The Paraplanners' Assembly Podcast
by Paraplanners' Assembly
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
Episodes
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Revealed: What paraplanners think about IHT, AI and the future of advice
Every year, Scottish Widows survey UK paraplanners to find out how they’re feeling about their work and the changes shaping the profession. And every year, Scottish Widows give the Paraplanners’ Assembly an advance look at what they’ve discovered, before the results are published. Harry...
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Paraplanning for LGBTQ+ clients: what we might be missing
Have you ever stopped to think about the assumptions baked into a fact find? A tickbox for ‘marital status’. A question about ‘your wife’ or ‘your husband’. A box that asks for ‘gender’ with only two options to choose from. A form that only makes room for children who are biologically yours.…
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The Self-Assembly Paraplanning Show for October 2026
Welcome to The Self-Assembly Paraplanning Show, a monthly unscripted conversation where we invite a small group of paraplanners to compare notes on what’s actually happening in their world. Just so you know: guests appear in a personal capacity and not on behalf of the business that employs…
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How advice tech should work for paraplanners (not the other way round)
Host Richard Allum is joined by Transact’s chief development officer, Andrew Cullen-Jones, to explore how paraplanners and the firms they work for can get the most out of advice tech. Among the topics Richard and Andrew tackle in their half-hour conversation are: the enduring issue of rekeying…
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What living with cancer means for financial planning
Most financial plans treat cancer as a rare event, or as though a diagnosis always means the end of the road. New joint research from Scottish Widows and Macmillan, tells a different story. By 2045, cancer prevalence in the UK is forecast to rise by 58%, taking the number of people living with or...
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A tune up on temporary pension income guarantees
Temporary pension income guarantees are nothing new to retirement income planning. But how much do you actually know about how they work? During this Online Assembly, Richard Allum and M&G’s Mark Devlin take a practical look at temporary pension income guarantees, and what they mean for cases…
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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…
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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…
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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…
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Pensions and IHT: what the new rules will mean for paraplanners
The rules are changing and from April 2027 unspent pension pots will fall within the scope of inheritance tax. Draft legislation is now published, and there’s plenty for paraplanners to get to grips with. This Assembly looks at how we got here, and where we need to go with less than nine months…
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The Self-Assembly Paraplanning Show
We got together online at 1pm on Wed 17 June 2026 for The Self-Assembly Paraplanning Show. Why 'Self-Assembly'? Because host Sam Tonks and guests Alan Gow, Jackie Manning and Kimberley Malin started out with four talking points to cover in one lunch-hour. The topics were – how the paraplanning…
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What it’s like to start an outsourced paraplanning business?
Setting up your own outsourced paraplanning business can be an exciting prospect but going into it with your eyes open and with the benefit of other people’s hard-won experience makes for a much stronger start. This Assembly brings together three paraplanners who’ve recently done exactly that…
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Westminster watch: politics, pensions and paraplanners
Host Leanne Pickering from Pivotal Paraplanning is joined by James Jones-Tinsley, self-invested pensions technical specialist at Barnett Waddingham, to catch up on what's been happening in Parliament and politics and what it means in practice for paraplanners and their clients. They cover the:...
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Trusts: brush up on the essentials in one hour
Trusts used to be the kind of thing you’d come across every now and again. Something to dust off the knowledge for, handle carefully, then put back on the shelf. That’s changing. With pension IHT changes on the horizon, trust planning is becoming a regular fixture on paraplanners’ desks and the...
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SEND and financial planning: what paraplanners need to know
Think about the last time you worked on a financial plan for a family with a child or adult with special educational needs or a disability. How confident were you that the plan truly reflected what that family needs, not just now, but for the long term? As paraplanners, we’re in a position to…
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Wrapper choices, changing rules and what they mean for clients
The tax landscape has shifted significantly over the past couple of years. Allowance reductions, rising dividend tax rates and the proposed extension of IHT to unused pensions means there's plenty for paraplanners to get to grips with — and plenty of opportunity to add real value for clients.…
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Almost everything you need to know about smoothed funds
When a client is moving into retirement and suddenly becomes far more aware of every market dip, smoothed funds can feel like an obvious solution. But how well do you really understand what’s happening under the bonnet? More providers are launching smoothed funds, which means they’re cropping up...
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How salary sacrifice works, what can go wrong, and what's changing
Salary sacrifice – or salary exchange – has been around for ages. But a proposal in last autumn’s Budget to cap the national insurance relief available on pension contributions has brought it into sharp focus. We racked our brains but don’t think that we’ve ever explored the essentials of salary...
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The financial planning assumptions that don’t work for women
Think about the last financial plan you worked on for a couple. Who led the conversation? Whose risk profile shaped the recommendations? And if one partner wasn’t at the meeting – or didn’t really engage when they were – how much of a difference did that make to the plan you produced? If you’re…
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Protection and IHT planning: a guide to the essentials for paraplanners
Pensions will become subject to inheritance tax (IHT) from April 2027, but how much of a role does protection play in your approach to building IHT strategies for your clients? And how confident are you about the protection options that are available to you? But with IHT receipts expected to…
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What can the professional bodies do for you? Part 2
Back in November, guests from CISI, PFS and LIBF joined us to talk about what the professional bodies can do for paraplanners. But there was too much to cover in just one session. So we’ve invited Nicola Mellor (PFS), Chris Morris (CISI) and Sally Plant (LIBF) back to pick up where they left off....
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Steve Sayer’s timeline of tax changes – all the way to April 2031
We’ve been recording ‘Technically speaking’ sessions with Utmost’s Steve Sayer for a few years now. And because they offer really crunchy case-study based content, they’re really popular with paraplanners. But we like to plan ahead so late last year, we sat down with Steve and the team at Utmost…
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Tune up your tax year end to-do list
How are you feeling about this year’s tax year end? Whether you’re already deep in the detail or still getting your head around everything that’s changed or going to change, one thing’s certain: there’s plenty to think about. From pension allowances and ISA planning to the upcoming changes to...
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IHT and pensions: could the government still change course?
The Government's Finance Bill which includes the provision for pensions to become subject to inheritance tax (IHT) has reached a critical point in its progress through Parliament. But as James Jones-Tinsley from Barnett Waddingham explains in this 15-minute briefing recorded especially for the...
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AI in paraplanning: what does the future hold for paraplanners?
In the second of her two-part special on AI in paraplanning, Zara Okoro asks where we are heading as a profession. What plans are AI tool providers and financial planning practices likely to pursue in future? And what could it mean for the role of paraplanner itself? In conversation with Benjamin...
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AI in paraplanning: what's happening, what's working, and what could come next?
In the first of a two-part special on AI in paraplanning, Zara Okoro hears about the tools paraplanners are using now, the ways they’re being adopted, and the boundaries practitioners are drawing when it comes to their use. In conversation with Benjamin Fabi of Principled Paraplanning, Aram...
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Budget reality versus Budget rumours: what actually happened?
Budget measures are often the subject of media speculation. But the level of attention in the run-up to the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget statement on 26 November 2025 was unprecedented. So did the reality match the hype? For our final Assembly of 2025, we invited Les Cameron from M&G…
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A guide to auto-enrolment essentials for paraplanners
It’s been more than a decade since auto-enrolment in workplace pensions was first introduced by the UK Government. And it’s fair to say that the measure has transformed the level of pension saving in the workplace. Plus it’s transformed the role that businesses (and their owners) can play in the...
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What can the professional bodies do for you?
As paraplanners, many of us hold memberships with Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI), Personal Finance Society (PFS), or pay for LIBF courses. So we pay our fees, collect our CPD, and maybe sit an exam or two. But are we really getting the most from these organisations? What...
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Technically speaking: deeds of variation, disclaimers and tax
When a client dies, their will isn’t necessarily the final word on how their estate gets distributed. Deeds of variation and disclaimers give beneficiaries a valuable window – two years from death – to reshape inheritances in ways that can reduce tax bills and improve family outcomes – often…
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Lump sum cancellations: what does the FCA and HMRC's clarification mean for clients?
It's more than a year since speculation ahead of last autumn's Budget led to a surge of savers raiding their pension pots in a bid to beat rumoured changes to tax-free lump sums. But when no changes were announced and people sought to reverse their withdrawals, they discovered that the 30-day...
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Revealed: the results of Scottish Widows’ annual survey of UK paraplanners
If you want to know what's on the minds of other paraplanners, then this is definitely the Assembly for you. That’s because Scottish Widows's Craig Spittal joined host, Richard Allum, and guest Alison Neale of Principle Paraplanning, to exclusively reveal key findings of this year's Scottish...
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Level up your retirement advice: navigate the tools that matter most
As paraplanners, we have the power to transform retirement outcomes by understanding how product innovations can take these critical risks off the table. But are we truly using the full toolkit available to us? Or are we sticking with conventional approaches that might not deliver the stable,...
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Looking forward to The Big Day Out 2025
In this bonus episode, The Big Day Out 2025 hosts, Aleks Sasin and Chris Wormell, join one of the Paraplanners' Assembly organisers, Maxine Cameron, to look forward to our annual gathering at FarmED near Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds. In 20 minutes you'll learn all about: the practical AI...
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Developing as a paraplanner: 'How do I build a career plan?'
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? That’s what this Assembly is all about: the practicalities of creating a plan for your career; an approach that…
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The Pensions Commission: what could it mean for retirement planning?
The last time the UK government convened a Pensions Commission it resulted in the equalisation of the State Pension Age between men and women, the launch of auto-enrolment plus the creation of the National Employment Savings Trust – better known as NEST. So will the recently re-constituted…
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The pension IHT bombshell has landed – now what?
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...
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The State Pension age review: what paraplanners need to know
Host Richard Allum is joined by Barnett Waddingham’s James Jones-Tinsley for a bonus episode exploring the government’s announcement of an independent review of the state pension age review and its potential consequences for retirement planning. As well as considering the scope of the review…
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Developing as a paraplanner: 'Where could I go from here?'
You’ve established yourself as a paraplanner, but now you’re thinking: ‘What next?’ For many paraplanners, staying in paraplanning is exactly what they want to do. But what does career development look like within the profession? How have people built on their paraplanning skills and experience?...
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Tax wrappers: which, why and when?
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…
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Breaking into paraplanning: 'Who should I work for?'
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…
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IHT and pensions changes: what's happening and when?
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…
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How can paraplanners help clients get retirement risk zone ready?
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...
About this 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
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Paraplanners' Assembly
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