Change in circumstances
We understand that members’ circumstances change and what may have been the case last year may not necessarily be the same now. Whatever your financial hardship, we are here to listen and support you by assessing your eligibility for reduced annual fees. All requests are treated as confidential.
Please get in touch with us as soon as you can. The earlier you contact us, the quicker we can review your request and potentially offer you that much needed support.
How to make a request
You can request a reduction in your annual membership fee, practising certificate fee and firm fee under one of the following circumstances.
As part of the process, we will ask you to provide evidence to support your request.
Unemployment
Examples of supportive evidence:
- employment contract (showing the end date)
- government benefits statement
- statutory declaration
Part-time employment
Examples of supportive evidence:
- payslip
- employment contract (confirming part-time employment)
- letter from employer
- government benefits statement
- statutory declaration
Medical
Examples of supporting evidence:
- medical certificate or doctor’s letter
- government benefits statement
- letter from employer
- statutory declaration
Parental leave (paid versus unpaid)
Examples of supporting evidence:
- medical certificate or doctor’s letter
- government benefits statement
- letter from employer
- evidence of being a full-time carer
- statutory declaration
Other financial hardship
Examples of supporting evidence:
- government benefits statement
- payslip
- letter from employer
- evidence of being a full-time carer
- medical certificate or doctor’s letter
- statutory declaration
All requests are confidential and should be made in writing and sent with supporting evidence to the membership department at membership@ifa.org.uk
Terms and conditions
- Requests are assessed on your current circumstances, not what has happened in the past or may happen in the future.
- Reductions are decided on a case-by-case basis.
- Reductions are valid for the current year of membership only. You will need to reapply for a reduction in subsequent years if still required.
- Reductions do not apply to the retired membership fee.
Alternative support
Where we can’t offer you a reduced annual fee, we may be able to help you set up an instalment plan. This allows you to spread the cost of your annual fees over four months. It’s vital that you contact us as soon as possible as the number of months available reduces the closer we are to renewals.
If the reduced fee is just not enough and you are struggling to pay bills due to redundancy or illness, the IFA/IPA Group Benevolent fund may be able to help. The charity provides financial support for all current and former Group members and dependents faced with a sudden change in circumstance, such as illness or redundancy that is leading to financial hardship by awarding a non-repayable grant.
Contact us
We understand that taking the first step in asking for help can be difficult. Even if you can’t provide the information for a reduced fee, please call us to discuss your situation. There may be other ways we can help. The office number is: +44 (0)20 3567 5999.