75point3: New team members at Chester office will meet demand for auto enrolment
A prize-winning financial advice firm has taken on two new members of staff in anticipation of an increase in demand for the services it provides about auto enrolment pension legislation.
75point3, which provides services on all aspects of financial planning for pensions, life assurance, investments and mortgages to individuals and businesses, has appointed financial planner Kirsty Stewart and paraplanner Martyn Wickens to the team at its Chester office.
Reporting to managing director Stephen Jones, 25 year-old Stewart holds a degree in business and management with law, a certificate for financial advisers (CeFA) and a Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) diploma in financial planning (DipPFS). Prior to joining 75point3 she worked with wealth management group Sanlam UK.
Martyn Wickens, who is 26 years-old and will be supporting Kirsty Stewart, holds a degree in physics, a CII certificate in mortgage advice and has attained his diploma regulated in financial planning (RO) exams for mortgage, protection and regulation. A paraplanner is a financial services professional who researches, recommends and implements detailed investment plans for clients of financial advisers.
Probably the single biggest change to workplace pensions for 20 years is the government’s workplace pension reforms, which requires employers to have automatically enrolled all eligible employees between the age of 22 and state pension age, earning more than £9440 a year and working in the UK, into a qualifying pension scheme by 2018. There is no choice in the matter and both the employer and employee will make contributions. Although initiated in October 2012 for large corporations, since then progressively smaller businesses have come on board and from February all employers with 250 or more staff will have to comply.
Commenting on the new appointments and the significance of auto enrolment, financial adviser and lead paraplanner at 75point3 Warren Bentham, said: “As a team, Kirsty, Martyn, director Stephen Jones and I are already working closely with a number of local companies on their auto enrolment delivery. 2018 may seem a long way off but we can’t stress enough the importance of making sure pension arrangements are in place well before then and for businesses of all sizes. Not doing so could also lead to sizeable non-compliance penalties.”
Picture: (left to right): Martyn Wickens, Kirsty Stewart and Warren Bentham, 75point3.
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About 75point3
Established in 1999, 75point3 is a firm of independent mortgage and financial advisers which provides advice to both individuals and companies on all aspects of financial planning, such as pensions, life assurance, investments and mortgages. The firm has offices throughout North Wales including Abergele, Caernarfon, Colwyn Bay, Gresford, Llandudno, Llanrwst, Pwllheli and Ruthin as well as Chester in England.
75point3 is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm number 418618. Its employees are regularly recognised with industry accreditations for their work and in 2013 managing director Stephen Jones won Financial Planner of the Year 2013 at the Money Management Awards.
For more information about 75point3 Ltd, contact:
Stephen Jones, managing director
Tel: 01244 320221
Email: stephenjones@75point3.com
www.75point3.com