RPI meaning

This Flowchart This Flowchart outlines the criteria that must be met for the court to determine that a transaction amounts to a preference and award relief...

Statutory minimum increase rates The summary below sets out the current statutory minimum uplift that occupational pension schemes must apply each year to each tranche of pension. Period of pensionable service to which the pension relates (or, for money purchase benefits, the period in which contributions were paid): Before 6 April 1997 — no statutory minimum increase. However, to refund surplus assets to a sponsoring employer under the Social Security Pensions Act 1975, s 58A, it was necessary (until 5 April 2006) to revalue all pensions in payment (excluding GMPs and money purchase benefits) annually in line with RPI, capped at 5%. Despite the absence of a statutory minimum, most defined benefit schemes provide some pre-1997 indexation under scheme rules or as a discretionary benefit. As at March 2023, research indicates that only 17% of members of private sector defined benefit schemes receive no pre-1997 indexation on benefits. There have been calls on the government to legislate to mandate inflation-linked increases to pensions...

Practice Note: Protective costs orders (PCOs) in environmental matters This flowchart sets out the situations relevant to protective costs orders (PCOs) in environmental law cases. For information, refer to Practice Note: Protective costs orders (PCOs) in environmental matters...

In this issue: Key developments and materials Electricity and gas market regulation, licensing and taxation Networks and network connections Renewable energy Air emissions, efficiency, and climate change New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Energy resources on Lexis+® Daily and weekly news alerts Key developments and materials Ofgem consults on draft second preliminary Strategic Direction Statement for industry codes Ofgem has opened a consultation on SDS-2 for energy industry codes, outlining its strategic reading of government policy and sector shifts that could drive code changes over the next one to five years. It is seeking input on the proposed policy themes, how they are allocated across the ‘Act now’, ‘Think and plan’ and ‘Listen and wait’ horizons, and whether any significant topics are missing. Ofgem also asks for views on its plan to move SDS-2 from a preliminary document to a hybrid Strategic Direction Statement following the anticipated designation of the...

Original news Mr Y (CAS-99766-L5X6)—30 April 2025 Summary The Pensions Ombudsman dismissed a grievance concerning discretionary uprating of pensions. A scheme newsletter had explained its intention to award RPI-linked rises, capped at 10% for members. The employer declined to approve inflation‑matching uplifts, arguing this was necessary to safeguard the Scheme’s long‑term financial position and stability. The Ombudsman concluded that the Scheme had applied the governing rules appropriately and in accordance with them. It further decided the employer’s refusal to grant any uplift was neither perverse nor irrational in the circumstances. The decision underscores the importance of robust due process whenever such determinations are made. What were the facts? Mr Y was a member of the Smiths Industries Pension Scheme (the Scheme)...

Original news Mr S (CAS-110689-M5K1)– 26 November 2024 Summary The Pensions Ombudsman dismissed a complaint concerning discretionary pension increases. A scheme newsletter had indicated an intention to provide RPI-linked rises up to 10%. The employer declined to approve inflation-matching increases, pointing to the need to preserve the scheme’s long-term financial security. The Pensions Ombudsman found that the scheme had correctly followed its rules. The newsletter did not amount to a commitment that inflation-linked rises would be paid. The employer’s refusal to award any increase was neither perverse nor irrational. This outcome highlights how challenging it is to overturn the exercise of an employer’s discretion. What were the facts? Mr S was a deferred member of the Smiths Industries Pension Scheme (the Scheme)...

This Practice Note explains the legal framework governing rent and rent review clauses in Scottish commercial leases. For disputed elements of rent and rent review, see Practice Notes: Rent arrears in commercial leases—recovering—Scotland and Commercial property rent review disputes—Scotland. Rent At common law, one essential requirement for a lease is the obligation to pay rent, even if only a token sum. Rent is typically due quarterly in advance on the Scottish quarter days; however, it is also frequent for leases where the landlord is an English property company or pension fund to specify payment on the English quarter days (see below) to maintain uniformity across the landlord's portfolio. After the 2008 recession, retail tenants increasingly sought to pay rent monthly in advance, and many landlords have been willing to consent to this. Such arrangements are generally personal to the original tenant and are recorded by a back letter; see Practice Note: Back letters to commercial leases in Scotland. The new Scottish quarter days are: Candlemas,...

CASE HUB ARCHIVED This archived case hub captures the position as at the decision date of 10 October 2013; it is not updated. For further details, see the timeline and commentary... Case facts Outline: UK merger inquiry into the completed purchase by Imerys Minerals of Goonvean’s kaolin (china clay) business... Latest developments The CC issued its final report on 10 October 2013. It found that the merger would result in an SLC for the supply of kaolin used in performance-mineral applications, but not for any other markets. As only one market is impacted, the CC determined that divestiture would be a disproportionate remedy; accordingly, it imposed a five-year price control, comprising a price cap through to the end of 2015 and an RPI—0.5% cap covering 2016–2018... Parties Imerys Minerals Limited and the kaolin (china clay) business of Goonvean Limited. Imerys Minerals operates in the extraction and supply of kaolin and other minerals in the UK—it extracts kaolin in Cornwall...

FORTHCOMING DEVELOPMENT : Section 10 of the Finance Act 2022 is set to lift the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) from age 55 to age 57, with effect from 6 April 2028, while members of the firefighters, police and armed forces public service pension schemes are excluded from the change. The Act further provides that members of registered pension schemes may draw benefits before 57 where, on or before 4 November 2021, they already held an ‘unqualified right’ to access benefits, or were already in the midst of a substantive transfer to a scheme that, on or before 4 November 2021, conferred an unqualified right to a protected pension age of under 57. To rely upon this protection in 2028, the scheme’s rules must, as at 11 February 2021, have expressly contained an unqualified right to take entitlement to scheme benefits before reaching age 57. For additional guidance, see Practice Note: Increasing the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) to 57—pensions impact...

1 In clause 2 below, ‘the Sum’ means the amount arrived at by dividing £[ insert amount of legacy ] by the figure in the Index of Retail Prices for the month in which this Will is executed, allowing for any re-basing of that Index that may have occurred in the interim, and then multiplying by the corresponding figure in that Index for the month of my death. If, at that time, the latter figure is unavailable (whether because that Index has ceased publication or for any other reason), my Trustees—who may, if they think fit, refer to any other index they consider relevant and obtain whatever advice they deem appropriate—shall decide what, in their opinion, that figure would have been had it been available, and shall use the figure they determine for this calculation; their decision shall bind [ insert name of beneficiary ] and all persons interested in my estate. 2 I give the Sum [ free of tax ] to [ insert full name...

How should the trustees report the amount of the debt for the purposes of IHT ten-year charge? Should they include any index-linked element of the debt? We have found no authority directly answering this. The principal, or ten‑year, charge is imposed on the value of relevant property held by the trustees immediately before the ten‑year anniversary (TYA). See Practice Note: Relevant property trusts—the principal (ten‑year) charge. Where the trustees’ asset is encumbered by a charge with an index‑linked feature, the trust fund must be valued correctly just before the TYA. That exercise turns on the precise balance outstanding at that point and on whether the index‑linkage ought to be reflected, notwithstanding it would only bite once the loan is redeemed. As a broad rule, where property is charged, the amount secured is deductible from the property’s value when computing the IHT charge (section 5(3) and sections 162–166 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984)). There are, however, limited departures from that general position. Consequently, the amount to be...