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RPI to CPI Ready Reckoner

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You can find out how much the change from RPI to CPI will affect your pension over time by using this NASUWT ready reckoner.

Simply:

  • click on the ready reckoner in the resources section to the right of this page;
  • enter the relevant amount for your gross annual teacher’s pension before tax (eg £5,000 pa);
  • choose a figure showing the likely annual increase in RPI and CPI each year. We have based our figures on an average increase in the RPI of 3% per annum and an average increase in the CPI of 2.5% per annum, giving a difference of 0.5% each year. If you think the difference will be more or less than 0.5% you can change the RPI and CPI figures accordingly;
  • for the purpose of this exercise, enter the number of years during which you expect to draw your pension on the lower increases.

The ready reckoner will show you: 

  • the 'final value of your annual pension' after increases in line with the RPI at the rate you have chosen;
  • the 'final value of your annual pension' after increases in line with the CPI at the rate you have chosen;
  • the total amount of pension you will have lost over the years - expressed as the 'cumulative loss of pension' - due to the lower increases you will receive as a result of the link to CPI rather than RPI .

NB The ready reckoner is for illustration purposes only. It is not a forecast of the actual increases you will receive on your pension. In order to show how the change from RPI to CPI may effect your future pension, it assumes the same percentage pension increase each year, coinciding exactly with your date of retirement. In practice, teachers retire on different dates during the year and receive less than the full annual increase in their first year of retirement.

Go back to the page on The Change from RPI to CPI.