Published
28th March 2023
The pension we pay you is adjusted each year to ensure your pension keeps pace with the cost of living.
HM Treasury issue a Pensions Increase (PI) review order which tells us how much to increase your pension by each year. The Order is currently linked to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) and is based on CPI as at the previous September.
CPI at September 2022 was 10.1% which means that your pension will increase by 10.1% from 10 April 2023.
Pension increases are normally paid to:
If your pension has been in payment for less than a year, you will only receive part of the increase this year. The table below shows how much your pension will increase by based on the date your pension started:
The pension increase applies from 10 April 2023 (the first Monday after the start of the new tax year), therefore your April pension will not be increased for the whole month.
Your May pension payment will have the full monthly increase applied, and this will be the amount you will receive going forward.
Remember - you can view and print your monthly pension advice slips and P60 Certificates online through the MyView self-service portal. If you have not yet signed up, you can email pensions.section@highland.gov.uk to request joining instructions - please provide your national insurance number in your email.
The Government confirmed in last November’s Autumn Statement that the State Pension will rise in line with the government’s ‘triple lock’. The triple lock guarantees that increases will be the highest of three measures – CPI inflation, average earnings or 2.5%. This is excellent news for pensioners and means that the state pension will increase by 10.1% from April 2023.
This is where things get a little complicated. Prior to 6 April 2016 the LGPS was contracted-out of the State Second Pension (formerly known as SERPS - the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme). When you reach state pension age you will receive a notice from HM Revenue & Customs giving details of your Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) (this is the amount that is guaranteed to be paid to you by the LGPS had you not been contracted-out of the State Second Pension).
Your GMP is already included in the total pension you receive from the Highland Council Pension Fund. From state pension age, therefore, your pensions increase will be paid from 2 sources, HM Revenue & Customs and the Highland Council Pension Fund.
Please note: if your pension contains a pre1988 element of Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) any increase due on this part of your pension will be paid by the State. The pre 1988 GMP value will be deducted from your total Highland Council pension before the increase is applied.
