UK State Pension debits and credits revalued April 2026
If you’ve seen ‘state scheme pension debit’ or ‘credit’ on divorce paperwork and wondered what happens to those figures over time, here’s the short answer: they’re kept in line with prices each year. The government has now made the State Pension Debits and Credits (Revaluation) Order 2025 for Great Britain. It was made on 25 November 2025, laid before Parliament on 27 November 2025, and it applies in England, Wales and Scotland.
There are two start dates to note. From 22 December 2025 the order applies only for making an award on an advance claim by someone who will reach State Pension age on or after 7 April 2026. From 6 April 2026 it applies for all other purposes. In plain terms: if you hit State Pension age on or after 7 April 2026, this is the order that will set your revaluation percentage.
Quick explainer you can use with students or family: in a pension sharing arrangement after divorce or dissolution, the person giving up part of their new State Pension gets a ‘debit’; the person receiving it gets a ‘credit’. These are turned into weekly adjustments under the Pensions Act 2014 and then applied when you reach State Pension age. The Act sets out how those reductions and increases work in sections and Schedules, including Schedule 10.
Why revalue at all? Because prices change between the date a court order takes effect and the day your State Pension starts. Section 148AD of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 requires the Secretary of State to review the general level of prices each tax year and, where values have fallen in real terms, set a percentage increase so the earlier debit or credit keeps its purchasing power.
What the 2025 Order actually does: it directs that the amount of relevant debits or credits for each listed tax year is increased by the percentage shown in the Schedule to the Order. This is part of the annual housekeeping the Department for Work and Pensions does each year, following earlier revaluation orders. If you need the exact figure for your case, check the Schedule attached to the Order.
Once your State Pension is in payment, normal uprating rules apply each year. The Pensions Act 2014 explains how any state pension credit you received is increased after payment starts, depending on whether your overall pension is at, below or above the full rate of the new State Pension. That means the credit doesn’t stand still once you’re retired.
Who needs to pay attention now: you, if your divorce settlement shared new State Pension rights and you reach State Pension age on or after 7 April 2026. If you reach State Pension age before that date, the rule of thumb is that the ‘last order’ in force before your birthday is the one that applies to your revaluation.
Names and sign‑off for transparency: the instrument is signed on behalf of the Secretary of State by Torsten Bell, the Pensions Minister, dated 25 November 2025. GOV.UK lists him as the current Parliamentary Under‑Secretary of State (Minister for Pensions).
A Northern Ireland note for completeness: Northern Ireland makes a matching order separately through the Department for Communities. Its most recent order followed the same approach to revaluing debits and credits and ran on its own timetable. If you live in Northern Ireland, check the NI order rather than this GB one.
Reading tip for learners: when you open a statutory instrument, go straight to ‘Citation and commencement’ for the dates, ‘Increase in the amount of relevant debits or credits’ for what changes, and the ‘Schedule’ for the percentage. The Explanatory Note also records that no significant impact is expected on organisations, so no full impact assessment is produced.