Toni Hunter's SuperBlog

Whilst there exists a myriad of qualifications that can prove technical competence across most areas of the IT industry, how do you know that the person advising you has the skills to do so?

You can trust ‘Chartered’…..

Many professions such as mine rely on their Chartered  status to build trust with consumers.  Well, there now exists a Chartered status within the IT industry that is aimed at providing proof of experience, ability and breadth of knowledge.

It carries the post nominal letters CITP and is the Chartered IT Professional status which is administered by the British Computer Society.

The CITP  has been setup to be the benchmark of IT excellence, it is a rigorously assessed employer led standard, and it sets out to provide all those who need IT support that the person they are dealing with has the highest standards backed up by a professional body.

If you are used to the various Microsoft Accreditations, such as the “Microsoft Certified Professional Developer” (MCPD) these are designed to show that the engineer, who is installing and configuring your equipment, has all the Microsoft skills to do it.  Think of the CITP as more like being an independent project manager who would look at your whole current and future IT usage, to come up with the best solution and plan.

A holistic approach to IT solutions

Many issues with IT are caused by looking at specific parts of a system in isolation, and creating a separate solution, and for too long it has not been possible to independently ascertain if the person giving you advice has the “right” to do so – the CITP gives you that security. The Daily/Sunday Telegraph formally lists those achieving the CITP, and names of individuals are held on a detailed register.

If you are familiar with the level of professionalism and integrity that the Chartered Status provides Accountants and Architects – then you can now expect the same from the IT world.

Need advice?

So if you are looking to get some IT advice what should you look out for? Well the best advice is always to get some recommendations, ask those that you trust and see who they use. But now you can also check the integrity of anyone by seeing if they are Chartered – after all you would not trust your accounts to just anyone.

The information published in this blog was kindly supplied by David Kilpatrick of iTEXS in Cambridge.

Are you aware that the minimum retirement age is increasing to 55 from 6th April 2010?

This will mean that you will no longer be able to obtain an income or draw tax-free cash from your private pension before your 55th birthday except on the grounds of ill-health.

If you are aged 50 to 54 on 5th April 2010, you need to speak to your IFA as soon as possible to discuss your retirement plan as you will lose access to pension funds until you are 55 if you don’t act before 5th April 2010.  Please give your adviser time to administer your plans, there’s little point in approaching them at the end of March.

You have three options:

1. Buy an annuity
2. Transfer to an income drawdown scheme
3. Do nothing and wait until your 55!

Did you know that you do not need to physically retire to start taking income from your pension plan?  This means you could take your tax-free cash drawdown and reinvest it while you continue to work, giving you increased flexibility and control over your future.

Obviously taking cash from your fund will reduce its value so you need to talk to an adviser about the effect of this on the long term income you will derive from the plan.

The message here is clear, if you are 50 -54 years old and haven’t spoken to your IFA for some time, now is the time to do.  Don’t procrastinate, it could cost you dearly.

If you don’t have an IFA, I can recommend through personal and client experience, the advice of Chris Langdon at RHG 01438 345734. 

Please bear in mind that while accountants have a good working knowledge of retirement planning, most are not regulated or insured to give advice.  Make sure you are getting good quality advice bespoke to your needs from a professionally qualified  financial adviser.

The information provided in this blog illustrates my opinions and experiences, it does not constitute advice and I do not accept responsibility for any actions taken or refrained from as a result of reading this post.