Following the publication of the latest inflation figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the TUC said it highlighted the Government’s ‘stealth cut on pensions’.Image may be NSFW.
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The ONS figures showed that RPI inflation stayed at 5% and CPI increased to 4.4% in July.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “The cost of living is rising twice as fast as wages, and with business confidence low the wages gap is set to continue for some time. While rail commuters despair at the prospect of 8 per cent fare rises next January, savers will be fuming at the government’s stealth cut on pensions as a result of the switch to the lower CPI inflation measure – which could slash the value of their pension by 15 per cent over the next 20 years.
“The government’s selective switch from RPI to CPI means higher costs for students and commuters, and less in return for pension savers, taxpayers and job seekers. As people struggle through the toughest squeeze in living standards for decades, it says a lot about the government’s priorities that the only help the Chancellor is considering is a tax cut for the super-rich.”
