The level 4 Certificate in Pension Transfer Advice develops the in-depth knowledge and practical skills needed by anyone seeking to advise on the transfer of safeguarded benefits, an increasingly important part of the advice process following the Government’s pension reforms.
The Certificate satisfies the appropriate FCA qualification requirements for those wanting to undertake pension transfer activities.
Read the qualification specification here.
Find out more about enhancements being made to CII Level 6 pensions units >
Who’s it for?
- Retail investment advisers and non-advisers alike seeking to undertake pension transfer work and become pension transfer specialists
- Retail investment advisers, paraplanners, technical consultants and those in financial planning support roles wanting to update their knowledge in this area
FCA announcement – October 2018
The Certificate in Pension Transfer Advice meets the current FCA requirements to be a pension transfer specialist. However, the FCA have announced in October 2018 that, from 2020, those requirements will increase so that all pension transfer specialists will have to have the full qualification for retail investment advice. For many people this will entail no new qualification requirement as they already hold the CII’s Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning or Diploma in Financial Planning. However, those holding only the Certificate in Pension Transfer Advice will need to undertake further qualification study.
The FCA’s October 2018 announcement does not immediately change anyone’s qualification to practise. We already had draft plans to create clear guidance and a path to qualification in line with the new rules when they came out and were awaiting the final direction of the FCA decisions. Now that this has been confirmed, we will finalise and publicise our plans soon.
Recognition of prior learning
Before studying, check to see whether any of your previous academic qualifications or credits from other professional bodies and institutes can be carried towards completion of the Certificate.
Find out more about recognition of prior learning >
Completion requirements
The Certificate involves completion of four units from the Personal Finance qualifications framework, providing 70 credits on completion.
See our key information link to the right of this page for details
For further information, see our key information link to the right of the page
Assessment method
Certificate level units (R0 units) are assessed by multiple-choice question exam (MCQ). For online MCQ exams, result notification is immediate on completion. For paper-based MCQ exams, results are released five weeks’ following the exam sitting. Unit AF7 is assessed by written short answer and case study based exam questions.
Find out more about assessments, including policies and exam centres >
Learning support
Each qualification unit comes with the essential tools to support core learning. For a single fee, study packages typically include: study text, assessment entry and access to RevisionMate, our online study tool.
We also offer additional study materials to support individual learning. These range from key fact booklets and next-edition study texts, to question packs and Learn interactive tutorials.
For full unit availability, click the unit links to the right of this page