If you are away from work

Overview

You may need to take time away from work during your career. Special rules apply to protect your LGPS pension if you are on sick leave, child-related leave or reserve forces leave. Your pension will continue to build up as normal in a short period of authorised unpaid leave. You may be able to pay extra to make up for pension ‘lost’ during other types of unpaid absence. If you are paying extra in the LGPS, you might have to pay missed extra contributions when you return to work after an absence.

Sick leave

If you are off work due to sickness or injury, your pay might go down or you may receive no pay. If this happens, a notional pay figure is used to work out your pension to make sure you do not lose out. This notional pay is called your Assumed Pensionable Pay. You can find out more about Assumed Pensionable Pay in the section below.

You will continue to pay your basic LGPS contributions on any pay that you receive while you are off sick. If you are on unpaid sick leave, you will not pay any contributions.

If you are in the 50/50 section of the Scheme and your pay is reduced to zero while you are on sick leave, you will automatically be moved into the main section of the Scheme from the beginning of the next pay period. You would start to build up full pension benefits in the LGPS even though you are not paying any pension contributions. This may not apply if you are on leave for a short period. If your pay re-starts before the next pay period begins, you would remain in the 50/50 section.

Relevant child-related leave in the LGPS means:

ordinary maternity or adoption leave – normally the first 26 weeks
paid additional maternity or adoption leave – normally week 27 to week 39
unpaid additional maternity or adoption leave – if the unpaid period started 1 April 2026 or later
paid shared parental leave
unpaid shared parental leave – if the unpaid period started 1 April 2026 or later
paternity leave
bereaved partner’s paternity leave
paid parental bereavement leave, and
paid neonatal care leave.

During a period of relevant child-related leave, your pension is usually worked out using your Assumed Pensionable Pay. Assumed Pensionable Pay is a notional figure that is used to make sure your pension is not affected by the pay reduction. You would continue to build up a pension in the LGPS as if you were working normally and receiving normal pay. You can find out more about Assumed Pensionable Pay in the section below.

If you are in the 50/50 section and you go on to no pay during maternity leave, adoption leave, shared parental leave, paternity leave or bereaved partner’s paternity leave, you will automatically be moved to the main section of the Scheme from the beginning of the next pay period. You would start to build up full pension benefits in the LGPS even though you are not paying any pension contributions.

Certain types of leave are treated the same as authorised unpaid leave in the LGPS. What rules apply depends on:

whether the unpaid leave started before 1 April 2026 or on or after that date
if it started on or after 1 April 2026, whether the unpaid period lasts for less than 15 days
if it started on or after 1 April 2026, whether the member chooses to pay extra to cover the period within a year of returning to work.

The authorised unpaid leave rules set out in the next sections apply to:

unpaid neonatal care leave
unpaid parental bereavement leave
unpaid additional maternity leave that started before 1 April 2026
unpaid additional adoption leave that started before 1 April 2026, and
unpaid shared parental leave that started before 1 April 2026.

Other types of leave

Authorised unpaid leave – less than 15 days

From 1 April 2026, if your employer allows you to take unpaid leave that lasts less than 15 days, your pension will continue to build up in this period. You and your employer both pay the pension contributions that would have been paid if you were at work receiving your normal pay.

This will apply if you are unpaid when you are absent from work because of jury service.

It may also apply if you have bought annual leave from your employer, but this depends on how the scheme to buy extra leave works. If you are buying or thinking about buying extra annual leave, you can check with your employer how your pension will be affected.

Authorised unpaid leave – 15 days or more

From 1 April 2026, if your employer allows you to take unpaid leave that lasts for 15 days or more, the break will not automatically count for pension purposes. This also applies if you were absent from work and unpaid for more than 15 days for jury service. You can choose to pay extra contributions to buy the pension you ‘lost’ in the unpaid period.

If you elect to pay these extra contributions within a year of returning to work, the cost is split between you and your employer. The contributions can be paid by lump sum or regular deductions from your pay. If you take an unpaid break, your employer will be able to tell you the cost and your payment options.

An arrangement to buy pension ‘lost’ in a period of unpaid leave that started 1 April 2026 or later is known as a Qualifying Additional Pension Arrangement or QAPA.

Authorised unpaid leave – old rules

The rules that applied before 1 April 2026 still apply if you took an authorised unpaid break that started before that date. Under those rules, the period does not count for pension purposes unless you elect to pay Additional Pension Contributions (APCs) to buy the pension you ‘lost’ during the absence.

If you make an election to pay Additional Pension Contributions to purchase ‘lost’ pension within 30 days of returning to work, the cost will be split between you and your employer. Your employer can agree to contribute if you make your election after more than 30 days.

Use the Buy lost pension calculator to find out more about this option. You will need information from your employer about the pay you ‘lost’ in the unpaid absence to use the calculator.

You can also use the calculator if you took an unpaid break that started on or after 1 April 2026, but you elected to pay the extra contributions more than a year after returning to work. You would have to pay the full cost yourself. Your employer would not have to pay part of the cost.

Strike

If you are away from work for a day or more due to a trade dispute, the period will not count for pension purposes unless you elect to pay Additional Pension Contributions (APCs) to purchase the ‘lost’ pension. You would pay the full cost unless your employer chooses to contribute.

Use the Buy lost pension calculator to find out more about this option. You will need information from your employer about the pay you ‘lost’ in the trade dispute to use the calculator.

Reserve forces leave

If you are on reserve forces leave and elect to remain in the LGPS, your pension will be worked out using your Assumed Pensionable Pay. This ensures that you continue to build up pension as if you were at work receiving your normal pay. You can find out more about Assumed Pensionable Pay in the section below.

Your employer needs to tell you the amount of basic pension contributions you and the Ministry of Defence must pay, any additional contributions you are paying and the amount of Assumed Pensionable Pay those contributions must be collected on. You should pass the information to the Ministry of Defence who will then deduct the pension contributions and pay them to your LGPS pension fund.

Pension contributions will not be deducted from any pay you receive from your LGPS employer during this period.

Assumed Pensionable Pay

Assumed Pensionable Pay is a notional pensionable pay figure that is used to ensure that your pension is not affected if your pensionable pay reduces when you are away from work. It protects you if you are absent because of sickness or injury, relevant child-related leave or reserve forces leave.

Your employer must calculate the Assumed Pensionable Pay for the period of absence. To do this, your employer will normally calculate the average of the pensionable pay you received in the three months before your pay reduced. If you are paid weekly, they will use your pay in the 12 weeks before the pay reduction.

When calculating the average pensionable pay for the period before the pay reduction, your employer will ignore any reduction in pay due to an authorised absence or a trade dispute.

If the pay you received in the period before the pay reduction is materially lower than the pay you would normally receive, your employer has a discretion to use a higher pay to work out your Assumed Pensionable Pay. Your employer must have regard to your pensionable pay in the last year when determining what your ‘normal’ level of pensionable pay is.

Your basic pension contributions are based on the pay you actually receive, not on the Assumed Pensionable Pay.

Assumed Pensionable Pay – an example

A member’s pensionable pay is reduced to half pay for the period 1 July to 31 December due to sickness absence. The employer calculates the Assumed Pensionable Pay by working out the average of the pensionable pay in the three months before the pay reduction.

April pensionable pay: £1,190
May pensionable pay: £1,190
June pensionable pay: £1,322

Monthly Assumed Pensionable Pay is: £1,190 + £1,190 + £1,322 = £3,702 ÷ 3 = £1,234.

The employer would inform the member’s pension fund that the Assumed Pensionable Pay for the period 1 July to 31 December is £1,234 × 6 months = £7,404.

Away from work and paying extra

If you are paying extra in the LGPS, different rules apply when you are absent depending on the type of additional contributions you are paying and the reason for your absence. In some cases you will need to pay the additional contributions when you return to work.

Sickness or injury

Contributions to a Qualifying Additional Pension Arrangement (QAPA), Additional Pension Contributions (APCs), Shared Cost APCs, added years and Added Regular Contributions (ARCs): You must continue to pay these contributions in any period of sickness or injury when you are being paid. You do not have to pay them in a period of unpaid sick leave. Your contributions would be deemed to have been paid in full.
Part time buy-back: If you are paying extra to buy back previous part time service, you must continue to pay the extra pension contributions set out in the contract as if you were not on leave.
Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) or Shared Cost AVCs: These contributions may continue. You can choose to vary the amount you are paying. If you are paying AVCs for extra life cover, you should arrange to continue with these payments throughout your leave or your cover may stop. This is very important during a period of unpaid sick leave because it will not be possible to deduct the contributions from your pay.
Cohabiting partner’s pension: if you are paying extra for pre 6 April 1988 membership to count, you must continue to pay these contributions in any period of sickness or injury when you are being paid. You do not have to pay them in a period of unpaid sick leave. Your contributions would be deemed to have been paid in full.

Child-related leave, authorised unpaid leave or strike

Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) or Shared Cost AVCs: These contributions may continue. You can choose to vary the amount you are paying. If you are paying AVCs for extra life cover, you should arrange to continue with these payments throughout your leave or your cover may stop. This is very important during a period of unpaid leave because it will not be possible to deduct the contributions from your pay.
All other types of extra contributions: You must continue to pay the contributions you are contracted to pay as if you were not away from work. This includes contributions to a Qualifying Additional Pension Arrangement (QAPA), Additional Pension Contributions (APCs), Shared Cost APCs, added years, Additional Regular Contributions (ARCs), Part time buy-back and paying extra for pre 6 April 1988 cohabiting partner’s pension. Your employer may need to deduct any unpaid contributions from your pay when you return to work.

Reserve forces leave

Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) or Shared Cost AVCs: These contributions may continue. You can choose to vary the amount you are paying. If you are paying AVCs for extra life cover, you should arrange to continue with these payments throughout your leave or your cover may stop.
Contributions to a Qualifying Additional Pension Arrangement (QAPA), Additional Pension Contributions (APCs), Shared Cost APCs, or Part time buy-back: You must continue to pay the extra contributions set out in the contract as if you were not away from work.
Added years, Additional Regular Contributions (ARCs) and paying extra for pre 6 April 1988 cohabiting partner’s pension: If your reserve forces pay is equal to or higher than your normal pay, you must pay the extra contributions as if you were not on leave. If your reserve forces pay is less than your normal pay, you do not have to pay the extra contributions. They are deemed to have been paid in full.

Find out more

Paying more
Use the Buy lost pension calculator

Local Government Pension Scheme