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
- paid shared parental leave
- paternity leave, and
- paid parental bereavement 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 ordinary maternity leave, ordinary adoption leave or 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 pension contributions.
Any period of unpaid additional maternity or adoption leave or unpaid shared parental leave will not count for pension purposes unless you pay extra pension contributions to buy the pension you have ‘lost’. Unpaid additional maternity or adoption leave is normally from week 40 to week 52, but could start earlier for some members.
The extra contributions are known as Additional Pension Contributions or APCs. If you elect to pay APCs to buy ‘lost’ pension within 30 days of returning to work, the cost will be split between you and employer. Your employer may give you longer to decide. Use the Buy lost pension calculator to find out more about this option. You will need some information from your employer about the amount of pay you have ‘lost’ in the unpaid period to use the calculator.