We have anxiously been waiting news on our long awaited increase in our Police Pensions as expressed recently by Davie Kerr who wrote,
“Correct me if I am wrong but, were retirees supposed to get an increase (one-off) at the end of April? Seems like we were not included as Gov't retirees. Some of us have not received an increase that we were looking foward to receiving.
Have you got an update or any further info on this?
By way of background, Government "froze" police pensions (and civil service pensions) in 2014. Before the freeze, our pensions were subject to cost of living increases every second year - on even years - and we were last awarded a cost of living increase in 2012 - 14 years ago, which means that we missed no less than 7 pension reviews since 2012.
Parliament finally discussed the pension issues on Friday 29th May 2026, and John Skinner advised us that BERNEWS carried an audio report from the House. CLICK HERE to view the BERNEWS audio.
If you go down the page to the YouTube video and start listening at 55 minutes (patience - it really starts about a minute later) you will hear all that was said by the Premier.
John reported that if he heard correctly there were two proposed changes:-
- The effective date of a 10% increase in our pensions is 01 April 2026.
- The payments will start in October and will include back pay.
The Royal Gazette subsequently published an article on 31st May confirming John's understanding of the amendments to the Public Service Superannuation Amendment Act 2020. The article reads as follows:-
David Burt, the Premier and Minister of Finance, said the Public Service Superannuation Amendment Act 2026 introduced a series of changes to the legislation to reflect the original intent of policy reforms approved last year, which would improve clarity and remove inconsistencies
He said: “This is a technical, housekeeping Act. There are no changes whatsoever insofar as policy and the matters that were agreed with the unions prior to us advancing these reforms.”
Mr Burt said that the Government has begun work to stabilise the Public Service Superannuation Fund and ensure that the pension plan was on a stronger footing for the long term.
He added that the changes also gave the Government greater room to increase pensions for retirees, noting that earlier in the session the had tabled legislation to increase pension benefits.
Mr Burt said that public sector retirees would receive a 10 per cent increase on their pensions and, while the increase is effective April 1, the funds would not be paid until October.
Douglas De Couto, the Shadow Minister of Finance, signalled the One Bermuda Alliance’s support.
The House also approved Supplementary Estimates for 2023-24 and 2024-25, which noted higher than originally forecast spending on overtime within the Department of Corrections and Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service among other line items.
However, Mr Burt noted that the supplementaries for both years were “technical”, explaining: “A technical supplementary indicates that the requirement for additional funding can be met, and was met, within the originally appropriated estimates.”
He also said that with the supplementaries taken into account, the budget deficit for 2023-24 was $29.5 million, $14 million less than the original estimate of $43.5 million, while the 2024-25 budget surplus was $29 million above the original forecast surplus of $210 million.
CLICK HERE to view the Royal Gazette article.
So there you have it. We will be receiving a 10% increase in our pensions as of 1st April 2026 with payments commencing in October 2026.
Published 6th June 2026