Pensions engagement platform Money Alive has launched two box sets to help advisers and their clients protect themselves against scams and educate themselves on the state pension.
The Protect Yourself From Scams box set, which went live last week on the website, aims to educate viewers about the ever-increasing threat of scams and how they can reduce the chances of them becoming a victim.
The second set is a two-chapter box set on state pensions to help people understand how the benefit is calculated and how to patch up one's national insurance record if there are gaps.
The state pension box set also includes links to the government websites to help viewers get their state pension forecast and to examine their National Insurance record and identify any gaps.
As an adviser I recognised the amount of time I was taking giving my clients necessary financial education.KirbyAccording to Andy Kirby, founder of Money Alive, the use of such box sets as part of the financial education process is an important part of encouraging people to improve basic financial knowledge - as well as helping advisers get vital information to their clients.
Kirby said: "As an adviser I recognised the amount of time I was taking giving my clients the necessary financial education as part of my advice process and had a lightbulb moment about how this could be done more efficiently and consistently.
"Since launching Money Alive it has been very satisfying seeing so many advisers adopt the platform to do this heavy lifting and to enjoy the risk management benefits of the platform."
The Protect Yourself From Scams box set comprises two chapters. The first is: ‘Be alert to investment and pension scams!’ and shows typical ways scammers approach people in order to steal their money.
The second, ‘How Scamsmart can help’, gives some ideas about how viewers can protect themselves from scams and introduces the FCA’s Scamsmart website too.
The box set concludes with a link to Scamsmart and a PDF summarising the videos that viewers can download and keep with their financial documentation.
According to Ian Beestin, co-founder of Money Alive, advisers whose clients watch either box set will be sent a viewing report, which not only shows the viewers confirmation they have watched and understood the video but also whether they have clicked on the various links, engaged with either the government or Scamsmart sites, and downloaded the summary PDFs.
This comes days after the company received a £749,000 financial investment from Foresight Group, using equity finance from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, as part of a £1m funding round with several private investors.
The investment will be used to help the company grow organically, taking on at least eight new staff and expanding its range of educational services.
simoney.kyriakou@ft.com
