Pensions Increase
Your Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pension is revalued each April according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
HM Treasury issue a Pensions Increase (PI) Review Order telling us how much to increase your pension by each year. This figure is based on the CPI as at the previous September. We don’t have any discretion over this amount. If the figure is negative, your pension will remain the same, it will not decrease.
The Pensions Increase for 2026 is 3.8%.
The PIs for the previous 10 years are set out in the table below.
| Year | Pensions increase (%) |
|---|---|
| 2016 | -0.1 |
| 2017 | 1.0 |
| 2018 | 3.0 |
| 2019 | 2.4 |
| 2020 | 1.7 |
| 2021 | 0.5 |
| 2022 | 3.1 |
| 2023 | 10.1 |
| 2024 | 6.7 |
| 2025 | 1.7 |
The Buckinghamshire Pension Fund will pay the full 3.8% increase for most pensioners. However, if you paid into the LGPS between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 1997, and reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, the Government will pay some of the increase due to you as part of your State Pension.
Eligibility for the Pensions Increase
You are entitled to receive the Pensions Increase if you:
- are aged 55 or over
- are receiving a survivor’s or dependant’s pension
- retired on the grounds of ill-health
If you started receiving your pension in the last tax year
If your pension was deferred before you started taking it, you will receive the full Pensions Increase.
If you took your pension when you left your LGPS employment between 22 April 2025 and 21 March 2026, you will receive a proportion of the increase as shown in the table below.
| Pension beginning | Pension increase (%) |
|---|---|
| 22 April 2025 to 21 May 2025 | 3.48% |
| 22 May 2025 to 21 June 2025 | 3.17% |
| 22 June 2025 to 21 July 2025 | 2.85% |
| 22 July 2025 to 21 August 2025 | 2.53% |
| 22 August 2025 to 21 September 2025 | 2.22% |
| 22 September 2025 to 21 October 2025 | 1.90% |
| 22 October 2025 to 21 November 2025 | 1.58% |
| 22 November 2025 to 21 December 2025 | 1.27% |
| 22 December 2025 to 21 January 2026 | 0.95% |
| 22 January 2026 to 21 February 2026 | 0.63% |
| 22 February 2026 to 21 March 2026 | 0.32% |
Your April payment
The Pensions Increase applies from the first Monday after the start of the new tax year, therefore your April pension will not be increased for the whole month. For example, this year’s increase will apply from 6 April. Pension for the period 1 to 5 April will not have the increase applied.
If you have a Guaranteed Minimum Pension on your record, any applicable increase to this element of your pension will apply from 6 April. Visit the Guaranteed Minimum Pension webpage for more information.
Your May pension will have the full monthly increase applied, and this will be the amount you will receive going forward.
State Pension
State Pensions are increased in April each year. The basic State Pension increases each year by the highest of the following:
- Earnings – the average percentage increase in UK wages
- Prices – the percentage increase in the cost of living (CPI)
- 2.5%
Each year, the Government confirms how much State Pension will increase by. In 2026, the increase will be 4.8%. You can find out more about the State Pension, including an estimate of State Pension if yours is not yet in payment, on the GOV.UK website.
Any queries about State Pension should be directed to the Pension Service.
Contact us about your pension
If there’s anything you’re not sure of or you want to find out more information about your pension, details of how to get in touch with us can be found on our ‘contact us’ webpages.