I qualified for a stakeholder pension scheme through my employer. I have been awarded with the Qualification Success Story award by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for my contributions to the scheme. The FCA recognises Stakeholder Pensions in their new form which is a stakeholder pension of a defined contribution plan with an investment in a pension fund. The new Stakeholder Pensions were designed to recognise the contribution made by each employee to their pension and provide them with more flexibility about how they choose to benefit from their pension savings. I had a stakeholder pension with my previous employer, which I joined at 31 years old, when I joined as a graduate engineer. I was with them for 17 years and retired after 36 years service. I did not just contribute to my pension, but was also active in the scheme – looking after the administration of it and making sure that members' interests were looked after. In order to qualify for this award, you must meet some criteria: You need to be at least 20 years of age at the date of joining and have been employed for at least two years by the date you would be eligible for a benefit under the scheme Your employer must have been participating in the scheme for at least 10 years You A key function of the FCA is to regulate the UK's financial services industry, which includes insurance companies and pension funds. In this role, the FCA ensures that companies and individuals who operate in these sectors adhere to high standards of good quality, fair practice and ethical behavior.
The FCA has a number of important areas of focus, including: Planning and management: the FCA looks at the way in which insurance companies and pension providers are run. Financial products: these include life assurance, pensions and savings products. Investment advice: this area covers all professional advice given by investment advisers, including those who work for banks, building societies or stockbrokers. The FCA is the UK's banking and financial services regulator, and has been since 2012. It was established in response to the global financial crisis, which had a profound impact on the UK's economy: banks collapsed, unemployment soared and people lost their homes.
2