Pensioners will receive a boost in their September pension cheques as a 3.5 percent increase approved in August will be included.

Finance Minister Paula Cox said in a statement released yesterday that the increase will see the top pension increased to $1,040.

And she said an actuarial review of the state of the Contributory Pension Fund will be tabled in he House of Assembly when it reconvenes in November.

Defending her Government?s policies on pensions, she said the most recent increase meant pensioners have seen their incomes improved by 26 percent since the Progressive Labour Party was elected in 1998 while inflation has risen by 18 percent.

?When the PLP took over the administration of this country in 1998, we found that the top pension for seniors was roughly $800 per month,? she said. ?As a result of our increases, the top pension is now over $1,040 per month.

?The Opposition continues to say that inflation is eating away at the pension increases but the facts say differently. The facts show that over the successive PLP administrations, pension increases have outpaced the level of inflation. Prices have risen by about 18 per cent, but pensions have risen by 26 percent. In other words, our pension increases have been above the rise in the overall cost of living.?

Ms Cox said government intended to do more, and was ?appreciative of the endorsement by the Opposition that they too see the need for enhancements of the pre-1998 position?.

Ms Cox said Government planned to to set official poverty lines for Bermuda ?so that the enhancements to the income security programmes will be based on empirical data and not anecdotal stories?.

She said Bermuda?s pension system compared favourably with other countries, adding a recent review of pension arrangements in Overseas Territories by the United Kingdom Government Actuary found Bermuda?s pension arrangements were in good standing.