levy

Companies with final-salary pension schemes have been given a little breathing room by the Pension Protection Fund, under details of the risk-based levy for the fiscal year 2006/2007 announced this morning.

Claims by the FSA its fees have been reduced or left unchanged have been met with a call by Aifa for further reform in the way such fees are levied.

Overall cost to the financial services industry of FSCS-awarded compensation in the 2005-6 year should be lower, but it will be significantly higher for some contribution groups the scheme warns in its latest budget forecast.

Product providers signed up to the PASS Fees agreement are prepared to pay a one-off additional contribution to the FSCS levy worth £1.5m.

Details are expected in the next 24 hours of the FSA's response to IFAs delaying payment of the levy funding the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

IFAs are a little hot under the collar this week as invoices from the FSA relating to their levies for the next year reveal annual payments covering the Financial Services Compensation Scheme will increase by up to 375%.

Intermediaries need a consistent approach to the charges levied for FOS and FSCS membership later this year as costs for most advisers will be significantly higher, argues the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries.

Consumers who fall into the Financial Services Compensation Scheme could receive a maximum potential compensation of £48,000 should a mortgage or insurance intermediary firm collapse - the same as a claim for an investment firm.

Government proposals to charge employers a risk-based fee when introducing the Pension Protection Fund could open loopholes for weaker companies who want to avoid the extra levy, according to industry experts.