This applies to an investment, such as certain types of gilts or National Savings & Investment (NS&I) certificates and pension income paid by some final salary pension schemes, whereby returns rise (or fall) in line with inflation as measured by the retail prices index (RPI), or the consumer prices index (CPI), or another measure of the cost of living.
RPI
Replaced as the official measure of inflation by the consumer prices index (CPI) in December 2003. Both the Retail Price Index and CPI are attempts to estimate inflation in the UK, but they come up with different values because there are slight differences in what goods and services they cover, and how they are calculated. Unlike the CPI, the RPI includes a measure of housing costs, such as mortgage interest payments, council tax, house depreciation and buildings insurance, so changes in the interest rates affect the RPI. If interest rates are cut, it will reduce mortgage interest payments, so the RPI will fall but not the CPI. The RPI is sometimes referred to as the “headline” rate of inflation and the CPI as the “underlying” rate.
Inflation
An increase in the general level of prices that persists over a period of time. The inflation rate is a measure of the average change over a period, usually 12 months. If inflation is up 4%, this means the price of products and services is 4% higher than a year earlier, requiring we spend and extra 4% to buy the same things we bought 12 months ago and that any savings and investments must generate 4% (after any taxes) to keep pace with inflation. Since 2003, the Bank of England has used the consumer prices index (CPI) as its official measure of inflation (see also retail prices index).
Final salary pension
A defined benefit pension scheme is one where the payout is based on contributions made and the length of service of the employee. A typical scheme would offer to pay one-60th (0.0168%) of final salary (the one you’re earning when you finally retire) for each year of contributions to the scheme (even though these years were probably paid at a lower salary). Someone retiring on a final salary of £30,000 who had been a member of the scheme for 25 years would receive a pension of 42% of their final salary (£12,300 a year before tax). Sadly, many companies are winding up their final salary schemes or closing them altogether, meaning pension benefits accrued after a certain date (or those available to new employees) may be on a less generous money purchase basis.
CPI
The Consumer Price Index is the official measure of inflation adopted by the government to set its target. When commentators refer to changes in inflation, they’re actually referring to the CPI. In the June 2010 Budget, Chancellor announced the government’s intention to also use the CPI for the price indexation of benefits, tax credits and public sector pensions from April 2011. (See also Retail Prices Index).
Gilts
The familiar name given to securities issued by the British government and issued to raise money to bridge the gap between what the government spends and what it earns in tax revenue. Back in 1997, the entire stock of outstanding gilts was £275bn; by October 2010 it had surpassed £1,000bn. Gilts are issued throughout the year by the Debt Management Office and are essentially investment bonds backed by HM Treasury & Customs and considered a very safe investment because the British government has never defaulted on its debts and this security is reflected in the UK’s AAA-rating for its debt. Gilts work in a similar way to bonds and are another variant on fixed-income securities.
