PMI teams up with Imperial College London

The Pensions Management Institute has teamed up with Imperial College London to collaborate on a proposed MSc degree in retirement provision.

PMI will work with the London-based university, ranked as the eighth best university in the world by Times Higher Education, to plot out the Master of Science qualification and has formed a working party to decide on the technical content of the qualification.

PMI chief executive Vince Linnane said: "The PMI has been considering bringing an academic partner on board for some time.

"While we have experience gained over four decades amongst our members of advising and managing pension schemes, we felt that such seismic changes for our industry should lead us to examine how we can benefit from aligning ourselves with an institution which can offer academic enhancement, collaborative research and innovative thinking to promote even higher standards of excellence in retirement provision."

The PMI has also announced plans to launch its first qualification aimed at retail advisers and consultants, such as IFAs and insurance firms, in April.

It is awaiting approval from the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation for three modules which form the qualification, with the first examinations for candidates pencilled in for October.

"Normally all of our previous qualifications have been dedicated workplace retirement provision qualification. This is the first qualification that we offer which straddles the divide between workplace pensions provision and retail and individual saving solutions." Linnane added.

It follows the PMI being granted accredited body status by the Financial Services Authority, allowing it to issue statements of professional standing on a complimentary basis to all members who comply with the Retail Distribution Review's professional standards requirements.