With only a few weeks to go to important deadlines for the 2010/11 and 2011/12 Levies, the PPF has reminded trustees what these are. It's their policy to enforce deadlines strictly, even where the Board has discretion in the matter, and missing them may have adverse consequences for schemes. Every year there are appeals to the PPF Ombudsman and so far not a single one has been upheld. Large sums of money are at stake (and can sometimes be significantly reduced if the right action is taken in time*), so the watchword is vigilance.

* Update 17 March: The PPF and the CBI today jointly published information for pension schemes, advisors and trustees on ways that a scheme's levy can be reduced.

2010/11 Levy

• 5 pm on 31 March 2010 for certification/re-certification of contingent assets.

• 5 pm on 9 April 2010 for certification of deficit reduction contributions.

• 5 pm on 30 June 2010 for final certification of full block transfers that have taken place up to and including 31 March 2010.

2011/12 Levy

• 5 pm on 30 March 2010 for providing information to D&B regarding sponsoring employers' failure scores.

• 5 pm on 31 March 2010 for updating PPF-related Scheme Return information including s179 valuations.

• 5 pm on 30 June 2010 for final certification of full and partial block transfers that have taken place up to and including 31 March 2010.

All certificates and data should be submitted through TPR's Exchange System (accessible via login from the home page), with the exception of the hard copy documents required to support all new and some renewed Contingent Asset arrangements, which must be sent to the PPF office in Croydon, and not the Pensions Regulator.

On top of what for many schemes is already a swingeing amount, the PPF can now add a hefty interest charge if a levy payment arrives late.