The FSA publishes fourth FSAVC Review Bulletin

Todays bulletin follows on from the FSAs publication in May of the procedures and standards to be used by firms reviewing their sales of Free Standing Additional Voluntary Contributions (FSAVCs).

The fourth bulletin gives explanatory guidance on:

• N2 and the FSAVC review
  
• Advice given by the FSAVC review team
  
• Treatment of requests for review
  
• Categorising schemes appropriately
  
• Treatment of investors where an invalid FSAVC policy was set up
  
• Treatment of cases where investors would never have been eligible for further benefits
  
• CAPS indices
  
• Establishing FSAVC charges for loss assessment
  
• Augmentation for prospective loss cases
  
• Outer date for requests for review
  
• Requests for the further information by the FSA
  
• Calculation of target completion dates
  
• Conoco Pension Plan

The FSAVC Review is a focused exercise, similar to that used for Phase Two of the Pensions Review, covering around 10% of FSAVC sales. The categories covered by the review are matched AVC schemes, where the investor could have benefited from extra employer contributions, and other subsidised AVC schemes where the employer could have enhanced contributions.

This bulletin refers to the Review Model Guidance published by the FSA in May 2000, and subsequent updates. These are available on the internet at http://www.fsa.gov.uk

Notes for editors

1. The FSA regulates the financial services industry and has four objectives under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000: maintaining market confidence; promoting public understanding of the financial system; the protection of consumers; and fighting financial crime.

2. The FSA aims to maintain efficient, orderly and clean financial markets and help retail consumers achieve a fair deal.