The Pension Protection Fund should be given an ‘excellent’ mark in terms of its management of public expectations. In this economic climate (or in any other economic climate for that matter!) not many organisations could increase bills by 10% without provoking a huge public outcry. The PPF has been stating the inevitability of the increase in the 2014/15 levy estimate for a considerable time – therefore its final announcement of the increase to £695 million was largely met with a shrug of the shoulders.
Employers who fund defined benefit pension plans may be less accepting of the increase when levy invoices are issued in Autumn 2014. Most pension plans will see an increase, which makes it important to consider whether full use is being made of the levy reduction methods that are available in advance of the 31 March 2014 deadline. It is always worth considering whether savings can be made. Our recent publication contains more details but time is short to consider levy saving possibilities.