What to do if a member is off sick

The LGPS protects a member’s pension if they’re away from work because of sickness or injury. If a member gets reduced pay or no pay while they’re off sick, 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. This is called assumed pensionable pay (APP).

While they’re off sick, members only pay pension contributions on the pay they receive. If their absence 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 has some bite size training on APP.

Members in the 50/50 section

If the member’s:

• in the 50/50 section of the LGPS and
• their pay falls to zero while they’re off sick,

they’ll move automatically into the main section of the scheme from the start of the next pay period.

This means they’ll build up full LGPS pension benefits, even though they’re not paying pension contributions.

This may not apply if they’re only off for a short time. If their pay starts again before the next pay period begins, they’ll stay in the 50/50 section.