Did you write outstanding pensions stories last year?

Entry guide: Pensions Journalist of the Year

Jan 06, 2025

Did you write outstanding pensions stories last year?

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The trophy for Pensions Journalist of the Year will be awarded to the financial journalist who best covered pensions in 2024, with separate trophies for B2B and Consumer writers.

Entering is a great way to gain recognition for your individual accomplishments.

Judges will be looking for evidence that you were the top journalist covering pensions in 2024.

Was your output essential reading for your audience? Did you consistently highlight issues important to the sector and impact it? Did your specialist knowledge of pensions enable you to provide fresh perspectives or offer valuable guidance and analysis? Were you able to present complex subject matter in a way that was intelligible to your readers?

Pensions Journalist of the Year (B2B & Consumer), sponsored by Standard Life

Entries will close at 11pm on Friday 7 February 2025 for the journalist categories. Please note, for the 2025 awards, entries will NOT be accepted after the entry deadline due to a limited judging time frame.

You'll need to submit:

A short supporting statement (maximum 300 words) explaining why you should be considered for this award and why your submission deserves to win.
Three examples of your work, features, articles, investigations, etc, showcasing your skill as a journalist and specialist knowledge of pensions.
A headshot of yourself for use in relevant Awards collateral and on the night at the Headlinemoney Awards ceremony.

Judges refer extensively to supporting statements during their deliberations, so be sure to include:

A clear explanation of where your pieces were published and any useful background/context for each.
Relevant info so judges can see the impact of your stories/features/blogs, other editorial items of interest.
Any positive outcomes from your submissions, e.g. help for readers/consumers/industry, debate in Parliament, change in the law, a review into the way things are done, etc.
Evidence of your dedication, professionalism and reputation for efficiency.

When looking at your three examples of work, judges are likely to consider:

Is your copy well-written, accurate and useful for the audience concerned?
Are your submissions fresh and original? Do they explore new angles or provide new warnings?
Do they contain exclusive or hard-hitting investigative work? Or comprehensive/informative surveys?
Are your submissions campaigning and/or include a call-to-action?
Did you make accurate predictions/forecasts?
Did your submissions produce a positive result? For example, prompt a change in the law, a review into the way things are done, etc?
Where relevant, do they contain sensible tips for readers, further steps, etc?
Do your submissions make good use of aids such as tables, graphs, break-out boxes, case studies, etc?

Past winners:

B2B	Consumer
2024 Martin George, Local Government Chronicle 2023 Laura Blows, Pensions Age	2024 Laura Purkess, The Sun 2023 Lauren Almeida, Telegraph Media Group
2022 Michael Klimes, Money Marketing	2022 Sara Benwell, Freelance
2021 Stephanie Hawthorne, Freelance	2021 Katherine Denham, The Times and Sunday Times
2020 John Greenwood, Corporate Adviser	2020 Ben Wilkinson Daily Mail

The Sun's Laura Purkess and Local Government Chronicle's Martin George collect their trophies from Pete Glancy, Head of Policy at Scottish Widows, and Awards host Rachel Parris.

Shortlisting, judging & winners

Entries submitted by journalists across all categories will initially be shortlisted by a panel of judges and announced in April 2025.

After shortlisting, the final and all-important judging phase to decide all the category winners will take place. Judging panels include over a hundred judges comprising senior financial journalists, editors and PRs drawn from around the UK’s financial media.

Widely acknowledged as the biggest night of the year for the UK’s money media, the industry will come together on Wednesday 16 July 2025, where the winners will be revealed at The Brewery in London, at the Headlinemoney Awards 2025.

Good luck and we look forward to receiving your entries!

Contacts

Event enquiries
Vicky Finch
vicky.finch@emap.com

Entry enquiries
Claire Beard
claire.desilva@headlinemoney.co.uk

Headlinemoney

Editorial contacts

Claire Beard, Head of Content & Strategy
Working hours 9.30am - 3pm, Monday - Friday
claire.desilva@headlinemoney.co.uk
07714 660 846

Hanita Patel, Content Manager
hanita.patel@headlinemoney.co.uk

Membership/subscription contact

Martin Quinn, Head of Group Sales
martin.quinn@headlinemoney.co.uk
020 8075 8155 / 07944 043556

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