An NHS pension increase is applied each April and follows CPI to the previous September: pensions in payment rose 3.8% from 6 April 2026.

If you draw an NHS pension, the amount is not fixed for life. It is reviewed every April, and the rise is worked out from inflation. The sections below take the latest rise, how it is set, who gets it in full, and how the rule differs for people still paying in or who left the scheme. Questions the scheme cannot answer, such as how a bigger pension affects your tax, are what an FCA-authorised adviser is for; the call-back is free and starts with this page's enquiry form.

How much was the latest NHS pension increase?

It goes up by the rate the Treasury sets each spring, which was 3.8% from 6 April 2026. NHSBSA, the NHS Business Services Authority that runs the scheme in England and Wales, says in its 2026 newsletter that "NHS Pensions will increase by 3.8%", and the rise takes effect from 6 April 2026. NHSBSA's pensioner page and newsletter label it the 2025/26 increase, after the year of prices it reflects; it is still the rise paid from April 2026, the start of the 2026/27 tax year.

The rate is not the same every year. It can be high after a year of fast price rises and low after a quiet one, so it is better read as "whatever CPI did" than as a promise of a set percentage. A table further down shows recent years.

What is the NHS pension increase based on?

It is based on CPI, the Consumer Prices Index, measured over the 12 months to the previous September. NHSBSA's 2026 pensioner newsletter says the increase "is based on the rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the 12 months ending 30 September 2025." The Treasury then confirms the percentage in a Pensions Increase (Review) Order. The 2026 Order was made by the Treasury on 9 March 2026 with effect from 6 April 2026, and its article 3 provides that a pension which began before 7 April 2025 may be increased "by 3.8 per cent".

Because the rise looks back to September, it always lags: what prices did between September and the following April does not enter the calculation. Other public service schemes publish their own rises on pages of their own: see Teachers' Pension, civil service, police, armed forces and LGPS increases.

When does the NHS pension increase, and who gets it?

The increase starts on the first Monday after 5 April, which was Monday 6 April 2026. NHSBSA says your first payment on or after that date "will only include the PI from that date", and that you should see your new yearly rate in the "advice of payment" it sends in your April and May payments.

Most pensioners get it, but there are conditions. The scheme's 2026 newsletter sets them out:

  • Age or ill health. A pension normally increases if you are over 55 or if it is an ill health pension. The same goes for adult dependant's and child dependant's pensions.
  • A recent retirement gets a part-year increase. A pension that began after 21 April 2025 receives a proportion of the 3.8%, and one that began after 21 March 2026 receives none. The Order sets this by counting complete months from the pension's start date to 6 April 2026, with an incomplete month counted as complete if it has at least 16 days.
  • Guaranteed Minimum Pension. If you retired after 1978 and receive a State Pension, you may not receive the full rise on the NHS pension, with the shortfall offset by a proportional increase to the State Pension. If your State Pension age fell on or after 6 April 2016, the full increase is included.

If the figure on your advice of payment looks lower than 3.8%, one of these is the likely reason. The scheme can explain a particular record; for a different cause, such as a tax code change behind a smaller net payment, see why an NHS pension payment is reduced.

Reading the paperwork after the rise

The pension advice note shows the new annual rate and gives a forecast of your next payment with the increase applied, as long as your yearly rate, tax liability and other deductions do not change. There is no monthly payslip as a rule: NHSBSA sends one only if something has changed, usually a tax code change or the pensions increase itself. So a payment that moves by a different amount from the headline percentage can be a tax code change landing in the same month, not an error in the rise.

NHS pension increases in recent years

The Pensions Increase (Review) Orders for each year give the rate for pensions that began before the date shown. Those are the percentages for a full year; later starters get a part-year share.

Increase fromRate for pensions that began beforeRate
11 April 202212 April 20213.1%
10 April 202311 April 202210.1%
8 April 202410 April 20236.7%
7 April 20258 April 20241.7%
6 April 20267 April 20253.8%

Each rate is the one set in that year's Order (for 2024, the Pensions Increase (Review) (No. 2) Order 2024) and covers public service pensions in payment generally; your own rise depends on when your pension began.

The size of the swings matters when you plan. In these five Orders the full-year rate ranged from 1.7% to 10.1%, so a plan that assumes last year's rate will repeat can run ahead of, or behind, what the scheme later pays.

Deferred pensions and the 2015 scheme's CPI plus 1.5%

Three different things are often called "the increase", and they are applied to different people:

  • Pensions in payment go up by the Pensions Increase described above.
  • Deferred pensions, left in the scheme until you claim them, are indexed in the same way. The Scottish scheme's circular says pensions "in payment, together with those that are deferred for payment at a future date" are indexed on the previous September's CPI, and that 3.8% applies from 6 April 2026 to both. For the England and Wales scheme, NHSBSA's 2015 guide says if you leave before you can claim, annual revaluation stops and is replaced at retirement by the addition of Pensions Increase.
  • Active members of the 2015 scheme have a separate in-service uplift, called revaluation, applied to each year's pension while they are still paying in. The 2015 guide says the rate is "Treasury Orders plus 1.5% each year" and gives an example: a Treasury Order of 2% gives revaluation of 3.5%.

Applied to the latest numbers, the Scottish NHS circular of 3 March 2026 gives an in-service revaluation of 5.3% for the 2025/26 scheme year (3.8% plus 1.5%) for that scheme's active members. That 5.3% is the Scottish scheme's own published figure. For England and Wales, NHSBSA's 2015 guide gives the same formula (the Treasury Order plus 1.5%), and NHS Pensions can confirm the rate applied to your record.

These pieces fit together over a career. Each year's earned pension in the 2015 scheme is built up at 1/54th of pensionable earnings, revalued at CPI plus 1.5% until you leave or retire, and then increased by the Pensions Increase once in payment. Which scheme you are in decides which of these applies: how to tell which NHS pension scheme you are in sets that out. If you left the NHS and a deferred pension is still waiting, an FCA-authorised adviser can weigh how it fits with your other savings, and the enquiry form here arranges that call.

What about next April's increase?

Next April's rise will be drawn from the CPI figure for the 12 months to September 2026. The Office for National Statistics, in its release of 21 October 2026, reports that CPI "rose by 3.5% in the 12 months to September 2026". If the same method is followed as for 2026, that is the number the Treasury's next Order would build on, but the percentage is only fixed when the Order is made, so treat 3.5% as a pointer, not a promise.

Contributions are handled separately. NHSBSA says the contribution tier ranges were revised from 1 April 2026 in line with CPI, which is a different change from the pension rise: see NHS pension contribution rates. For what the pension is worth overall, see whether the NHS pension is worth it.

The rise in the Scottish NHS scheme

The Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) administers the Scottish scheme, and its circular 2026/02 gives the same 3.8% from 6 April 2026 for pensions in payment and deferred pensions. England and Wales are handled by NHSBSA. For the differences between the countries, see the Scotland and Wales page.

Index linking, the triple lock and other rise questions

Is the NHS pension increase linked to inflation?

Yes, in the sense that NHSBSA describes the annual increase as based on CPI. The 2015 guide says NHS pension benefits are protected against inflation by the Pensions Increase, so they "may increase each year, in April, for as long as they are being paid".

Is there a triple lock on NHS pension rises?

NHSBSA describes the NHS rise as CPI-based. The triple lock belongs to the State Pension, which has its own rules: see the State Pension explained.

Why is my increase less than the headline figure?

Common reasons are a pension that started within the last year, a Guaranteed Minimum Pension adjustment, or a pension that is not yet increasing because you are under 55 and not retired on ill health. Your advice of payment shows the percentage actually applied.

What do the 1/60th accrual rate and annual revaluation mean?

Accrual is how fast a pension builds up. In the 2008 Section it is 1/60th of reckonable pay for each year of membership, but the 1995 Section uses 1/80th, worked on the best of your final three years' pensionable pay; in the 2015 scheme it is 1/54th of each year's pensionable earnings. Revaluation is the uplift to what you have already earned before you retire. For the maths on your own record, see the NHS pension calculator guide.

What was the NHS pension increase in 2025?

The 2025 Order raised pensions that began before 8 April 2024 by 1.7%, from 7 April 2025. The table above lists the other recent years.

Where to check your own rate

Your advice of payment shows the percentage applied, and NHS Pensions can confirm the rate on your record. A free call-back arranged through the enquiry form here lets you hear from an FCA-authorised adviser about the new rate alongside your State Pension, tax and other income. MoneyHelper offers free guidance as well, and Pension Wise can help if you also have a defined contribution pot.

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