Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of aligning the retail price index with the consumer prices index on pensions for (a) women and (b) people on defined benefit pension schemes.

On 25 November 2020, the Government and UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) published their response to the consultation on the timing of reform to the Retail Prices Index (RPI). Owing to shortcomings in its calculation, UKSA intends to bring the methods and data sources of the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) into RPI.

The Government and UKSA are mindful of the widespread use of RPI in the economy, and, as such, sought views in the consultation on the broader impacts of reform. The Government and UKSA received approximately 550 responses from members of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes whose benefits are linked to RPI.

It is apparent that some DB pension scheme members will be affected by UKSA’s reform. The effect of reform on the members of such schemes will depend on whether their benefits are linked to RPI under the trust deed and rules of the scheme. As noted in the consultation response document, the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) estimates that the average reduction in lifetime income from an individual’s RPI-linked pension post-retirement could be 4 per cent for a woman and 5 per cent for a man. However, the PPI estimates that women will generally experience a greater lifetime reduction in overall pension benefit, as they live longer than men on average.

The announcement in the response by the Chancellor and UKSA Chair means that reform will not be implemented before 2030. The Government keeps the occupational pensions system under review and will continue to do so.

In making its decision (with regard to the timing of reform) the Government has had due regard to and complied with the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty as laid out in the Equality Act 2010

For further information please see the consultation response at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/a-consultation-on-the-reform-to-retail-prices-index-rpi-methodology.