UK revalues state pension debits and credits for 2026

The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed a routine but important update: amounts created by pension sharing on divorce or dissolution within the State Pension system will be uprated to keep pace with prices. Ministers have made the State Pension Debits and Credits (Revaluation) Order 2025, signed by DWP minister Torsten Bell on 25 November and laid before Parliament on 27 November.

You might see the terms relevant debit and relevant credit in your paperwork. In plain English, a debit is the reduction applied to one person’s State Pension because a share has been awarded to their former spouse or civil partner; a credit is the increase added to the other person for the same reason. These figures sit alongside your State Pension record and are expressed as weekly amounts, so uprating them fairly matters over time.

The order sets clear start dates so you know when the new figures bite. It takes effect for advance claims from 22 December 2025 and for all other purposes from 6 April 2026. Crucially, it applies to people who reach state pension age on or after 7 April 2026.

The schedule lists the price-based increases that apply depending on the tax year when the debit or credit first arose. Examples include 3.8% for 2025–26, 5.6% for 2024–25, 12.6% for 2023–24, rising to 39.2% if the original figure dates back to 2016–17. Earlier years get a bigger uplift because they need more years of price protection.

A quick worked example helps. Suppose a court order in 2022–23 gave you a £10.00 weekly State Pension credit. The schedule’s 24.0% uplift for that year would take it to £12.40 when you reach state pension age on or after 7 April 2026. That’s before any rounding rules DWP applies when it calculates your final award.

It’s also worth knowing what this change does not do. This is not a rise to the full State Pension rate paid to everyone next April. It only updates the specific debits and credits created by pension sharing so they maintain real value until you claim.

If you are going through divorce or dissolution now, ask your solicitor or mediator to spell out any State Pension debit or credit separately from private pension arrangements. Keep a note of the tax year when the sharing decision takes effect, because that is the year you will match to the schedule when you eventually claim.

There’s a timing rule that keeps things simple when you finally reach state pension age. The law says your debit or credit is revalued using the last order that comes into force before you hit state pension age. So if you reach it in, say, June 2026, this 2025 order sets the percentages that apply to you.

Territory matters too. This order extends to England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland runs separate social security legislation, so readers there should check local guidance before relying on these figures.

For learners who like the reference points, the power to do this yearly review sits in section 148AD of the Social Security Administration Act 1992. The percentages in the schedule are the ones used for pension sharing under the Pensions Act 2014, with the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 providing the underlying sharing framework. You don’t need to memorise the sections; it’s more useful to remember that these are price-linked protections applied just before you claim.

One final administrative note from the government: DWP did not publish a full impact assessment because it does not expect significant effects on the private, voluntary or public sectors. That reflects the fact this is a technical uprating rather than a policy change.

Teacher’s tip for the classroom: ask students to pick a starting weekly amount and a tax year from the schedule, apply the percentage, and compare the result with inflation in those years. It’s a clear exercise in how indexation protects the real value of entitlements created by a court order. Then discuss why earlier years need larger increases than later ones.