Pension Increases

Understanding Your BBC Pension Increase

Under the Rules of the BBC Pension Scheme, pensions in payment are reviewed each year and guaranteed increases are awarded on 1 April. Increases are based on the Retail Prices Index (RPI) or Consumer Prices Index (CPI) for the previous calendar year ending 31 December, subject to a cap.

CAB 2011 Members

• Pensions in payment are guaranteed to increase by the lower of CPI and 4%.

Old Benefits, New Benefits and CAB 2006 Members

Pensions in payment are guaranteed to increase by the lower of RPI and:

• 10% for Old Benefits pensions;
• 5% for New Benefits pensions; or
• 2.5% for CAB 2006 pensions

Important notes about increases

• If you joined the Old Benefits section before 1 April 1992 and when you started to receive your pension you chose to exchange some of it for cash-lump sum, increases are based on the full pension before any was exchanged for a cash lump sum.
• If you started to receive an Old Benefits or New Benefits pension in the last year you may receive a proportion of any increases awarded, to reflect the number of complete months from the time you left service to 1 April.
• Old Benefits members who elected to participate in the Pension Increase Exchange (PIE) exercise receive increases only on the non-exchanged part of their pension.

How you will be notified

We’ll tell you about the increase in your pension in April.  If you registered for myPension Online look out for an email from the BBC Pension and Benefits Centre in the first week of April to let you know that your Pension Increase letter and P60 are available for you to view online. The email will come from mypension@newsletters.bbc.co.uk

If you don’t see it in your inbox by 6 April 2026, please check your spam/junk folder. All pensioners will be able to see their pension increase letter and P60 by 6 April 2026 by logging in to myPension Online, clicking on the “View your documents and statements” link at the bottom of the home page and looking for the document named “2025-26 P60 and 2026 pension increase letter”. Please note that if you are registered for myPension Online you will not be sent a paper copy.

If you do not have an myPension Online account, your pension increase letter and P60 will be posted to your home address later in April.  The fastest way to find out about your pension increase is to register for myPension Online by going to mybbcpension.co.uk and clicking on the “Create Account” button. 

Effect of your pension increase on tax

Your April payment, which is for the period 16 April to 15 May will be a little more than future payments as it will include the amount of increase due for the period 1-15 April 2026.

The April increase may prompt a change to your tax code in May.

The BBC Pension Scheme cannot make changes to tax codes. These are set by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). If you have any questions about your tax code or the tax you have paid you should contact HMRC directly. Their contact details are available on their website www.gov.uk/find-hmrc-contacts/income-tax-enquiries. You may be asked for the Scheme’s PAYE reference which is 951/BX.

Understanding your P60

Your P60 shows how much tax you’ve paid in the tax year (6 April – 5 April), which you may need for:

• Completing your self-assessment tax return;
• Claiming back any tax that you’ve overpaid; or
• Applying for tax credits.

Your P60 is included with your pension increase letter each April (see “How you will be notified” above).

What your P60 shows

• The relevant tax year, e.g. “Tax year to 5 April 2025” is the 2024-25 tax year;
• The Scheme’s PAYE reference – 951/BX;
• Your name, national insurance number and our pension payroll number;
• Pension paid by us - Your total gross pension paid over the year;
• Tax deducted – the total amount of Income Tax deducted over the year;
• Final tax code - Your tax code at the end of the year;
• The amount of HMRC’s Lump sum Allowance and Lump Sum and Death Benefit Allowance used up by your benefits from the Scheme.

Lump Sum Allowance and Lump Sum Death Benefit Allowance

Further information about how these are worked out can be found on the Scheme’s website www.bbc.co.uk/mypension/aa-and-lta#lumpsumallowances and on the government’s website Rules around lump sum allowances

What to do if you think the income tax on your P60 is incorrect

The BBC Pension Scheme cannot make changes to your tax code. This is automatically updated from data provided by HMRC.

If any of the details don’t look quite right, you should contact HMRC directly. Remember to quote your National Insurance Number and your PAYE Reference (from your P60), as this will allow them to access your details. HMRC’s contact details can be found on their website:

www.gov.uk/find-hmrc-contacts/income-tax-enquiries