Each April, some or all of your pension will increase. The way in which your pension increases depends on,
- when and how long you paid into the Scheme, and,
- if your pension has, or had, any Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) benefits included.
Who has a GMP?
You will have, or would have had, GMP included in your pension if,
- you paid into the Scheme between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 1997,
- you transferred in GMP benefits,
- you inherited a pension from someone who had GMP.
If the above applies to you, you may like to take a look at the information below regarding the GMP equalisation exercise.
GMP rules were set by the government and linked to state pension age which ultimately led (in some cases) to unequal payments for men and women. After a landmark court ruling in 2018, the government instructed schemes to help correct this imbalance by ‘equalising’ GMP benefits built up from 17 May 1990.
After consulting with affected members, the Scheme began an exercise to equalise GMP benefits and convert them into regular Scheme benefits. This wasn’t because the pension you were being paid was wrong. It was to address the inequality, as per the government’s instruction. Updates on the consultation were published through our news blog.
From 1 January 2026, most people receiving a pension from us had their GMP equalised and converted, including dependants who inherited a pension from someone who had GMP. If your pension was equalised during this initial phase, you would have received a letter from us with further details.
All GMP benefits held within the Scheme will eventually be equalised and converted. However, as this is a large and complex project, it will take us some time to get to everyone. If you didn’t receive a letter from us, there’s no need to contact us. You can expect to hear from us in due course. In the meantime, we’ll continue paying your pension as normal.
We’ve provided information about increases on this page for both those who still have GMP included in their pension, as well as those who have already had their GMP equalised and converted.
GMP rules on pension increases do not apply until you reach your GMP age. This is 60 for a woman, and 65 for a man.
If you start receiving your pension before GMP age, Scheme rules on increases will apply which means it will be increased according to the Retail Price Index (RPI) rate for the previous December up to a maximum of 5%.
Once you reach your GMP age, GMP rules on increases will apply.
Only certain increases on GMP will be paid from the Scheme, though, depending on your circumstances, you may receive some increases through your state pension.
- Pre-88 GMP – This part represents GMP pension you built up before 6 April 1988 and does not receive any increases from the Scheme.
- Post-88 GMP – This part represents GMP pension you built up from 6 April 1988 and will receive increases according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate for the previous September, up to a maximum of 3%.
If your GMP benefits were converted, the pension you built up before 6 April 1997 will have one or more of these three elements. Increases are paid according to Scheme rules as follows:
- Pre-97 non-increasing – This element does not receive any increases
- Pre-97 CPI – This element will increase according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate for the previous December, up to a maximum of 3%.
- Pre-97 RPI – This element will increase according to the Retail Price Index (RPI) rate for the previous December, up to a maximum of 5%.
Your individual GMP equalisation letter confirms how much pension you have in each of these elements.
As they are no longer linked to GMP, the rule on GMP age no longer applies.
- Pension built up before 1 January 2008, which is not GMP or converted GMP, will increase according to the Retail Price Index (RPI) rate for the previous December, up to a maximum of 5%.
- Pension built up after 1 January 2008 will increase according to the Retail Price Index (RPI) rate for the previous December, up to a maximum of 2.5%.
Dependant pensions paid to a legal spouse or civil partner will increase in the same way as your pension. If you are a dependant receiving a pension from us, please refer to the above for further information on how your pension increases.
Children’s pensions are paid up to age 18, or up to 23 if they remain in full time education.
Children’s pensions paid in respect of benefits you built up before 1 January 2008 will increase according to the Retail Price Index (RPI) rate for the previous December, up to a maximum of 5%. Pension paid in respect of benefits you built up from 1 January 2008 will increase according to the Retail Price Index (RPI) rate for the previous December, up to a maximum of 2.5%.
How will I know what increases apply to my pension each year?
Each April, we’ll send you a P60 confirming how much pension we paid you over the previous year and how much tax (if any) was deducted. If applicable, we’ll also confirm the increase rate(s) that apply to your pension from April.
Please review our P60 webpage for further information.