Pension schemes and the evolving Retail Prices Index 

After successive Chancellors kicked the can down the road, Sajid Javid announced a consultation on aligning the Retail Prices Index with the Consumer Prices Index, to be launched alongside the March budget. 

The proposed changes will have a wide-ranging impact – many members could see their pensions reduced by around 1% in each and every year, and some scheme assets could fall in value by more than 20%.  

Our webinar explored what this is likely to mean for your scheme. Even if you have CPI-based pension increases, it’s likely that your investments will be impacted, and so action may still be required.

During our 45-minute webinar, the following speakers led us through these key issues to consider:

• Mark Alexander, a Principal and Scheme Actuary at Buck, provided the highlights of the proposed changes and explore their impact on members and scheme liabilities.
• Arron Slocombe, a partner at law firm Baker McKenzie, provided an update on the key legal aspects to consider. 
• Carl Hitchman, a Principal in Buck's investment team, assessed how markets have reacted and outline what changes to investment strategy should be considered.