This chapter sets out rules governing the amounts payable by designated guidance providers to the FCA to fund the FCA’s pensions’ guidance costs (see FEES 11.1.4G).

The FCA’s pensions guidance costs are defined in section 333Q(4) (Funding of FCA’s pensions guidance costs) of the Act as the expenses incurred, or expected to be incurred, by the FCA in connection with carrying out the functions conferred on it in Part 20A of the Act (other than the functions specified in 333R of the Act).

1. (1)

   Section 333Q(1) of the Act requires the FCA to make rules requiring designated guidance providers, or any specified class of designated guidance provider to pay to the FCA specified amounts or amounts calculated in a specified way.

2. (2)

   Section 333Q(3) of the Act sets out that such amounts may include a component to cover the expenses of the FCA in collecting the payments and to enable the FCA to maintain an adequate reserve.

A designated guidance provider should pay its levy by electronic credit transfer and should notify the FCA if it intends to pay in another way.

The FCA may reduce or remit all or part of the pensions guidance providers’ levy applicable to a designated guidance provider if it appears to the FCA that in the exceptional circumstances of a particular case paying all or part of it would be inequitable.

The FCA may refund all or part of the pensions guidance providers’ levy applicable to a designated guidance provider if it appears to the FCA that in the exceptional circumstances of a particular case the FCA retaining all or part of it would be inequitable.

The FCA may not consider a claim to refund a pensions guidance providers’ levy due to a mistake of fact or law by the designated guidance provider if the claim is made more than two years after the beginning of the fee year to which the levy relates.

1. (1)

   The FCA may recover the pensions guidance providers’ levy from a designated guidance provider as a debt owed by it to the FCA under paragraph 23(8) of Schedule 1ZA of the Act.

2. (2)

   The FCA will consider taking action for recovery (including interest) through the civil courts.

The FCA will not relieve or refund the pensions guidance providers’ levy paid by a designated guidance provider if the Secretary of State2 revokes that provider’s designation under section 333E(3) of the Act after the start of that fee year.