The pension deficit of the Royal Mail, the UK's state-owned post operator, has dropped from £8bn to £4.5bn thanks to the government's decision to change the rate of inflation that applies to pension schemes. Royal Mail will now be paying out at least some of its pensions in line with the Consumer Prices Index, instead of the generally-higher Retail Prices Index, which is what lies behind the saving. While painful for Royal Mail pensioners, the saving is largely moot from the company's point of view if a full or partial privatisation of the post operator goes ahead. The UK government has already said it will take on the pension deficit if a sale happens.