Under section 59 of the Social Security Pensions Act 1975 as amended by section 11 of the Social Security Act 1979 and as modified by section 59A of the 1975 Act (introduced by section 11(4) of the 1979 Act) the Minister for the Civil Service is required to provide by order for the increase in the rates of public service pensions. The increase is the percentage (or in some circumstances a fraction of the percentage) by which the Secretary of State for Social Services has, by directions given under the provisions of section 23 of the Social Security Pensions Act 1975, increased the sums referred to in section 23(1)(b) of the 1975 Act. These are the sums which are the additional components in the rates of long term benefits namely the additional pension entitlements accruing to employees in respect of their earnings after 5th April 1978.
For pensions which began before 24th November 1980 the increase is 9.06 per cent. For pensions which began on or after 24th November 1980, the increases are as follows:
| PENSIONS BEGINNING | PERCENTAGE INCREASE |
|---|---|
| 24th November 1980 to 7th December 1980 | 9.06% |
| 8th December 1980 to 7th January 1981 | 8.31% |
| 8th January 1981 to 7th February 1981 | 7.55% |
| 8th February 1981 to 7th March 1981 | 6.80% |
| 8th March 1981 to 7th April 1981 | 6.04% |
| 8th April 1981 to 7th May 1981 | 5.29% |
| 8th May 1981 to 7th June 1981 | 4.53% |
| 8th June 1981 to 7th July 1981 | 3.78% |
| 8th July 1981 to 7th August 1981 | 3.02% |
| 8th August 1981 to 7th September 1981 | 2.27% |
| 8th September 1981 to 7th October 1981 | 1.51% |
| 8th October 1981 to 7th November 1981 | 0.76% |
Deferred lump sums beginning on or before 7th November 1981 and which become payable after 22nd November 1981 receive the same percentage increase as pensions which began on the same date. Also Article 4 of the Order provides for increases on certain deferred lump sums which became payable after 23rd November 1980 and before 23rd November 1981.
The Order also makes provision for the amount by reference to which any increase in the rate of an official pension is to be calculated to be reduced by the amount equal to the rate of the guaranteed minimum pension entitlement deriving from the employment which gives rise to the official pension. This is required by section 59(5) of the Social Security Pensions Act 1975 but section 59A of that Act empowers the Minister for the Civil Service to direct that in respect of specified cases or classes of case either no such reduction be made or the reduction shall be less than the rate of the guaranteed minimum pension.