RegulationJan 24 2018

SimplyBiz offers GDPR and later life planning guides

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SimplyBiz offers GDPR and later life planning guides

SimplyBiz Group has launched a referral service and guide aimed at helping advisers understand upcoming EU data laws and the later-life lending market.

For later-life lending guidance, the company has partnered with Just Group to offer its members exclusive access to its new service offering access to retirement income planning, equity release advice and care funding advice.

Gary Kershaw, compliance director at SimplyBiz Group, said: “There will always be certain product areas in which advisers either cannot, or do not want to, operate. This could be down to not holding the relevant permissions or qualifications, not having the right resources or sufficient time, or simply because it’s an area in which they would just prefer not to be involved.”

SimplyBiz has also launched an online resource to help advisers meet the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) policy.  

The EU regulation, which comes into force on 25 May, will be supervised by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). It will dictate the way in which UK businesses must deal with the personal data of all individuals who reside in the UK. The guide offers information about GDPR compliance.

New internal policy documents and guidance on such issues as the responsibilities of data protection officers and the management of breaches are also included.

Richard Ardron, marketing director at SimplyBiz said: "There have been a number of queries surrounding this regulation, such as whether its implementation will be influenced by Brexit and how an adviser could be affected if a client requests their personal data be destroyed and then later lodges a complaint against the adviser.

“This confusion means that advisers need clear, reliable and comprehensive support.”

Robson Laidler Financial Planning IFA Neil Cowie said that his firm had GDPR and later-life planning on its radar and is looking into them further. However, at the moment it is concentrating on embedding Mifid II rules into the business.