Child-related leave
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.