left in HMRC's technical guidance on IHT and pensions – and the pressure that puts on personal representatives Leanne and James also discuss whether the new Prime Minister might call a snap election, and whether the IHT on pensions rules could yet change before April 2027. So if you like to keep half an eye on Westminster, this one's well worth your time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

August 27, 20261 hr 0 min

IHT: the details that could trip up paraplanners

Even very experienced paraplanners can trip over obstacles lurking in the shadows of IHT. So we invited Aegon’s tax and trusts manager, Elaine Cruickshank, to join host, Richard Allum, for an online Assembly to help you dodge the IHT perils. Over the course of one lunch-hour, Elaine: untangles the transferable nil rate band and residence nil rate band, including the detail that trips people up around second marriages and downsizing provisions gets into the finer points of gifting exemptions, PETs and CLTs, beyond the seven-year headline explains how the inclusion of pensions in estates affects the taper threshold, and what that means for clients close to the £2 million mark works through charitable giving and the 36% rate, including the added complications once pension funds are in the mix brings it all together with planning opportunities you can take straight back to your desk What can you expect to take away? Watch or listen now and you’ll have a sharper grasp of the IHT detail that’s easy to get wrong. Plus the confidence to spot these issues in your own client cases. Useful links Watch the Replay in Crowdcast Download slides: IHT the details that could trip up paraplanners Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

August 13, 20261 hr 0 min

A dead interesting Assembly on death and dying

An odd feature of paraplanning is that quite a bit of our time is spent designing strategies that are all about the inevitability of death but – just like in our everyday lives – lots of our clients seem reluctant to talk about death and dying and being prepared for it. Yet the financial grief that families and friends face following a death serves only to compound the overwhelming emotional kind. That’s what this Assembly is all about. Kylie Clark of Wealthtime , Katy Hancock of Dorothy House Hospice Care and Lucy Halliday from Argonaut Paraplanning joined Richard Allum to talk about death and dying. Because at a time when a growing percentage of clients are reaching an age when they should be dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s in plenty of time before they die, what can paraplanners do to help them get death-ready? What you’ll learn Out-of-date expression of wish forms, account and app passwords, overseas accounts, tracking down former advisers and solicitors – what are the biggest and most frequent problems following death? And what can clients and their families do to avoid them? The way firms handle bereavement is one of the most significant sources of complaints across financial services. With bereavement support about to come under the FCA’s spotlight, what can advice practices do to improve things? Learn how the ‘last 1,000 days’ concept could offer a lens to help clients and their families plan Grief isn’t just the client’s, it’s the paraplanner’s too. How we’ve been able to acknowledge grief in the past influences how we’re able to help clients experiencing it now and in the future. Watch now Paraplanners from all across the UK got together to share ideas, ask questions and break the big taboo about death. Plus there’s one hour’s CPD available. Missed it? Then follow the links below and watch the replay or catch up with the podcast now. Useful links There were loads of links shared by our guests and paraplanners in the Chat during this Assembly. We’ve listed them below. If you watch the Replay at Crowdcast, you can also see the very active Chat contributions posted throughout the session. Watch: Replay at Crowdcast Wealthtime's Bereavement Hub Dorothy House's 'Part of Life' site Dorothy House’s information hub for end of life planning Download 'Peace of Mind' Planner (PDF) Taking care of your digital legacy Podcast with James Norris about digital legacy planning Answers to the most Googled searches about death FCA: Announcement of focus on supporting bereaved customers Dorothy House: Children and Young People's Wellbeing Hub Lottie.org for care stats The Good Grief Trust Age UK: LifeBook to record practical details of your life Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

August 11, 202659 min

The Self-Assembly Paraplanning Show for August 2026

In this month’s Self-Assembly podcast, host Sam Tonks is joined by Julie South and Steven McBurnie to chat about CPD that’s hiding in plain sight, providers WHO WON’T PICK UP THE PHONE, smart glasses, meeting recording, clients who run their suitability report through AI assistants, and ask ‘When is a 'fun fact' a fact?’. Useful links Resources, events and interesting things mentioned during this episode. CISI Financial Planning Conference 2026 CISI Scotland Compliance & Operations Conference 2026 Lang cat HomeGame 6 Women's Wealth Alliance Career Guide Financial Planner Life podcast Silo (on Apple TV) And the winner is...paraplanning (podcast episode) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

August 6, 20261 hr 2 min

Fiscal drag and what paraplanners can do about it

Years of frozen allowances have resulted in more and more clients feeling the effect of fiscal drag – when more of your wealth becomes vulnerable to tax. So understanding fiscal drag and what its effects mean for clients, is a really important feature of day-to-day paraplanning. That's why we invited Utmost International's technical sales manager, Steve Sayer, to share his thoughts on fiscal drag and how paraplanners can consider addressing it. Steve explains how, for instance, allowances have lost real value and the capital gains tax exemption has shrunk. And how the frozen nil rate band means more estates than ever are being pulled into inheritance tax. But in this in-depth technical session – which features a case study example along the way – Steve illustrates how the careful application of planning strategies using trusts, and onshore and offshore bonds, mean the negative consequences of fiscal drag needn’t be inevitable. Over the years, Steve has created a series of technical Assemblies that have become some of the most popular episodes we have published among paraplanners. Tune in now and find out why. Useful links Download: Steve's slides on Fiscal Drag Utmost Technical Academy webinar series Utmost x Paraplanners' Assembly: all our previous sessions Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

July 30, 202659 min

Ask Adam: a pension comprehension intervention

We all have pension questions we’ve never quite got round to asking. Maybe the moment wasn’t right. Maybe the right expertise wasn’t around. Maybe you just didn’t want to be the one to ask. That’s why in this Assembly, we staged a pension intervention. Because host Richard Allum posed the most pressing pension-related questions to someone who just loves answering them: Quilter’s retirement and pension technical specialist, Adam Cole. Over one lunch hour, we worked our way through pension topics that either crop up regularly in client cases or maybe just leave you scratching your head from time to time. Things like: Transitional tax-free cash, lump sum allowances and lump sum death benefit allowances Taking tax-free cash after 75 and the implications Taking protected tax-free cash and moving into drawdown How defined benefit pensions work Guaranteed annuity rates, guaranteed cash sums and other features of older-style contracts What can you expect to take away? Watch or listen now to brush up on your pension knowledge. And don’t forget to follow the link below to download your certificate for CPD. Download: Grab your CPD for this Assembly Transitional regime for past crystallisations Trusts: Brush up on the essentials in one hour Transitional tax-free amount certificate (TTFAC) ILSA, ILSDBA and permitted maximums ILSA, ILSDBA and permitted maximums grid of protections Transitional regime calculator Block transfers Normal minimum pension age: changes coming in 2028 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

July 23, 202623 min

Unpacking platform charges with Transact CEO Tom Dunbar

What actually goes into the total cost a client pays for their platform? That’s the question that this episode sets out to answer. And to do it host Richard Allum is joined by Transact CEO, Tom Dunbar, who covers the four components that contribute to charges: the annual platform charge, wrapper fees, brokerage fees, and any cash interest retention. Along the way Richard and Tom explore how annual charges are typically tiered, why family linking can make a real difference for smaller portfolios, how wrapper fees scale with the complexity of the product, and where brokerage fees do (and don’t) add up. Finally, the conversation turns to the issue of cash interest retention – the gap between what a platform earns on client cash and what it pays out – and how it differs from platform to platform. Tom explains why Transact has taken a firm stance on the issue, and why retention of interest plus ‘double dipping’ and ‘triple dipping’ have become a focus for the FCA. Useful links Transact's website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

July 15, 20261 hr 1 min

And the winner is…paraplanning!

You'd be forgiven for thinking that a gathering of previous award winners could turn into a smugfest. But it’s PARAPLANNERS that we’re talking about. So this episode – recorded specially to mark the tenth annual Professional Paraplanner Awards – is far from self-congratulatory. In fact, it's packed with thinking that will inspire every paraplanner wherever you are in your career. Why? Because it illustrates how entering an award – or even just thinking about it – is one of the most helpful ways to reflect on your career, what you’ve achieved and what you would like to achieve in the future. Host Caroline Stuart of Sparrow Solutions is joined by Natalie Dawes , editor of Professional Paraplanner , along with three paraplanners who've been through the process themselves: Hannah Hirons of Navigatus , Luke Sparkes of Sparkes Paraplanning , and Hannah Wynick of Core Financial Paraplanning . In an hour-long chat they talk about: overcoming your imposter syndrome why nominating yourself is OK even when it might not feel like it why being nominated by someone else feels ACE whether there’s a difference entering awards when you’re in-house versus outsourced why writing an award entry helps you realise what you're actually good at what it's like to sit in an interview with judges – and why it’s so valuable What’s more, the conversation also recognises that some people just don’t want to enter awards or feel the need to do so and explores ways in which paraplanners can receive the recognition their work deserves. Above all, this is an episode that shows how powerful it can be for paraplanning practitioners to reflect on their professional progress. And how the peer-led evaluation of entries has established the Professional Paraplanner Awards as the preeminent standard for the paraplanning profession. Useful links The Professional Paraplanner Awards 2026 shortlist Visit the episode page at the Assembly website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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