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, the member’s pension is usually worked out based on their Assumed Pensionable Pay (APP). APP is a notional figure that is used to make sure the member’s pension is not affected by the pay reduction.
Under the regulations members will no longer need to buy back ‘lost’ pension for any period of unpaid additional maternity leave, unpaid additional adoption leave (weeks 27 to 52) or unpaid shared parental leave that starts from 1 April 2026 or later.
Members will continue to build up pension during this time as if they were receiving normal pay.
Employer Actions:
As an employer you will need to apply APP to unpaid additional elements of child related leave (maternity, adoption, shared parental leave).
APP will apply during these periods in the same way as it applies during any current period of child-related leave:
- the member pays contributions on any pay that they receive
- the employer pays contributions on APP
- the employer reports APP as the member’s pensionable pay to the administering authority for the period
This does introduce a new circumstance in which a member in the 50/50 section must move to the main section. A member in the 50/50 section moves to the main section at the beginning of the pay period after the day they go onto no pay during child-related leave.
Detailed guidance on the calculation of APP is provided as a bite-size training module on the LGSRegs website