NEWS   |    June 13, 2018

Anna Rogers comments in IPE on the House of Lords’ inquiry into scrapping the RPI as a measure of consumer inflation

The UK Parliament has begun an inquiry into whether the retail prices index (RPI) should be scrapped as a measure of consumer inflation, a move that the government has indicated could save employers up to £90bn ($102bn) in pension deficit contributions.

The House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee discussed whether RPI – which tracks the price change of a basket of items from furniture to footwear – still had relevance to measuring price movements in the UK economy.

Ultimately change was needed, said Anna Rogers, but weighing member benefits against employer gains was politically very sensitive.

“It is a hugely controversial area,” she said, “RPI may not be fit for purpose but how can we square the circle when both members and investors have contractual rights based on it?

“It seems to me that we need to keep having inquiries until someone can find a solution.”

Read Anna’s comments in IPE

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