ExchangeLevy

The levy is in place to cover the cost of running:

• The Pensions Regulator
• The Pensions Ombudsman
• the legal assistance scheme for The Pensions Regulator Tribunal
• any grants made to advisory bodies.

The levy FAQs tell you more.

Direct debit: right payment, right place, right time

Direct debit - the easy way to pay your scheme levy. It's a safe and secure way to make payments, it's free to set up and can save you time and effort (no need to post a cheque).

Set up a direct debit today in 4 easy steps:

1. Log on... to Exchange
2. Navigate... to the 'My schemes' page and select from your list of associated schemes (if you've not yet associated to your scheme, please contact us to obtain your sheme key)
3. Choose...'Maintain/View scheme levy' from the 'Scheme options' page
4. Select... 'Set up a direct debit for levy payments' 

Understanding your levy invoice

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions sets the rate of the general levy each year.

The general levy is based on the total number of members in the scheme at the end of the scheme year before last.

You can update your scheme's membership using scheme maintenance in Exchange. 

Here are some examples:

• Levy payable on 1 April 2009 would be based on the total number of members in the scheme at the scheme year-end that fell immediately before 1 April 2008.
• ABC Pension Scheme is a money purchase scheme and is being charged for the 2009 general levy. The membership figure of 600 members was taken as at the scheme year-end prior to 1 April 2008. The rate for this amount of members is 2.42 per member, therefore the total amount due will be 1,452.

The amount to be paid depends on the band which the scheme falls into and may be subject to a minimum amount per band.

To view previous years' bandings, please see the levy archive.

The bands are shown in the table below.

		Occupational schemes		Personal/stakeholder/group personal pension schemes
Band	Number of members	General levy	Min payment per scheme	General levy	Min payment per scheme
1	2-11		33		14
2	12-99	3.35 per member		1.34 per member
3	100-999	2.42 per member	340	0.94 per member	140
4	1,000-4,999	1.88 per member	2,420	0.81 per member	940
5	5,000-9,999	1.43 per member	9,400	0.54 per member	4,050
6	10,000 and over	1.00 per member	14,300	0.41 per member	5,400

The Pensions Regulator collects the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) administration levy on behalf of the PPF. This levy is calculated in the same way as The Pensions Regulator general levy but uses a different banding. The bands for the PPF administration levy are shown in the table below. 

Please note that The Pensions Regulator does not have any involvement in collecting or calculating the PPF risk and scheme-based levies. 

To query eligibility in respect of payment of any PPF levies, please visit the Pension Protection Fund website.

Band	Number of members	Amount of levy calculated by reference to number of members	Minimum amount of levy
1	2-11		42
2	12-99	4.33 per member
3	100-999	3.12 per member	430
4	1,000-4,999	2.43 per member	3,120
5	5,000-9,999	1.84 per member	12,150
6	10,000 and over	1.29 per member	18,400