Congratulations to the PMI s April 2017 Prize Winners

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1 Congratulations to the PMI s April 2017 Prize Winners The PMI is delighted to recognise the outstanding performances of the Prize Winners following the April 2017 examinations. In each Unit, one candidate is awarded the prize for best performance The Core Unit 1A prize I joined Capita Employee Benefits in 2012 shortly before graduating with a Master s Degree in Mathematics from the University of Bath. I am keen promoter of wellbeing in the workplace and am currently the People Engagement Representative for my local office in addition to my role as a pensions administrator. Since joining Capita I have passed the Award in Pension Essentials and the Retirement Provision Certificate and am currently working towards the Diploma in Retirement Provision. The PMI qualifications are invaluable. It is important for me to know why and how legislative changes have been made and their continued impact on the current pensions climate. I pride myself on providing a complete and well-rounded service to clients and members. The PMI qualifications have helped me to achieve this. Being a recognised institution, it is of comfort to know that my efforts in studying will be recognised throughout my career and will provide a solid foundation for my continued professional development. Katie Brown Capita The Core Unit 2 prize I began my pensions career in 2009 as part of the in-house administration team at the Church of England Pensions Board, which was a welcome transition from my usual post behind the bar at my local pub. Like many of my pensions colleagues, I fell into the industry unintentionally and have since accepted that pensions is my calling! I currently work as a pensions and benefits manager on the group HR team for Experian, and decided to take the IEBA route on the road to completing my Advanced Diploma as international benefits fall under my remit in my current role. There was no-one more surprised than myself that I was awarded the prize for the International 1 exam, and I am very grateful for the recognition. The PMI exams have put me in good stead to act effectively in my various roles since Jennifer Owen Assistant Pensions and Benefits Manager Experian 22 PMI NEWS OCT

2 The Core Unit 2 prize I am a Pension Administrator for Newton Davis Trustees Ltd ( NDT ) and their associated firm which provides pensions technical support to International Financial Advisers and Pension Providers on any pension related technical matters. I have been studying in his own time towards the PMI Diploma in Retirement Provision which I achieved in June In the April 2016 Examinations I received the PMI Midland Regional Prize. The knowledge I have gained from the PMI qualifications has been invaluable in my current role and has helped me progress my career tremendously. Carl Hindmarch Pension Administrator Newton Davis Trustees Limited The Core Unit 3 prize I began my pensions career in 2011 shortly after finishing my A-levels, when I joined Punter Southall Group on the administration side. I started by dealing with complex arrangements under the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) and was involved in transferring a number of schemes over to FAS. I moved to PS Independent Trustees (PSIT) in 2012, which is part of the Punter Southall Group. Here I provide pension secretarial services and support for Independent Trustee appointments. My role includes acting as scheme manager for a small number of pension secretariat appointments, working closely with the trustee board so that they are able to discharge their duties in an efficient and effective way, maintaining pension scheme governance, preparation for trustee meetings including electronic board pack production, taking meeting minutes and ensuring matters are dealt with in between meetings. I currently hold several Pensions Management Institute (PMI) qualifications including Certificate in Retirement Provisions, Providing for Retirement, Legal Issues relating to UK Pension Arrangements, Defined Benefit Schemes, Defined Contribution (Trust & Contract) Arrangements, Retail Investment and Personal Taxation, Financing and Investing for Retirement Provision and Running a Workplace Pension Scheme. The PMI exams have provided me with useful knowledge for my day to day working life. They provide a broad but detailed view on current arrangements and legislation, which I believe provides you with a better understanding of all aspects of UK pensions. The exams have helped me to understand not just administration reports, but also actuarial, investment and covenant reports. They have also made me realise how complex the UK pension system is! Taking these exams has increased my knowledge and understanding of UK pension arrangements, which has assisted in my career progression. PRAG Curtis Mitchell Assistant Scheme Manager PS Independent Trustees Limited The Core Unit 4 prize SPONSORED BY I have worked at Aon for nearly three years in the pension consultancy field, initially as an Apprentice after I completed my A-levels. I have now completed the relevant modules to achieve the Diploma in Retirement Provision and I am working towards the remaining three modules required for the Advanced Diploma. I continue to see how the material I have learnt for these exams applies to my role and I have found Core Unit 4 particularly helpful as this covers investment areas about which I had very little knowledge beforehand. I previously received awards for both Core Unit 2 and Core Unit 3 and I am thrilled and proud to have received the Core Unit 4 prize too. Hazel Holland Consultant Analyst Aon Hewitt PMI NEWS OCT

3 The Defined Benefit Arrangements prize I joined LCP shortly after graduating from the University of Southampton. I have now worked in the pensions administration department for three years. I work mostly with occupational DB schemes, so I found this unit very relevant to my day-to-day work and it has helped to strengthen my knowledge in key areas. It has also given me an insight into areas I was less familiar with that I can now apply to my work. Lane Clark & Peacock has a great study, support and mentoring programme in place, which really helped me whilst studying for the exam. I have now completed four exams for the ADRP qualification, and I was very pleased to have also won the prize for two previous modules. Nicole Sullivan Lane Clark & Peacock The Defined Contribution Arrangements prize I have over seven years experience in the pensions industry and during this time I have worked in both a third party administration and in-house environment. I have had the opportunity to work on a number of large defined benefit pension schemes, including one of the largest pension schemes in the country. I have been in my role at Barnett Waddingham for three years, in which I am involved in all aspects of the day to day running of defined benefit pension schemes. The Retirement Provision modules I have completed so far have contained practical information relevant to my role, which has meant I have been able to broaden my pensions knowledge and keep up to date with developments within the industry. This has helped me acquire the technical expertise to deal with the complex queries that arise when administering defined benefit pension schemes. My studies have also given me an insight into the roles and responsibilities of the different stakeholders involved with pension schemes which I have found of benefit when dealing with these various parties. I have obtained my Diploma in Employee Benefits and Retirement Savings and I look forward to furthering my knowledge by continuing to study towards the Advanced Diploma in Retirement Provision. Ashley Temple Senior Barnett Waddingham The Reward and Retirement Provision prize I ve worked in pensions for a number of years and kept putting off doing the PMI qualification. When I started working for LCP 2 ½ years ago, I was encouraged to take my studies forward and was given all the support and guidance I needed. I am now one exam away from completion! The only way to pass these exams is to study the text front to back and back to front. The ADRP exams have helped me gain understanding and knowledge across the breadth of the business, not just pensions administration and this has really helped with my day-to-day work, both in knowledge and confidence. To win a national and regional award for my paper for Reward and Retirement Provision makes all those hours of study worth it. I was so excited to receive this accolade. Jane Le Pla Lane Clark & Peacock LLP 24 PMI NEWS OCT

4 The Retail Advice and Regulation prize I started my career with Prudential in 1999 before heading to University. After graduating from Aberystwyth with a Degree and Masters in Business Management, I returned to Prudential and joined a large project team in preparation for the A-day changes in I currently work on the Data Solutions team within Equiniti specialising in pension scheme buyouts, buyins, data cleanse and benefit rectification projects. I am very lucky to work with an extremely knowledgeable, experienced and talented group of individuals. I chose the Retail Advice and Regulation module because of the recent increase in demand we ve seen in the industry for TVAS reports and the associated services that we offer in this area. The Module was a great way to ensure that my knowledge and understanding is current and up to date. I had to balance study time with not only work commitments but also the birth of my second son Owen, in February, so it was a busy couple of months in the build up to the exam. I believe professional qualifications are essential if you want to understand a topic in depth. PMI with its wide ranging courses and support framework is a great way to acquire that knowledge. Steven Robinson Project Manager Equiniti The Taxation, Retail Investment and Pensions prize I have worked for Capita as an Associate Consultant for a year and a half and I have been studying towards the Advanced Diploma since April In my day-to-day role I support more senior colleagues in working with a range of trustee and corporate clients of various scheme types and sizes. The ADRP exams have been great at building up my knowledge of the pensions industry, giving background detail to explain how it operates, especially from the regulatory, funding and investment perspectives. They have also allowed for a better understanding in areas I may not encounter on a daily basis, but which are still important to my wider role. I have gone through 6 exams so far and this was definitely the most demanding one so I am pleased with the result. Capita has a supportive training and development environment which is helpful. I am also grateful to my colleague Paul Tabrett for the much-needed encouragement and inspiration. Marcin Balawander Associate Consultant Capita The International 2 prize I recently joined Willis Towers Watson as a DC Consultant, having previously worked at Mercer. I decided to take the international modules as I thought it would be interesting and the subject matter is not something I typically come across in my day to day role. The international modules have been a great learning experience as they have exposed me to both new and interesting employee benefit matters. Now that I ve passed both exams I have been awarded a separate qualification, the Diploma in International Employee Benefits, which is also a huge positive. & Yassin Isman DC Consultant Willis Towers Watson PMI NEWS OCT

5 The Professionalism and Governance prize I started working in the pensions industry in 2008 and spent the first six years of my career working within pension trusteeship. In 2015 I moved into pensions consultancy and have recently joined Barnett Waddingham as a Pension Management Consultant. The Advanced Diploma examinations have been invaluable in increasing my technical knowledge and frequently assist in day to day working life. It was particularly helpful to have the ability to select specialist modules so that I could tailor the qualification to suit my career path. As a well-respected industry qualification, progress towards the APMI qualification has also helped further my career by helping to set me apart from other candidates. The Professionalism Governance paper was my last module so I am thrilled to be awarded the prize and to complete the Diploma all at once! Bryna Brady Pension Management Consultant Barnett Waddingham LLP PMI Study Support Partners Our Study Support Partner (SSP) Programme is an arrangement in which we have joined forces with leading organisations, involved in managing or advising UK pension schemes, to offer enhanced learning and study support services for those undertaking our qualifications or accessing our materials. The purpose of the programme is to help prepare Students for the qualifications, or other individuals for particular roles, by producing the highest quality materials at the appropriate depth. We are pleased to be working with the following organisations, and the enhanced study support service is greatly appreciated by all those studying for the qualifications: Aon Hewitt, Advanced Diploma Core Unit Understanding Retirement Provision and the Transfers Programme of the vocational qualifications online learning system Barnett Waddingham LLP, Retirement Provision Certificate Capita Employee Benefits, Advanced Diploma Specialist Unit Defined Contribution Arrangements Ferrier Pearce, Advanced Diploma Communications Manual First Actuarial, Advanced Diploma Core Unit Running a Workplace Pension Scheme JLT Benefit Solutions, Advanced Diploma Specialist Unit Reward and Retirement Provision, the Leavers Programme of the vocational qualifications online learning system and the Certificate in Pension Scheme Member Guidance Lane Clark & Peacock, the Retirements Programme of the vocational qualifications online learning system Mayer Brown LLP, TrustSec and the Certificate in DC Governance Mercer, Advanced Diploma Specialist Unit Defined Benefit Arrangements Nabarro LLP, Advanced Diploma Core Unit Regulation of Retirement Provision Punter Southall, the Deaths Programme of the vocational qualifications online learning system Pinsent Masons/Trustee Solutions Limited, Advanced Diploma Compulsory Unit Professionalism and Governance Willis Towers Watson, Certificate in DC Governance 26 PMI NEWS OCT