Pensions World

As a New Year pension resolution, why not volunteer for TPAS? urges Tony Attubato, TPAS

Forget about dieting, getting fit, or trying to give up smoking. The resolution we hope you make in 2012 is: “I’m going to volunteer for TPAS”.

For over 25 years the core of our free service has been delivered by volunteer advisers drawn from all sections of the pension industry. Our advisers are truly valued for their independence and expertise.

With auto-enrolment around the corner, more and more people will be thinking about pensions, perhaps for the first time. To meet this challenge, we are looking for dedicated pension professionals to help. We have three main limbs to our service and TPAS volunteers are already heavily involved in delivering all of them. We hope you can join them.

Helping resolve disputes

TPAS is known for its dispute resolution service and it is here that most of our advisers can help. Typical complaints concern mistakes in calculations, delays in paying benefits or complete misunderstandings. By using your pensions knowledge, you can help the complainant understand what has happened and help the parties involved find an outcome that is sensible and appropriate.

New advisers are mentored by staff at the TPAS office and we will not let you loose on your own until we are both happy and confident you can do so. But even when you are let loose, we will not cast you adrift. The TPAS technical team is at the end of the phone; guidance is available in the dedicated section of the website (you will need to become an adviser if you want to have a peep); we have a dedicated in box for advisers to send us questions; and all advisers join regional teams headed up by a fellow volunteer who is also available to help. We also run annual workshops, attendance at which counts towards your continued professional development.

Advisers choose how many cases they are prepared to deal with at any one time and usually handle them from home or from their office.

Helpline

We are also looking for volunteers to help on our busy helpline. Each day it answers hundreds of calls from the simple to the complex from the general public about pension matters. We already have a small dedicated team of volunteers who give up a day a week to help. The time commitment is up to you. If you can spare one day a week, a fortnight, or even a month, and can get to our office in London, we would love to hear from you. In return we cannot offer you any pay, but we have a lively and friendly office; your expenses will be met; we supply plenty of coffee to keep you going; and most weeks one of us will have brought in biscuits to share!

Because of the time commitment, our helpline volunteers are usually recently retired, but the role would also suit pension people who are between jobs and are looking to boost their CV or want to keep themselves up to date. Full training is provided.

Talks in the workplace

TPAS advisers can also contribute by helping to deliver our “talks in the workplace” service. The talks focus on helping people to understand their pension options and take responsibility for their retirement planning. Last year we delivered over 300 talks, half of which were presented by volunteers. TPAS does all the arranging; we simply need pension experts to deliver the talks and answer any questions that arise.

Willingness to help others

Generally we are looking for volunteers who have at least five years’ experience in pensions and hold a pension related qualification. If you do not have a relevant qualification, we hope you have ten years’ experience. More importantly, you should have a willingness to help others.

You also need to make sure you have sufficient time to offer. There will be service standards to meet which are not onerous, but you do need to make sure you will have enough spare time.

We will happily answer any questions you have – just telephone 020 7630 2252. If you have decided to volunteer, simply download an application form from our website.

You can find out more information about volunteering for TPAS by visiting The Pensions Advisory Service.