SIPP and SSAS provider professional body the Association of Member-Directed Pension Schemes has expressed “strong opposition” to the DWP's consultation on the general pension levy for pension schemes.

The proposals from the DWP could increase the levy for schemes with less than 10,000 members by an additional £10,000 premium from 2026.

AMPS said this would be unfair and disproportionate to the small schemes sector and would discourage the use of SSAS as a flexible and cost-effective pension vehicle for business owners and entrepreneurs.

Andrew Phipps, chair of AMPS, said: “We are deeply concerned about the DWP’s proposals to increase the General Levy for small schemes, which we believe are unjustified and detrimental to the SSAS market. We urge the DWP to reconsider its approach and to engage with the industry to find a more reasonable and sustainable solution.”

AMPS has over 120 member firms representing all parts of the industry: SIPP providers, SSAS practitioners, pension lawyers, software developers, banks and investment houses.

At its AGM the provider body also added Kevin Whitmore of WBR Group to its committee of nine representatives from across the industry.

In a recent column for Financial Planning Today sister title SIPPs Professional, Lisa Webster, senior technical consultant at AJ Bell called on Financial Planners, SIPP and SSAS professionals to voice their concerns on the DWP levy review, saying that the increase could be a death knoll for SSAS schemes.

However SSAS expert Martin Tilley has rebuffed the idea that the recently proposed increase to the DWP pensions levy may kill of the SSAS market. 

He said that it, “seems incomprehensible that a one-off levy of this size should be imposed on schemes, by their size of membership and asset value least able to afford it.”