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

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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 to go. We looked at what the May 2026 HMRC technical note and draft legislation actually confirmed, what it means in practice, and, what it means for the planning advice paraplanners are helping to shape right now.

Host Richard Allum is joined by guest Mark Devlin, Senior Technical Manager at M&G, to practically address some of the trickier questions the changes raise.

Together, they covered:

• The background: how we got here, and what the consultation process did and didn’t address
• Discretionary vs directed schemes: a refresher on the distinction and why it matters for IHT treatment
• How the new process will work in practice, including the role of personal representatives
• Planning implications: is it still worth funding a pension, and at what level?
• Balancing pension use for retirement income against IHT exposure, and keeping an eye on taxable funds for beneficiaries
• A common income tax misconception, and why some recent press coverage has muddied the water

What can you expect to take away?

At the end of this Assembly, you’ll have a better understanding of the confirmed changes, a better grasp of the planning considerations that flow from them, and some practical frameworks to bring to your paraplanning work, whether you’re reviewing existing pension strategies or helping to shape new ones.

Useful links

Here are the links you need from this event.

CPD: Request your certificate

Slides: Pensions and IHT for Paraplanners' Assembly - 1 Jul 2026

Watch at Crowdcast (with chat)

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