Webb: CPI link is a less volatile measure for pensions

Of course we are affected by house prices and mortgage rates!!!. Most of us have been swindled by the "With profits endowment" scandal and by the Icelandic Bank Offshore scandal. We have had what we thought was safe money taken away and will now never be able to pay off our mortgages or move to that ideal house.

Cuurently it is possible for pension funds and insurance companies to match their RPI linked pension liabilities by investments in index linked gilts issued by the UK goevrnment. This automatic matching of infalation increases will no longer be possible if the pensions are to be uprated by CPI and not RPI. The pension funds and insurance companies will be left with exposure.

What a load of complete tosh. The RPI is not particularly volatile except when governments engineer the whole damned index by forcing down interest rates which impacts on mortgage costs. This move (RPI to CPI) is worthy of Gordon Brown at his most devious and the explanation given raises disinginuity to new heights.

Who would want to save for a pension for 40 years to find out when they are just about to take their pension a twerp politician wipes out 10 per cent of the value of their fund at the stroke of a pen. I would say to anyone being auto enrolled into Nest for a pension don't do it as you can't guarantee that some politician in the future won't confiscate it all on a whim. Steve Webb you are that twerp by destroying the last vestiges of trust people had in pensions. I can't wait for the Lib Dems to wiped out at the next election.

I thought we had rid ourselves of untrustworthy politicians economical with the truth by getting rid of labour at the last election. Doesn't RPI include council tax as well as mortgage costs? Council tax has been my single most inflationary cost increase since 1997. To move to CPI which does not include council tax, and which on its own, probably represents pensioners largest expense item is a cynical way of making pensioners contribute to the repayment of Labours debt without any ability to fight back.

I am one of those who has saved for years in a defined scheme, now receiving both the goverment OAP (Pittance), and my defined benefit scheme pension. This is tied in to the annual September RPI figures, for it to now change to CPI is outrageouis, illegal, and imoral. Why should I have to suffer the lower CPI increases, bearing in mind that I had no defined benefit scheme pension increase for 2009/10, as the RPI figures were negative. Also I transfereed into my defined benefit scheme, 3 FSAVC policies, to enhance my pension, now to lose out because of the proposed change to CPI. I beleive that my company pension scheme terms & conditions are nothing to do with any Goverment, but a legal contract between myself and my company, any change in the law, and I feel both pensioners, and Unions, should challenge this Goverment in the European Courts. It must be illegal to change terms to existing pensioners, surely a breach of Contract. What a total fiasco this new goverment is, pensioners were made election promises, now been renaged on.

How do these ministers know if a pensioner has a mortgage or not, RPI contains the mortgage element, CPI and RPIX do not?.

It should also be borne in mind that attempting to look after yourself in retirement, and adding all the pensions together, I am paying a substantial amount of Tax, thus helping this goverment out, and not poncing on them!

No doubt index-linked gilts based on the CPI instead of the RPI will be introduced if there is demand for them. Because the rate of increase of the CPI is almost always lower that of RPI, they should be cheaper. Come on, the Treasury!

" In a letter dated 12 April 2010, Steve Webb said on behalf of the Liberal Democrats "We are very clear that all accrued rights should be honoured: a pension promise made should be a pension promise kept. Therefore we would not make any changes to pension rights that have already been built up. I have confirmed that I regard accrued index-linked rights as protected."

" In a letter dated 27 April 2010, Philip Hammond said on behalf of the Conservatives ... The Conservative Party has no plans to change the current index-linking of public sector pensions in payment. We agree with the view that the right to indexation of pensions already accrued is part of the accrued pension rights and those rights will be protected.2"

New politics, Mr Cameron? Sounds like the same old 2/9 to me, you can tell a politician is lying when the b@stards lips move!!

Same old cr*p, different government.....!!!