5th edition of Ogden Tables published

The Government's Actuarial Department has, last week, published the 5th edition of the Ogden tables.

The tables are widely used in personal injury cases. The EAT recently reminded us that they are generally inappropriate in employment tribunals (see bulletin 9/11/04), although I have never really understood the difference in principle between calculating long-term PI damages - where these tables are always used - and long-term employment damages.

However, the EAT acknowledges the use of the Ogden tables when calculating pension losses.

The discount rate was set by the Lord Chanceller in July 2001 as 2.5% (under the Damages Act 1996, which gives power to prescribe the discount rate in personal injury cases). This rate is also usually adopted in employment tribunals, although the Damages Act 1996 does not actually oblige tribunal's to adopt the Lord Chancellor's prescribed rate.

View the Ogden tables 5th edtn. (656k, Adobe Acrobat needed)

[Thanks to Horwath Clark Whitehill, forensic accounts, for notifying me of the new edition of the Ogden tables]

Visit Horwath Clark Whitehill website