Diploma in Employee Benefits and Retirement Savings

The overall aim of the Diploma is to provide holders with a comprehensive background to employee benefits and retirement savings in the UK.  This will equip them for work in pensions and allied areas and can lead to further study in these areas or toward completion of the Advanced Diploma.

Please note to undertake the Diploma you must be a Student of the PMI.

The examinations will be based on English law and practice, except where the syllabuses state otherwise, and it will be assumed that examination answers have been made in accordance with laws of the United Kingdom.

The syllabus structure of the qualification is shown below. It is necessary to pass all three units to be awarded the full qualification. 

• Understanding Retirement Provision (UK)
• Regulation of Retirement Provision
• Reward and Retirement

Full details of the syllabuses for each of the units can be found in the qualification specification.

To access the online study material, please visit the Useful resources section for more information.

The PMI have recently launched the 'study skills' website, which will help learners understand how best to prepare for their exams, as well as gives tips and information regarding the specific style of exams you may be taking.

The study skills website can be found here -

Guide to Studying/ Study skills - The Pensions Management Institute

The examinations are offered in April and October for the Core Units in the qualification.

The Reward and Retirement unit is offered every April.

Examination centres

We only offer these exams online 

Acknowledgements

All entries will be acknowledged. Please make sure you have received an acknowledgement of your entry prior to the closing date for entries.

Late entries cannot be accepted.

Special circumstances

Candidates who may require special arrangements for reasons of disability or similar should contact the PMI. Sufficient time should be allowed for such requests to be considered and for any arrangements to be made. All requests should be received by the closing date for entries at the latest.

Withdrawal from examinations

Candidates who wish to withdraw from an examination must do so in writing via email.  Depending on the circumstances and timing of the withdrawal candidates may be entitled to a partial refund of the examination entry fee. Full details can be found in the 'wider information set' of the PMI website.

Examination marking

Responsibility for the operation of the PMI's examinations is delegated by Council to the ADRP Committee. The Committee operates a rigorous marking process with numerous safeguards to ensure the anonymity of candidates, the impartiality of examiners, reliability, consistency, validity, objectivity and fairness.

The marking in each module is undertaken by qualified Members of the PMI, under the direction of a team of senior examiners led by a Principal Examiner who is a member of the ADRP Committee. All scripts are independently double marked.

Examination results

The date for the results will be confirmed in due course.

The Institute does not publish the pass mark for the examinations. Pass rates are published in PMI News following each examination session.

Examination grades

There is only one grade of pass (Grade P on the result notification). There are two grades of fail:

Grade S Fail within five marks of that required for a pass

Grade T Fail more than five marks below that required for a pass.

PMI does not publish the pass mark for the examinations. Pass rates are published in PMI News following each examination session.

Candidates completing the Diploma are entitled to apply for Professional Membership with PMI with the designatory initials ProfPMI.