The levies payable to the Financial Sector Conduct Authority in the 2025/26 financial year will increase by 4.4% and not 5% as proposed in September this year.
On 28 November, Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana published in the Government Gazette the final amendments to three of the Schedules to the Financial Sector and Deposit Insurance Levies Act. Click here to download Government Notice 6889.
The Schedules contain the formulae for the levies due to the FSCA (Schedule 2), the Financial Services Tribunal (Schedule 3), and the two statutory ombud schemes (Schedule 5): the Ombud for Financial Services Providers and the Office of the Pension Funds Adjudicator (OPFA).
FSCA levy
Table B in Schedule 2 sets out the formula for calculating the levy payable to entities supervised by the FSCA. The levy comprises a base amount and a variable amount or amounts.
As a result of 4.4% increase, Category I and IV FSPs and Category I and IV FSPs that provide only Long-term Insurance Subcategory A products and/or Friendly Society Benefits will pay a base amount of R3 983.90, whereas they paid R3 816 in 2024/25.
The base amount for Category II, IIA, and III FSPs will rise from R7 950 to R8 299.80
There is one variable amount for Category I and IV FSPs and Category I and IV FSPs that provide only Long-term Insurance Subcategory A products and/or Friendly Society Benefits. This variable amount is based on the average total number of key individuals plus the average total number of representatives, calculated from 1 September of the preceding levy year to 31 August of the current levy year.
The amount for each rep and KI for Category I and IV FSPs will increase from R551.20 to R575.45.
The rep and KI amount for Category I and IV FSPs that provide only Long-term Insurance Subcategory A products and/or Friendly Society Benefits will remain at R250.
There are two variable amounts for Category II, IIA, and III FSPs: the total rep and KI amount and the total value of investments under management or administration on 31 August of the levy year.
The percentage used to calculate the levy on investments under management or administration will increase by 5%, from 0.0019711% to 0.0020578%.
The proposed amendments will also increase by 4.4% the cap on the maximum levy payable by any category of FSP, from R2.65 million to R2 766 600.
Supervised entities had to pay a special levy in the first two financial years after the implementation of the Financial Sector and Deposit Insurance Levies Act in 2023. The 2024/25 financial year was the last one in which the special levy of 7.5% could be imposed, and it falls away in 2025/26.
Tribunal levy
The levy payable to the Financial Services Tribunal is a percentage of the levy payable to the FSCA or the Prudential Authority, or the sum of both levies if an entity is supervised by both Authorities.
The percentage will increase by 4.2%, from 2.65% to 2.76%.
FAIS Ombud levy
The formula for calculating the FAIS Ombud levy comprises a base amount and a variable amount. The variable amount is calculated by multiplying the levy per KI and representative by the average total number of KIs plus the average total number of representatives, calculated from 1 September of the preceding levy year to 31 August of the current levy year.
The base amount will remain R1 100, but the amount per KI and rep will increase by 4.3%, R690 to R720. This is slightly lower than the proposed increase of 4.6%, which would have seen the KI/rep amount rise to R722.
The cap on the maximum levy payable to the Ombud will remain at R333 275.
OPFA levy
Retirement funds must pay a levy to the OPFA. The formula for calculating the levy also comprises a base amount and a variable amount.
The base amount will remain at R0, and the increase in the variable amount will be slightly lower than proposed: 4.4% instead of 4.7% per eligible retirement fund member. This will see the variable amount increase from R10.38 to R10.84.
“Eligible members” are members and other persons who receive regular payments from a retirement fund as reflected in the fund’s latest annual financial statements submitted to the FSCA on 28 February of the preceding levy year. Beneficiaries and members with unclaimed benefits are excluded.
There is no cap on the levy that can be paid to the OPFA.
Ombud Council levy
All entities supervised by the FSCA must pay a levy to the Ombud Council.
In terms of Schedule 4, the levy is fixed at 2.5% of the levy amount paid to the FSCA. The Council levy will increase as a result of the increase in the levies payable to the FSCA.
Hassle-free FSP levy calculator
Moonstone’s Paull Lawrence has devised a spreadsheet that takes the hassle out of calculating the levies you will pay in 2025/26. Category I and IV FSPs simply enter the average number of representatives and key individuals, while Category II, IIA and III FSPs enter that number and the value of funds under management on 31 August. The spreadsheet does all the calculations for you.
I have 8 Representatives and 1 KI [CAT A],how much am I supposed to pay including the Ombud levy for the particular year