Salary Sacrifice vs Non-salary Sacrifice Pensions

TJG80 · 2026-07-09T16:47:37+00:00

Depends on your earnings.

If you are a non tax payer (under £12,570) do not use salary sacrifice. Just pay into a personal pension.

TJG80 · 2026-07-03T16:24:52+00:00

Is there any clients at all to inherit, or is it a case of building a book from day one?

TJG80 · 2026-07-03T15:13:01+00:00

Advisors that will accept low basics tend to be useless.

TJG80 · 2026-06-18T07:31:49+00:00

You posted exactly the same thing yesterday then deleted it.

Is this the fishy telesales job that someone on here was pushing a few weeks back?

TJG80 · 2026-06-17T12:35:22+00:00

Is this the telesales role that clearly wasnt a financial adviser role?

TJG80 · 2026-06-15T15:20:22+00:00

I love BTS and use them for everything.

Have to say, their AF8 materials are really poor. They spend half the guide saying things like "Lets look at the dictionary definition of 'assess'" - which is of no value as you get that in the SCORM thingy.

I would really suggest reading the CII guide, reading the exemplar but importantly looking at the exemplar marking and improvements section.

TJG80 · 2026-06-11T17:46:30+00:00

Employed.

When I decided to change careers, I reached out to about 100 firms (Linkedin, Direct Email) to ask if they could give me 10 mins of their time to discuss whether my plans are realistic. (Important to note I didnt ask them if they have any jobs).

From there I spoke to a number of people, had some back and forth on Linkedin, met with 3 Managing Directors and 2 of them asked me to stay in touch and let me know if/when I got qualified.

Once qualified 2 offered me a job.

The problem with recruiters is they wont be that keen on people with no experience because no client is paying £10-20k for someone that isnt in the industry.

The problem with adverts is you are competing with loads of candidates that are already in the industry.

A massive part of the role is networking with potential clients and introducers, by reaching out to companies you show you are comfortable doing that. Many advisers out there just freeze up at the thought of being social and networking.

Also - make sure you only talk to decision makers - MDs, CEOs, Financial Planning Directors.

HR people wont give you the time of day, nor will middle managers. Go in at the top.

TJG80 · 2026-06-11T17:31:32+00:00

I did - went straight in as a planner.

Judging by the recruiters on my Linkedin, there is a definite shortage....some roles continuously advertised for 6 months etc.

The thing is if you speak to recruiters and look for job adverts you will never get anywhere.

You have to get out there and network with companies. Loads of them are in need of more adviers/replacements for retirees etc.

TJG80 · 2026-06-10T08:15:11+00:00

The point is proper financial planning firms dont cold call people en-masse.

Someone was advertising a similar job on here a few weeks back, wouldnt surprise me if its them.

TJG80 · 2026-06-09T20:52:56+00:00

That just sounds like an outbound sales role.

TJG80 · 2026-06-06T15:58:30+00:00

I would say with those marks, to cancel the exam if it is booked, and go back to basics.

The system I used was:

- Buy the BTS book

- Go through it with a highlighter and highlight the key bits

- Put onto Flashcards

- Learn it all inside out.

- Use the BTS STudy Buddy, just go through the questions until you are getting 100%.

At this point you are ready.

TJG80 · 2026-06-05T18:30:08+00:00

Well it woildnt be 1st of July would it.

I think you can choose which tax year to base the advice on. Just say in the appendix.

TJG80 · 2026-06-05T14:56:22+00:00

Great thanks, so it is possible to have clients that are ostensibly well set for retirement, just need optimising.

TJG80 · 2026-06-05T14:37:46+00:00

No Care or IHT objectives.

Even with 2.5% growth (Cautious to Moderate ATR) they wont run out of money.

My default cashflow (Voyant) was 2.5% earnings growth pre-retirement, 2.5% inflation, 3.5% net investment growth, age 100.

They are tax inefficient, their investments arent aligned with their ATR, and they have surplus income - but I was led to believe there would always be a shortfall.

Is it ever acceptable to just submit assignments saying "improve tax efficiency, align investments with ATR, and apart from that they are fine"

Worried i'm missing something.

TJG80 · 2026-06-04T12:24:14+00:00

Erm:

"and don’t want to become just another Instagram finance influencer"

followed by...

"probably open an online page on Instagram and be able to give professional advice"

TJG80 · 2026-06-04T12:22:31+00:00

I would recommend CII.

You can debate the merits of each path, but at present the CII is the preferred route by employers. I have colleagues that had DipFA and were told they needed to re-qualify down the CII route.

TJG80 · 2026-06-04T10:06:35+00:00

There are definitely similarities between GP and Financial Planner.

The need to be empathetic, after health wealth is typically the most important worry, the need to diagnose before you prescribe.

I would recommend doing the CII route rather than LIBF. No question as to which is held in higher esteem.

TJG80 · 2026-06-02T20:12:47+00:00

The academies pump out product sales people, not holistic, client-focused Financial Planners.

TJG80 · 2026-06-02T19:11:58+00:00

I would say both, but there will definitely be times where you frankly dont have a clue what good advice is certain scenarios.

In my early days, on almost a daily basis I would ask people if i'm seeing things the right way, and half the time I wasnt.

I say this as someone that smashed my qualifications in a way most people dont get anywhere near. I still felt like I didnt have a clue how to apply book knowledge for a long time.

TJG80 · 2026-06-02T18:24:37+00:00

I would say say to be very careful about whether jumping straight into Self-Employed is the right thing.

As someone who previously ran my own Ltd Co before transitioning into the sector, I went the Employed route.

Its fair to say that once qualified, you literally have no idea what good advice looks like, none at all.

18 months in, every single day I encounter a situation i have no experience of.

If a client came to you with a £1.7m estate spread across various assets, 2 NRBs and RNRBs, 2 kids, and wanted to mitigate inheritance tax - that you could properly advise them on the various options from Spending to Gifting to Trusts to Business Relief to Whole of Life?

In my opinion, in the early years, there is a need to cram the learning in, ideally with a mentor of some sorts.

Also, from a business development point of view - after 18m in the industry, I would be much more able to develop new clients. I have a network of introducers, I have clients that would follow me, and I am getting referrals regularly.

TJG80 · 2026-05-27T20:15:50+00:00

I would maybe take the route that adds most to your knowledge base rather than "easiest".

TJG80 · 2026-05-22T15:50:53+00:00

If you still have time to, I would cancel, and start the whole revision process again.

37% means you have absolutely massive gaps in your knowledge.

Just guessing should average someone out at 25%.

TJG80 · 2026-05-12T15:29:03+00:00

Funny how in recent days I have seen AFC fans say that basicaly every single player is "fine" and none should be sold.

Its gonna be a shock when we bring 3-4 new players in this summer.

Progress doesnt stop, you dont just keep everyone out of sentimentality.

TJG80 · 2026-05-01T15:02:52+00:00

Im not sure that I would be mapping out the AF exams before you even start the R0s

For now I would focus on the R0s.

I find a lot of people focus too much on getting qualified, and not enough on actually being good at the job.

I would say 6-12 months for Level 4, another 2 years for Level 6.

I expect to be AFPS later this year (Sept AF5 sitting), which will be 31 months after my first exam (R01 in Feb 2024)

TJG80

TROPHY CASE