What to do if a member is off on child related leave

In the LGPS, child-related leave includes:

• maternity or adoption leave (usually the first 26 weeks)
• paid extra maternity or adoption leave (usually weeks 27 to 39)
• unpaid extra maternity or adoption leave (if it started on or after 1 April 2026)
• paid shared parental leave
• unpaid shared parental leave (if it started on or after 1 April 2026)
• paternity leave
• bereaved partner’s paternity leave
• paid parental bereavement leave
• paid neonatal care leave.

During these types of leave, a member’s pension is usually worked out using assumed pensionable pay (APP). If a member gets reduced pay or no pay while they’re on child related leave, you must make sure their pension isn’t affected. When you report their pensionable pay, treat them as if they hadn’t been away from work.

Members only pay pension contributions on the pay they receive. If their leave becomes unpaid, they’ll stop paying contributions. You’ll still need to pay full employer contributions based on their APP.

To find out how to work out APP, see the ‘Work out your members’ pay page. The LGPS also offers some bite size training on APP.

Members in the 50/50 section

If a member is in the 50/50 section and their pay stops during leave, like maternity or paternity leave:

• they’ll move automatically into the main section
• this happens at the start of the next pay period
• they’ll build up full pension benefits
• they won’t have to pay pension contributions during this time.