The Loop | May 2022

May 2022

Your quarterly insight to the pensions world from the team at The Pension Solutions Group and PSG SIPP

A sweet today or 2 tomorrow Teaching kids how to save

Inside this issue

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Welcome to Avonside TPSG and PSG SIPPs new HQ

Introducing our Charity of the Year

Meet the team

and much more...

Welcome to our Spring edition.

Find out all the latest developments at TPSG and PSGS including a sneak peak of our brand new HQ.

In this issue Company News Welcome to Avonside

Get to know Katie Lewis - Senior Administrator at PSG SIPP

Feature and Insight A sweet today or 2 tomorrow

Industry Insight Financial education

Company News Introducing our Charity of the Year

PSG STOP! campaign

Meet the team

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PSG SIPP Limited Registered in England and Wales no. 07030395 Registered Office: Unit F1, Avonside Enterprise Park, New Broughton Road, Melksham, Wiltshire, SN12 8BT is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (register number 514654). | The Pension Solutions Group Limited Registered in England and Wales no. 06683561 Registered Office: Unit F1, Avonside Enterprise Park, New Broughton Road, Melksham, Wiltshire, SN12 8BT | The PSG Trust Company Limited Registered in England and Wales no. 06289058 Unit F1, Avonside Enterprise Park, New Broughton Road, Melksham, Wiltshire, SN12 8BT

View from the top

Our introductions to the Loop are often a little reflective.

An opportunity to muse on something topical, something relevant to PSG, maybe to us all, and perhaps try to provide a unifying theme for the edition. While this isn’t really the latter, we have all found ourselves discussing whether, over the past couple of years, something has shifted where service and expectations are concerned.

I know I’m not alone in being more than a little dismayed at the sight of signs in shops, GP surgery waiting rooms, and so many other places, stating that abusive and violent behaviour towards employees won’t be tolerated. It’s concerning enough to see evidence that people need to be reminded to not be thoroughly unpleasant, but I find it hard not to form the impression that this is getting worse. Everyone from our extremely diligent and hard working property lawyer to our wonderful administrators is reporting ever more instances of aggressive, disrespectful and totally unacceptable behaviour. Why? Is it Brexit and the deeply worrying polarising effect that’s had on our society? Are the lockdowns and

Duncan Marketing and Duncan Parsons Communications CEO, TPSG & Manager, & PSG SIPP TPSG Limited PSG SIPP Limited

everything else that came with Covid to blame? Making many less patient, less able to cope. Whatever the reason for this epidemic of impatience, intolerance and disrespect, we too will not put up with it. As sad as it is to introduce this edition of the loop on a sober note, I feel I must.

Whatever the reason for this epidemic of impatience, intolerance and disrespect, we too will not put up with it.

We are blessed with a lovely team of bright, interesting and hard-working people whom we feel privileged to call colleagues. The vast majority of people we interact with also recognise their worth and value our service. However, it seems some don’t and because of this, perhaps you’ll understand where we’re coming from if you see, in social media, on our website and elsewhere, our own versions of those signs I find so depressing.

As dark a stain as these instances are on our days, there is much to be optimistic about. The days are long and warm, we’ve moved to an amazing new space, perfectly suited to PSG’s growing team, and business volumes keep growing. Luckily, all our lovely, hardworking colleagues are on hand to help with the unique objectives of each client and their adviser. I hope you enjoy this edition, our seventh now, of The Loop.

THE LOOP | MAY 2022

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Company News

Welcome to Avonside TPSG and PSG SIPPs brand new HQ

By Mike Baker Communications Director mike@tpsg.co.uk

It’s been a gruelling 7 long months since a decision was first made to relocate our Wiltshire based teams from the rural delights of Box to a swanky new pad in the heart of bustling Melksham.

During this time there were the usual obstacles to overcome as with any office move. Things such as legalities, infrastructure, IT and logistics all required careful consideration and planning throughout. Alongside this, we were also on an exciting journey with the owners at Avonside to visualise

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a transformation from tired, old dairy factory into a modern and comfortable office space fit for the 21st Century.

Key to this was also an opportunity for our unique and eye-catching brand identity to take centre stage and ensure an element of wow factor lived within the walls for every staff member and visitor stepping through the doors.

On the right is a sneak peak of the renovation of our new office space at Avonside over the past several months and why we’re hugely proud of the small part we’ve played in adding to the history of this prestigious building in the heart of Melksham.

Why we chose to make Avonside our home Towards the end of 2021 our lease agreement in Box was coming up for renewal. But instead of playing it safe, we decided to look elsewhere. It was time for a radical rethink. More than anything, we really needed more space and Avonside came up on our search. It was a lightbulb moment.

The location made a great hub given how spread out we are as a team and

the vision of Avonside felt very ‘us’.

It was also great that we were able to choose which service provider we wanted, as we wanted to keep the current one we have. Relationships like that are important to keep and Avonside recognised that.

The kettles on and it’s business as usual.

Since the end of the month our team have been getting settled into our new space. If you haven’t already, please update your records to our new address and be sure to let us know you’ve done this at changeaddress@psgsipp.co.uk Where you’ll find us Unit F1, Avonside Enterprise Park, New Broughton Road, Melksham, Wiltshire, SN12 8BT.

Please note that this move relates only to operations in Wiltshire. Our office in Ampthill, Bedfordshire remains the same.

If you are a business owner looking for a new space to start your next chapter, drop a line at hello@avonsidewilts.co.uk or via the Avonside website.

THE LOOP | MAY 2022

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Get to know: Katie Lewis, Senior Administrator at PSG SIPP

To Brie or not to Brie?

In each edition of the LOOP and in no particular order, we’d like to put a face to a name and introduce to you a member of the team from TPSG and PSG SIPP.

How long have you worked at PSG SIPP?

Meet Katie.

Checking my team’s work, mainly for my colleagues Beth and Rosie. Looking at processes and their improvements and valuations!

1 year and 6 months What does a typical day look like for you?

What do you enjoy about your role?

I enjoy supporting my team, having someone to train and guide is my favourite part of my job, but I also love using my creative side when thinking about processes and improvements.

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What are your hobbies, interests?

I am currently training for Bath Half for our Charity of the Year, Dorothy House, so my evenings consist of a mixture of runs and gym, which I love as I always feel so much better afterwards. I also love that I can mix them up between solo and social, sometimes you need some alone time when going for a run but I do love going to the gym with my partner and friends.

I try to do something for charity each year including in the past, a skydive, quizzes and other runs.

What’s your favourite cheese?

I love going out for dinner and drinks with friends and games nights, I am lucky to work with some fabulous people and I am equally lucky to spend time outside of work with them.

This is a hard question as cheese is my favourite food and I truly believe any food/meal can be improved by its presence. It would have to be a toss up between Smoked Cheddar and Brie.

I really enjoy watching Bath Rugby and the F1 with my partner and I love everything to do with tattoos, travelling, food and music (mainly pop-punk/rock/grunge).

“I try to do something for charity each year including in the past, a skydive, quizzes and other runs.”

Talk us through a recent week in your life.

Monday Rosie is Accounts newest member, she is now responsible for completing the Annual Valuations, these are sent to me for checking the night before, so I spend my morning checking these.

Several of us across the business are always looking at process improvements. We had a meeting and it was a great opportunity to speak to swap ideas and suggestions.

I love learning from other people and expanding my knowledge.

We also have a start of the week Accounts Team chat to go over our priorities for the week and identify whether anyone needs any help with anything.

In the afternoon myself and the Accounts Team Leader, Alecia Giles, spent most of this time discussing the team and our processes. Looking at where we want to develop and what improvements could be made. It is always nice to have these meetings with one another to get different ideas flowing and developing and having other points of view.

Tuesday

Thursday

Knowing the rest of my week is going to be busy, my focus of the day is Rosie’s checking and Quarterly Valuations. Focusing on the Quarterly Valuations also means that all client’s have up to date values for the start of the year.

Today my manager, Pearl, and I took a trip to the Ampthill office. This was my first opportunity to meet the team and learn more about our processes. Our main focus for the day were the Annual Valuations and the Wake Ups. This was a great opportunity as it also gave us some fresh ideas of how to improve our processes. The drive there and back was long and wet but very much worth it and I look forward to my next visit again next month.

I spent a large part of the afternoon replying to emails and continuing with the Quarterly Valuations.

This evenings job was to do the weekly food shop, the fun never stops!

Wednesday Today I am in the office, it is always nice to have a couple of days in the office in the week now that we are able to. This gives me an opportunity to see other colleagues across the business that I wouldn’t normally see.

This morning I made a start on the Charity Newsletter that we send around the company. This allows everyone to see what we have been up to and what is coming up. More valuation checking completed.

Today the Accounts Team met up for lunch, we had a couple of birthdays in the team this week so it was nice to merge our lunches to celebrate them.

After work I try and get a house job done to start the week off in the right way, this week it was a bit of household I spent the majority of this afternoon shopping. continuing with the Quarterly Valuations (there are a lot!).

This evening I mopped and hoovered and then spent the rest of the evening in front of the telly with my feet up.

I also spent today tidying up our internal workspaces, this involved splitting it in two. I made a start on one today, making sure the spreadsheet had all of the correct tabs and data and that all the formula’s and formatting was correct.

After work we stopped off at IKEA for a bit of homeware shopping (my favourite) and some Swedish Meatballs.

Friday Today I spent a large part of the morning finishing the tidy up of the internal spreadsheets, making sure the second was done and ready to use.

Then my priority for the day turned to valuation checking.

At the end the day and week, the Accounts team get together once more for a roundup of the week and anything we might need to address for the following week.

Friday evening, finally the weekend, and I get to spend this with family.

THE LOOP | MAY 2022

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Feature and Insight

1 sweet today

or 2 sweets tomorrow?

By Marcus Forsey Marketing and Communications Manager Marcus@psgsipp.co.uk

Teaching children the importance of saving As if the financial impact of a global pandemic wasn’t enough, the UK and wider world are now in the midst of a cost of living crisis.

about finances from an early age. You’ll be helping them to develop a healthy relationship with money, especially at a time when family budgets are being stretched in ways that money is going less further.

Everything from energy bills to a loaf of bread is on the rise, so the importance of saving for your own future as well as teaching your children how to save for theirs has never been more important than it is now.

One way to do this is to involve them in basic financial decisions, whether that be setting and adhering to a budget when shopping, demonstrating to them the importance of being guarded against impulsiveness when considering a purchase or putting money away in order to reap a greater reward at a later stage.

But if you held out a sweet and asked the average 5 year old whether they would like to have this today or wait and have 2 tomorrow, chances are the sweet wrapper would already be in the bin (or on the floor) before you’d even finished asking the question.

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“When parents model good behaviours early on, kids get the message that being smart about money is part of growing up” - Child Mind Institute Pocket money has traditionally been a way for parents to encourage their children to learn how to be responsible with money and how to spend, budget and save. The key to this is helping them

understand how they can split that money into some they can spend today and some that isn’t flexible and should be saved.

There are many ways to help children understand that crucial difference, perhaps by showing them regularly how any money they’ve saved is growing in a savings account or even something longer term like a SIPP. Setting short term goals such as saving enough for a new game or toy will help them to realise the benefits of waiting for that reward but also give them the option to keep saving for a much bigger one as well.

But all that said, it’s just as important to allow children to make mistakes with money and learn from the consequences too. So, if your 5 year old wants a sweet today instead of 2 tomorrow, let them.

One day they might surprise you and be happy to wait instead.

Industry Insight

Young people’s experience of financial education What do young people want to learn more about?

74%

of young people now report having access to financial education in school

Financial products – such as mortgages, pensions, loans and credit cards – along with budgeting and debt management came top, followed closely by tax

56%

of respondents say they’re self-taught – up 12% on last year

say most of their financial understanding and knowledge comes from their parents

15%

What age young people said they would like to learn about money

Under 10

From 10

Reference: www.libf.ac.uk

Only cite school as their main source of financial education – but that’s a 7% increase on last year

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Company News

Introducing our Charity of the Year We’re super pleased to announce that we are championing Dorothy House Hospice Care in 2022.

This important Wiltshire based organisation is here for anyone in our community who’s facing a life-limiting illness. Using a full breadth of services, they create individual care journeys which start at diagnosis and continue with bereavement support for family, carers and children.

We’ve got lots of exciting plans in the pipeline to support this important organisation over the course of 2022

and we’ve already kicked things off in true PSG style with an Easter themed fundraising day in the office.

The day included a Sweet and Savoury Bake Sale, Competitions such as guess the eggs in the jar, and of course, an egg and spoon race!

Later this year both Pearl Belcher and Katie Lewis will also be participating in the Bath Half marathon on 16th October 2022 at Bath Recreation Ground. Now in its 40th year, the Balf Half has been a life support for Charities including Dorothy House, giving runners of all levels the opportunity to challenge themselves and raise vital funds.

To sponsor any of our activities please click on the justgiving links below.

Your donations are greatly appreciated.

Katie Lewis is fundraising for Dorothy House

Pearl Belcher is fundraising for Dorothy House Visit the Dorothy house website

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We’re people too Our staff come to work to support others with their (or their clients) pension schemes and assets. It is important that our staff are treated with the same courtesy and respect we have for all our clients, advisers and business partners.

This means that aggressive, discriminatory or abusive behaviour towards our staff, whether that be via telephone or email will not be tolerated under any circumstances. We’ll be promoting our Stop! campaign via social media and our website over the coming months and will take appropriate action wherever our employees are at the receiving end of abusive behaviour.

No one deserves to come to work and be shouted at, sworn at and disrespected. It’s not acceptable and it has an impact on how that person feels for the rest of their day and can make them dread coming to work.

Help us to stamp out abusive behaviour and treat our staff with respect.

THE LOOP | MAY 2022

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Becki Gumbrell PSG SIPP, Melksham

Hello to our latest recruits Across Ampthill and Melksham, for TPSG and PSG SIPP, we are delighted to welcome our latest team members.

Laura Salt TPSG, Melksham Charlotte Wolton PSG SIPP, Ampthill Lauren Robins TPSG, Melksham Katharine Harries PSG SIPP, Melksham Mark Hall PSG SIPP, Melksham Daniel Jimpson PSG SIPP, Melksham Hannah Bavington PSG SIPP, Ampthill Gemma Box PSG SIPP, Melksham Olivia Di Giacomo PSG SIPP, Ampthill

TPSG and PSG SIPP are always on the hunt for bright sparks to join our growing teams - find out more – email your CV to tracey@tpsg.co.uk