Pensions
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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 2022 is 3.1%.

Pension Increases (PI) for the previous 6 years are set out in the table below.

Year Pensions increase (5)
2016 0.0
2017 1.0
2018 3.0
2019 2.4
2020 1.7
2021 0.5

The Buckinghamshire Pension Fund will pay the full 3.1% 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. You can find out more about the Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP).

Eligibility for the pension increase

You are entitled to receive pensions increase if you are:

  • aged 55 or over
  • receiving a survivor’s or dependant’s pension
  • you retired on the grounds of ill-health

If you started receiving your pension in the last tax year

If you started receiving your pension between 26 April 2021 and 27 March 2022, you will receive a proportion of the increase as shown in the table below:

Pension beginning Pensions increase (%)
Up to 26 April 2021 3.1%
27 April to 26 May 2021 2.84%
27 May to 26 June 2021 2.58%
27 June to 26 July 2021 2.33%
27 July to 26 August 2021 2.07%
27 August to 26 September 2021 1.81%
27 September to 26 October 2021 1.55%
27 October to 26 November 2021 1.29%
27 November to 26 December 2021 1.03%
27 December 2021 to 26 January 2022 0.78%
27 January to 27 February 2022 0.52%
27 February to 26 March 2022 0.26%
After 27 March 2022 Nil

Your April payment

The pension 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 11 April. Pension for the period 1 to 10 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 on 6 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 2022, the increase was 3.1%. 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 DWP. Contact the DWP online.

Contact us about your pension