Most pension professionals (58%) believe Retail Prices Index (RPI) reform should go further than simply switching to the housing-cost based Consumer Prices Index (CPIH), according to the Society of Pension Professionals (SPP).
The not-for-profit's survey revealed 69% of members believe RPI reform will ultimately go ahead as a straightforward switch to CPIH with no compensation, despite 58% not agreeing this is correct route.
It also found while nearly a third (29%) agree reform should involve a switch to CPIH with compensation, just 18% believe this will happen in reality.
Just 13% believe RPI reform will involve a switch to an adjusted index such as CPI + 1%.
The survey also revealed that while nearly half (46%) of respondents think that RPI reform should take place by 2025, the majority (81%) are not hopeful it will and agree changes are not likely to take place until 2030 or beyond.
The most serious issues rated by respondents that are likely to impact as a result of the changes included the impact on funding positions and a fall in asset values, followed by a reduction in members' benefits and then difficulty in hedging effectively.
SPP president Paul McGlone said: "What is clear from our survey is that there is still a lack of consensus on the most suitable replacement for RPI or the timescales for implementing this change. This isn't surprising given the very different impacts that the change has on schemes, sponsors and members.
"The difference between expectations of what should and will happen is interesting, with our members expecting the change to be more penal than they would like, but to come into force later that they think it should."
He added: "Hopefully the imminent consultation, due to be announced in the Budget, will allow the industry to coalesce around a suitable approach. Failure to implement the right reform in a timely fashion could be very damaging to UK pension schemes and their members."
