The PMI is planning to streamline its membership grades into four levels: Student, Professional, Associate, and Fellow. The new Professional grade of membership will combine the PMI's existing certificate and diploma grades. The simplified structure will enable students to develop better-defined career paths and take exams that are more relevant to a wider range of roles.

The improvements to the PMI's qualification structure are designed to be more inclusive by creating five separate routes to fellowship: Retirement Provision, Pensions Administration, Trustee, Benefits, and Advice & Guidance. The structure means it will be easier for professionals working in different parts of the pensions industry to obtain the Fellowship level of membership. This should make the PMI's senior membership more diverse and representative of the entire industry. It will also give more members the opportunity to stand on the PMI's Board and Advisory Council.

Before creating the new proposals, the PMI conducted an extensive consultation process, and the proposals were approved by both the PMI's Advisory Council and its Board. The PMI has also undertaken a further telephone consultation process with members. The feedback from this consultation has been encouraging with members believing the new structure and pathways to fellowship are clearer. Members said the reforms "could add a lot of value" and "give people that sense of continued education" as well as enabling people to "be part of the pensions club no matter where they are in their career". The PMI will now address improvements suggested during the consultation and commence a broad communication exercise with all members to ensure they understand the new structure.

Gareth Tancred, CEO of the Pensions Management Institute, comments: "As an organisation, we felt it was time to look at our whole structure, redefine the routes to fellowship, make membership more inclusive, and to better support people's career aspirations. The changes proposed should also make it easier for people to understand our membership grades and qualification structure. The proposals will hopefully benefit students, employers, and trustees, as well as existing members, associates, and fellows.

"Following supportive feedback from members on the proposals, we're look at implementing these changes later in the year. Before we implement the improvements, we want to reassure members that there will be no strict cut-off point with any changes. We will see students through to the end of any qualifications and anything new will be run alongside to make sure no learner is going to get left behind. Members should be reassured that the PMI’s high standards will still need to be met at all levels. The qualifications will not be made any easier and advanced diploma exams will continue to be mapped to the nationally recognised qualifications framework."