Compliance

Compliance. This may sound like a scary, legal word, but all you have to remember is this: When running retirement planning sessions, you should be giving information, and not advice. If you take a look at the retirement planning activities that we have designed, you will see that the focus is on providing general information to help staff understand the importance of planning for their retirement. We do not give information about a specific product, and we would never recommend a particular course of action. We’ll leave that to the experts! Talking of which, you can find details of local Independent Financial Advisers in your area by visiting www.mylocaladviser.co.uk. This is a useful website to signpost your staff to.

Is your event compliant? Use this simple eight-point checklist to find out.

• The information you are passing on to employees is general and factual. For example, you are explaining the facts about the State Second Pension or Stakeholder Pension.
• The information must not lead to a recommended course of action for the individual. For example, you can give out information about your organisation’s occupational pension scheme but you are not allowed to recommend that an individual joins.
• The information is unbiased and covers all the options available to an individual when it comes to planning for retirement. You are not recommending that an individual joins a pension scheme, but you are giving the facts on how many people under-provide for retirement.
• The information leads individuals to identify steps which they may need to take to address their priorities. Individuals reach the conclusion themselves about what these priorities are, based on the information you give. It is about individuals realising the importance of planning for retirement, and taking ‘ownership’ of doing something about it.
• The information you pass on includes an explanation of how other relevant sources of information can be accessed and where an individual can go to get independent advice.
• You recommend independent financial advisers - via the Institute of Independent Financial Advisers (IFA) - but you do not name / recommend a particular financial adviser known to you.
• You hand out leaflets which explain more about retirement planning options (including pensions) – but these are not from a financial services company, advertising a particular product. For example, you would not be allowed to promote a particular provider’s stakeholder pension scheme – but can promote a leaflet from the Pensions Service, giving more information about stakeholder pensions.

You ensure that individuals understand the information you have passed on during sessions, by providing opportunities to review the learning and ask questions. You make a note of any questions you cannot answer (including those you are not 100% sure about) and refer individuals on to independent organisations, websites and services who may be able to help.