Northern Ireland has set the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) levy ceiling for 2026/27 at £1,473,343,665.61 under the Pension Protection Fund and Occupational Pension Schemes (Levy Ceiling) Order (Northern Ireland) 2026. The figure corresponds to the Great Britain instrument and applies to the financial year starting on 1 April 2026. (jdsupra.com)
By statute this is a ceiling, not a bill. The Pensions Act 2004 requires the ceiling to rise annually with the general level of earnings; for 2026/27 the uplift is 5%, moving from about £1.40bn to £1.47bn. In parallel, the PPF has reduced collections markedly-recalculating the 2025/26 levy to zero-and has confirmed a zero levy again for conventional defined benefit schemes in 2026/27. (publications.parliament.uk)
The legal framework is unchanged. Articles 158 and 160 of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 require the Board of the PPF to impose pension protection levies each year, subject to an annual ceiling set by order. In practice, Northern Ireland issues a corresponding order each year alongside Great Britain; a Departmental screening note for 2025 described the measure as routine and recorded the then ceiling at £1,403,184,443.44. (northernireland.gov.uk)
For trustees and sponsors, the immediate operational impact is limited. For most conventional defined benefit schemes the PPF levy line in 2026/27 budgets will be nil. The PPF has said it will maintain a proportionate levy only for Alternative Covenant Schemes and will publish its final 2026/27 levy rules and policy statement before the end of March. (ppf.co.uk)
It is important not to confuse the PPF levy with the separate administration levy. The administration levy is set by the Department for Work and Pensions and collected by The Pensions Regulator; Government amendments to the Pension Schemes Bill would abolish that levy and allow the PPF to meet operating costs from its core fund. (thepensionsregulator.gov.uk)
The ceiling still matters as a statutory safeguard. It caps the maximum amount the PPF could charge in a given year and is uprated using Average Weekly Earnings. While recent policy has driven the actual levy close to or at zero, the ceiling remains part of the framework until Parliament completes changes to primary legislation. (publications.parliament.uk)
The UK‑wide nature of the PPF means Northern Ireland and Great Britain orders are aligned to maintain parity for levy payers. The Great Britain instrument for 2026/27 (SI 2026/83) was laid on 2 February 2026 by the Department for Work and Pensions and proceeds under the negative procedure. (statutoryinstruments.parliament.uk)
Planning points are straightforward. Finance directors should model 2026/27 cash flows on a zero PPF levy for conventional schemes, track the PPF’s final rules when issued, and brief boards that the ceiling is a technical cap rather than a forecast of collections. (ppf.co.uk)
The broader picture is one of sustained financial resilience at the PPF. Recent communications cite significant reserves and reiterate that the levy is only one component of the fund’s risk management approach, helping explain why the zero‑levy policy can be maintained for conventional schemes in 2026/27. (ppf.co.uk)
For reference, the new ceiling’s precision-£1,473,343,665.61-reflects the mechanistic uprating approach and sits well above recent or expected levy receipts. The previous year’s ceiling was £1,403,184,443.44, underscoring that this is a statutory limit rather than an indication of cash to be collected. (jdsupra.com)