FIRE YouTube UK sponsor-brief checklist: ISA, pension and FCA checks

Key takeaways for a FIRE YouTube brief

Use the brief to connect the viewer's question, sponsor message, evidence and review decision. Keep saving limits separate from pension allowances. Treat every product claim and call to action as material for review before the creator records or publishes it.

Build the brief around the viewer's task

Treat a sponsor brief as a working record of the viewer's question, the sponsor's proposed message and the claims the creator may make. Keep the educational purpose distinct from a product claim. Identify the script, graphics and other materials that the review will cover.

Ask the creator to distinguish an ISA saving limit from pension contribution allowances. Keep the intended explanation beside the evidence for each claim, so a reviewer can see what the content is meant to communicate. A partnership evidence pack can organise the audience task, sponsor involvement and review responsibilities.

Agree commercial terms alongside the claims process. Record deliverables, fees, payment terms, revision routes, disclosure wording and who can pause publication if the message changes. Use commercial contract decisions to connect those responsibilities to the written agreement rather than leaving approval and change control to informal messages.

Keep commercial disclosure separate from the explanation of an allowance. Record the wording agreed for the content and the commercial interest it needs to communicate. A disclosure policy can help keep those records consistent across the brief and the materials prepared for publication.

Keep ISA and pension figures distinct

Put the relevant tax-year wording beside each figure. The ISA maximum below is dated to 2026 to 2027, while the annual allowance is described as applying this tax year. Do not move one date label onto the other or imply that the figures measure the same thing.

In the 2026 to 2027 tax year, the maximum you can save in ISAs is £20,000. That amount can be saved in one account or split across multiple accounts. Keep the general ISA limit separate from any product-specific explanation, and do not add a breakdown that has not been checked.

The pension annual allowance is the most you can save in your pension pots in a tax year, running from 6 April to 5 April, before you have to pay tax. It is £60,000 this tax year. Unused annual allowance might be carried over from the previous 3 tax years, so keep that possibility distinct from the headline figure.

For 2026 to 2027, preserve the conditions alongside these pension figures:

Tax relief is a separate point from the annual allowance. Tax-free private pension contributions are usually limited to 100% of earnings in a year for tax relief, and the annual allowance is £60,000 a year. Keep those limits separate in speech and graphics so the viewer can tell which limit each statement describes.

Name the promotion checks and their owner

For firms communicating or approving financial promotions, the relevant Conduct of Business sourcebook provisions are COBS 4 and COBS 22. The FCA Handbook identifies the basic restriction on communicating financial promotions as section 21(1) of the Act in its section 21(1) reference.

The FCA's financial-promotion guidance for social media says the rules are technology neutral, apply across all channels used to advertise, including social media, and promotions should be fair, clear and not misleading (social-media guidance). Keep the proposed wording within those standards during review.

Unauthorised persons, such as social media influencers, who promote a regulated financial product or service without approval of an appropriate FCA-authorised person may be committing a criminal offence. Keep this possibility visible in the decision record rather than relying on a label or disclaimer to resolve the question.

The FCA Firm Checker can be used to find out whether a firm is authorised and has permission for the service it is offering. Record the firm and the specific service being checked. A finance influencer approver briefing can help keep firm checks, proposed claims and the promotion decision separate in the review.

Firms using affiliates such as influencers to communicate financial promotions on social media should take appropriate steps to ensure the influencer understands the product or service and relevant regulatory requirements. Build time for that understanding into the review, and ask the creator to flag wording they cannot explain confidently.

Example: sponsor-brief fields and checks

Use this illustrative structure to keep the figures, claim and review decision connected. It is a working record, not a statement that any particular creator, sponsor or promotion has been approved.

Keep each proposed claim beside its evidence and reviewer. If the sponsor changes the product message, call to action or surrounding wording, send the changed material through the agreed review route. The finance content quality checklist can support a final comparison between reviewed wording and the version prepared for release.

Keep the release record with the final files

Connect the brief, review decision and publication files through a documented handover. Keep the firm-permission check separate from the decision on the promotion itself. Make the release owner responsible for checking that the final materials match the reviewed version, using a finance-content workflow to record each handover.

Pause publication if an edit changes a checked statement or adds a claim. Save the revised wording and return it to the review owner. Keep the decision attached to the final materials, and record any remaining question instead of treating an earlier review as approval of changed content.

Frequently asked questions before publication

Use these questions to test whether the brief is specific enough for review. They are prompts for the creator and sponsor to resolve together. Keep the answers with the version of the material under review, so later changes can be checked against the same claims and decision.

Does the ISA amount apply to one account or several?

The ISA amount can be saved in one account or split across multiple accounts. The maximum is £20,000 in the 2026 to 2027 tax year. Keep both the amount and tax-year label together when preparing the creator's wording, captions or graphics.

Which pension wording needs separate treatment?

Keep the £60,000 annual allowance distinct from tax relief, tapering and the money purchase annual allowance. Preserve the relevant conditions beside each figure. Where the brief mentions unused allowance, retain the wording that it might be carried over from the previous 3 tax years.

What should happen if the sponsor changes the message?

Send changed wording, claims or calls to action through the agreed review route. Record the version checked and the decision made. The final script and supporting materials should match that reviewed version; do not treat an earlier decision as covering material that has changed.