Pensions Increase

Pensions increase every April. The NESPF follows Local Government and Public Pension Scheme legislation which states that the Pensions Increase to be applied each April is to be based on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) for the previous September.

Pensions Increase - April 2026

How much is the Pensions Increase?

This year the Pensions Increase is 3.8%

How is the Pensions Increase decided?

So the 3.8% increase in April 2026, is based on the CPI rate from September 2025.

Will I receive the full 3.8%?

You will only receive the full 3.8% increase if:

you are over 55 (or under 55 but retired on ill health), and
your pension payments began on or before 21st April 2025

If you are under age 55 and you did not retire due to ill health, then you will receive no increase. When you turn 55, your pension will increase to the level it would have been had it increased every year since you retired.

If you started your pension after 21nd April 2025 you will only get part of the increase. The table below shows the percentage increase based on the date you started your pension.

Date Pension Began	Pension Increase
On or before 21 April 2025	3.8%
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	1.9%
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%

When will my pension increase?

The increase is applied on 6th April 2026. As this is part way through the month, only part of your pension will increase. From May onwards, your monthly pension will include the full increase. A payslip is issued to you in April confirming your new pension amount. If it has increased by 50p or more per month, you will also receive a payslip in May showing your new full monthly payment.

Why has my pension gone down?

Some people will find that their net pay is lower than last month, in spite of the pension increase. This is most likely because of changes to your tax code.

When it comes to tax there are 2 things to keep in mind:

Personal allowance – this is the amount of income you can have before you pay tax and is currently £12,570 per year. Personal Allowance has not increased in line with inflation like your pension.
Your state pension is deducted from your Personal Allowance. So, if for example your state pension was £6,000 a year, your Personal Allowance would reduce to £6,570.

The state pension has increased this year, which will reduce your Personal Allowance further and cause a change in the tax code applied to your NESPF pension. As the pension with NESPF has also increased this could cause an increase in tax payments, or result in you beginning to pay tax. The net total between your state pension and your NESPF pension should, however, be an increase over previous months.

Unfortunately, we do not set, nor can we change your tax codes. Any questions about tax must go to HMRC at 0300 200 3300.

Why is the increase lower than expected?

If you paid into the Fund before 6 April 1997 and have now reached state pension age, it is likely you will have a Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP). GMP is the minimum amount of pension we must pay you. Your GMP is also increased but some or all of it is paid with your State Pension. So while the increase from us may be lower than expected, your State Pension will also increase giving you the value of increase you are entitled to. The exception to this is members whose State Pension Age is after 5 April 2016, the Fund will pay the full increase in these cases.

My tax code has changed, or I don't think it's right - what do I do?

Unfortunately, we do not set, nor can we change your tax codes. Any questions about tax must go to HMRC at 0300 200 3300.

If your tax code changes you do not need to contact us as HMRC automatically tell us of any changes. We can only use the tax codes HMRC provide us with.

If you receive a letter from HMRC informing you of a change to your tax code, please check your April payslip to ensure the correct code has been used.