PPF confirms 2009/10 levy estimate

The lifeboat fund said this fulfiled a promise made in August 2007 when it said it would set a levy estimate of £675m for the next three years, indexed to wages, so long as there was no significant change in risk.

It has also confirmed a final levy scaling factor - which schemes can use to calculate their individual levy bills - of 2.22, in advance of the 2009/10 levy year.

The PPF said that the decision to keep the same levy estimate as last year, indexed to wages, was not an easy one but it believed it had to help reduce the burden on levy payers - particularly during the current economic downturn.

And it hoped the decision to publish the final levy scaling factor number in advance of the 2009/10 levy year would help levy payers with their financial planning and provide further certainty.

The PPF said it had also responded to industry feedback during the consultation on the 2009/10 levy by making minor changes to its other 2009/10 proposals.

The final version of the PPF's 2009/10 determination under section 175(5) of the Pensions Act 2004 - which sets out the rules for calculating the pension protection levy - can be found on the PPF website.