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What’s going on in the pensions world?

Keep up to date with the latest pensions news and developments in the Scheme.

Your railways pension is reviewed each year and increases according to orders published by the government. In recent years, the increases have been in line with the Consumer Prices Index figure from the previous September.

For the 2025/26 financial year, your railways pension will increase by up to 1.7%. This will be effective from 7 April 2025.

Will all retired members get the full 1.7% increase?

Unless your Section rules specify otherwise, you will receive the full increase, but this will also depend on when you took your benefits or became a preserved member.

If you took your benefits or became a preserved member on or after 23 April 2024, you won't get the full amount because you've been retired - or preserved - for less than a year. Spouses' pensions increase in the same way.

You can check the increase you'll get using the information in table A below.

Table A

How will my first pension payment in the year 2025/26 be worked out?

Depending on when your pension is paid, you may receive part of your pension at the new four-weekly rate and part at the old rate. Table B below shows how many weeks of your pension payment will be at each rate.

Table B

You can find more information about your annual pension increase on the dedicated webpage.

The dates for this year’s pension payments are shown in full on the 2025 pension payment calendar.

Where does the increase come from?

If you're under age 65 on 7 April 2025 - the date the increase becomes effective - you'll receive all of the increase from your railways pension.

If you're 65 or older on 7 April 2025, you may receive a lower increase from your railways pension.

This is because your pension may include some 'guaranteed minimum pension', also known as GMP, which may increase at a lower rate than your railways pension.

If you reached State Pension Age (SPA) before 6 April 2016, the government may top up your State Pension to reflect the lower level of increases provided on the GMP. Although some exceptions do apply to married women who paid reduced National Insurance (NI) contributions and certain pensioners who worked or live abroad. 

This top-up does not apply if you reached SPA on or after 6 April 2016.

What is GMP?

If you were a member of the railways pensions schemes between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 1997, you may have been 'contracted out' of the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme - also known as SERPS - which existed at that time and was later abolished.

This means that, if you were a member of a railways pension scheme during this period, you paid a lower rate with NI contributions. In return, your railways pension scheme had to provide you with a GMP which was roughly the same as the pension you would have received in SERPS.

How is my GMP increased?

For membership up to 5 April 1988, the part of your pension which is GMP is not increased by your railways pension scheme, in line with the Rules of the Scheme. If you reached SPA before 6 April 2016, the government pays all of the increase for your pre-April 1988 GMP with your State Pension. 

For membership after 5 April 1988, increases of up to 3% are paid by your railways pension scheme on the part of your pension which is GMP. If inflation is more than 3% and you reached SPA before 6 April 2016, any surplus would be paid to you by the government.

Who should I contact if I have questions about GMP?

If you have questions about your GMP, or the increase on it, you should contact your local pension centre.

You can find details on the government website.

You should have already received details about your GMP from the Department of Work and Pensions, also known as the DWP.