Stealth Attack on savings and pensions!

[Jasper]

Stealth attack as RPI calculation is changed
There is a proposal to change the way the Retail Price Index (RPI) is calculated.
The RPI is widely used to determine inflation and the increases of index-linked pensions, savings rates and pay rises. Any change could prove to be the most damaging of stealth attacks on pensioner’s incomes.

At present a 65-year old man cashing in a £100,000 pension pot would get an annual income of around £3,3665 rising to £6,560 when he reaches 85 if it is increased in line with RPI each year. If the changes go ahead his pension would only rise to £5,500 in 20 year’s time costing him around £10,000 over the 20-year period.

Both RPI and CPI are "adjusted" supposedly to take into account “technical improvements” to goods, mainly consumer electronics, to reflect the fact that a 2013 TV is far superior to one from 1990, so the statisticians reduce the current TV price. These "adjustments" make the overall rate of reported inflation lower than it would otherwise have been. But there is no adjustment the other way, to take account of worsening quality. The statistics are changed when we pay less for more, but not when we are paying more for less, as is the case with flimsier clothing for example.

Why do we believe the doctored 'truth' our government departments release?
Notice how last week it was thr CPI that remained "unchanged" despite rising everything!
The RPI didn't get a mention anywhere. Oh well perhaps next month!

[big-all]

well theres something new massaging the figures to fit there own ends i am very surprized to find out it happens
like the fact the unemployment rate is on the way down------
------followed by pink elephants fairies and a turkey voting for xmass

[ultimatehandyman]

I would not trust any data from the government, much of it is nonsense! There is a book called "How to lie with statistics" ( or something similar ). It could have been written by an MP

[Jasper]

There are lies, damm lies and statistics!

[Bikergirl]

The Office for National Statistics is not part of the government. The government asked them to change the way they calculate RPI to bring the UK in line with most other countries, which would have the effect of lowering the figure. ONS has announced that though many people consider the current RPI to be wrong, it would be worse to lose the consistency of calculating it the same way, so it will not be changed.

Stephanie Flanders explains it better: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20970048

[kellys_eye]

Sorry, to include the likes of wide screen TVs as part of the RPI calculations is totally disingenuous as how many of the damned things would you actually buy in a year???? It should be based on ESSENTIAL such as food, energy, rent, transport ONLY etc . To include anything else is just a scam to reduce the RPI figure to 'acceptable levels'.

[Jasper]

Exactly it is a SCAM!
The ONS is not part of the giovernment, but it produces figures that the government use to fool us.
When it dont like the results it chnages the methods.
Agreed the RPI as it currently is is not now being changed, but a NEW RPI measure called RPIJ is being created which the ONS say will make the RPI effectively the CPI.
So the news can report this new lower figure ofr inflation, when the truth is very different.

GDP measures real economic growth. The actual figure is reduced by the rate of inflation.
So to improve GDP there are plans to use the NGDP (Nominal Gross Domestic Product.)
This uses the sum of all spending in the UK regardless of inflation.
Yep you guessed it! Higher inflation can be reported as higher GDP using the NGDP figure.
So the economy will be reported as "growing" because of inflation, even though it is not in reality.
You find this explained or reported on the TV news!

[big-all]

i dont trust this government as far as i can throw them
hence the reason i have taken my railway pension a year early even though its a preserved pension what this lot are doing to the poorer in society whilst looking after there chums with many millions in there pockets suggests they are capable off any atrocity as long as it dosn't affect the wealthy

[Wes]

I did a great deal of study in History regards the manipulation of statistics to give favourable results. My studies were based around the Victorian era and strangely enough it still happens to this day. Stats are so easy, leave out that, include this X + Y = Were doing a great job chaps, pat on the back. Fluff!!

[big-all]

indeed the present drop in the unemployed is just massaging statistic
one 40 hr full time job can become several "no hours contracts" or 2.5 x16hr " jobs"
there are millions off unemployed "with provider"for up to 2 years being forced to do job placements volantary work and other training programs to take them off the statistics

we also need to remember 16 and 17 year olds cannot claim unemployment benefit so the main rise in the unemployment statistics doesn't count

[wine~o]

I did a great deal of study in History regards statistics. My studies were based around the Victorian era...

You'll probably know that some Victorian "Statisticians" forecast that given the increasing population in London, by 1930 the streets would be knee deep in Horse sh*t...