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Finance & accounting

Pensions adviser

Pensions advisers help people to plan for financial security in retirement.

Annual Salary

£22,000 to £70,000

Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

36 to 38 a week

You could work: evenings / weekends; on shifts

2.9%
Future employment

There will be 2.9% more Pensions adviser jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

In your day to day duties you may:

  • manage client relationships
  • work with personal and corporate clients
  • find new business
  • calculate the value of pension funds
  • issue regular statements to pension scheme members
  • answer enquiries from scheme members
  • keep up to date with new financial regulations and laws

Working environment

You could work in an office or from home.

You can get into this job through:

  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role
  • applying directly
  • a graduate training scheme
Apprenticeship

You can get into this job through a higher apprenticeship as a financial adviser, specialising in pensions, or as a financial services professional, specialising in workplace pensions.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
For more information
Work

You could start as a pensions administrator or financial customer service adviser. You would do qualifications while you work to move into an adviser role. Qualifications are offered by the Pensions Management Institute and the Chartered Insurance Institute.

Direct application

You can apply to companies directly if you have experience in finance or sales. GCSEs or A levels in English and maths would also be helpful.

Employers will offer you extra training in their pensions products when you start.

Other routes

If you have a degree you may be able to join a pension company's graduate trainee scheme to become an adviser.

Employers recruit from a wide range of degree subjects but it may help if your study includes numerical or business based modules.

More information

Professional and industry bodies

You can join the Pensions Management Institute for professional recognition, training opportunities and to make industry contacts.

Further information

You can find out more about becoming a pensions adviser from Pension Careers.

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With experience, you could specialise in a particular type of pension, become a pensions manager, or move into other types of financial advice.

You could also become a self-employed pensions consultant.

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • customer service skills
  • knowledge of economics and accounting
  • maths knowledge
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • sensitivity and understanding
  • persistence and determination
  • analytical thinking skills
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • thinking and reasoning skills
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
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