Your pension increases every April in line with the cost of living. Unlike many pension schemes which limit increases, your local government pension is guaranteed to go up in line with the rise in retail price index (RPI) - a measure of how much the cost of living is increasing.
These increases also apply to widow’s, widower’s, or civil partner’s pensions, as well as children’s pensions.
Every April, the previous year’s rise in RPI (which is measured from September to September) is used to calculate the rise in pension you get.
Every year the figure is different and it’s determined by a lot of different factors, so it’s impossible to predict how much your next increase is going to be. However, the last few years’ increases are as follows:
|
Date of increase |
|
|
|
Increase % |
|
09 April 2008 |
|
|
|
3.9 |
|
09 April 2007 |
|
|
|
3.6 |
|
10 April 2006 |
|
|
|
2.7 |
|
11 April 2005 |
|
|
|
3.1 |
|
12 April 2004 |
|
|
|
2.8 |
|
07 April 2003 |
|
|
|
1.7 |
|
08 April 2002 |
|
|
|
1.7 |
|
09 April 2001 |
|
|
|
3.3 |
|
10 April 2000 |
|
|
|
1.1 |
If you’ve only just started getting your pension, your first increase will be a proportion of the full increase.
Where the increase is paid from
When you reach State Pension Age, the increase in your pension is shared between two sources.
While you may notice that some of the increase is in your State Pension and some is in your local government pension, the overall effect is that the amount you receive each year will always increase in line with the retail price index.
What if you retired early?
Before you’re 55, unless you retired on health grounds:
- your pension won’t increase - it will be paid at a flat rate.
After 55:
- Your pension will go up to the amount it would have been if it had been increasing.
- Your pension will continue to increase yearly in line with the retail price index.
More information
You can download A Guide to the Local Government Pension Scheme with full details of the scheme and how to take advantage of it, to print out and read when you want. If you would rather receive a copy by post, contact us.
You can also download the notes of guidance for pensioners document, which outlines how your pension is paid and how to look after it now you’re retired. If you would rather receive a copy by post, please contact us.
If you’ve got further questions, visit the pensioner member frequently asked questions page of this site.