NI public pensions: CPI 3.8%, AWE 4.8% from Apr 2026

Each April, if you work in a school, hospital or council in Northern Ireland, the pension you’ve already earned gets a routine update so it keeps pace with the economy. The Department of Finance has now confirmed the figures for this year. On 10 March 2026 it made the Public Service Pensions Revaluation Order (Northern Ireland) 2026 (Statutory Rules 2026 No. 46). This sets the official percentages schemes must use when they revalue career‑average pension accruals.

For the period from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, the Order records a 3.8 percent increase in prices and a 4.8 percent increase in earnings. The prices figure is based on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) to September 2025 and the earnings figure on Average Weekly Earnings (AWE) to September 2025, as reported by the Office for National Statistics and cited by the Department of Finance. In short: CPI 3.8%; AWE 4.8%.

Dates matter. The Order comes into operation on 1 April 2026 for most public service schemes in Northern Ireland. For two schemes - the Local Government Pension Scheme (Northern Ireland) and the Health and Social Care Pension Scheme (Northern Ireland) - it takes effect on 6 April 2026 to align with the UK tax year. If you are in one of those, your uplift switches on from 6 April.

What revaluation means, in plain English: if you are in a career average (often called CARE) scheme, you build a slice of pension each year. At the end of the scheme year, that slice is uprated by the prices or earnings figure set in this Order, depending on your scheme rules. This step protects the value of the pension you have already earned; it is not a new accrual and it is not a pay rise.

Which measure applies to you? Some schemes revalue by prices to track inflation in everyday goods and services; others revalue by earnings to follow average wage growth. Your scheme rules - not you - decide which one is used. The Department of Finance has simply provided the numbers all affected schemes must plug in for 2025–26.

A quick example to make it concrete. Imagine your CARE ‘pension so far’ on 31 March 2026 is £1,200 a year. If your scheme uses the prices figure, 3.8 percent takes that to £1,245.60 from April 2026. If your scheme uses the earnings figure, 4.8 percent takes it to £1,257.60. Administrators will apply scheme rounding rules, so your statement may show a slightly tidier number.

When will you see it? The revaluation is applied inside the scheme from 1 April (or 6 April for LGPS NI and HSC NI). You usually see the effect in your annual benefit statement later in the year. You do not need to claim anything; it happens automatically as part of the year‑end update.

What this Order does not do. It does not change your contribution rate, your normal pension age or how much pension you build during 2026–27. It also does not set the uprating for pensions already in payment; those follow separate legislation and timetables. Think of this Order as a one‑year instruction for how to uplift the pension you had earned up to 31 March 2026.

If you are planning a job move, a career break or retirement this year, it helps to know which date applies to your scheme so you can read statements correctly. Keep an eye on letters or emails from your pension administrator - they will confirm how the 3.8 percent or 4.8 percent has been applied to your account and from which date.

For transparency, our figures come directly from the Department of Finance’s Public Service Pensions Revaluation Order (Northern Ireland) 2026, sealed on 10 March 2026. The Order sets ‘change in prices’ at 3.8 percent and ‘change in earnings’ at 4.8 percent for the period 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, with operation dates of 1 April 2026 or 6 April 2026 for the two named schemes. If you remember one thing, remember this: prices 3.8; earnings 4.8; April switch‑on.