What if I am away from work?

Will my pension be affected by sickness absence?

If you are off work due to sickness or injury and your contractual pay is reduced, or you don't receive any pay, then a notional pay figure is used to work out your pension to make sure your pension is not affected. This notional pay is called your Assumed Pensionable Pay (APP).

You will continue to pay your basic Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) contributions on any pay that you receive while you are off sick. If you are on unpaid sick leave, you will not pay any contributions.

50/50 Section

If you are in the 50/50 section of the scheme and your pay is reduced to zero due to unpaid sick leave, you will be moved into the main section of the scheme from the beginning of the next pay period (if you are still not receiving any pay). This means from that point forward you will build up full pension benefits in the LGPS even though you are not paying pension contributions.

Will my pension be affected by unpaid leave?

Unpaid leave will:

• effectively reduce your pension.

This is because the amount which goes into your pension account at the end of each scheme year is based on the actual pay you receive.

If you would like to buy back the "lost" pension resulting from taking unpaid leave:

• you have to pay an Additional Pension Contribution (APC) which will be calculated under guidance from GAD. Further information on APCs, including an online calculator are available on the LGPS member website. 

In all cases of authorised unpaid leave except going on strike, the employer will contribute towards the cost, providing you elect to pay APCs within 30 days of returning to work. The cost will be split 1/3rd employee, 2/3rds employer. This is called a shared cost additional pension contribution (SCAPC).

Pension contributions during ordinary maternity or adoption leave

Although ordinary maternity leave (OML) or ordinary adoption leave (OAL) is up to 26 weeks:

• statutory maternity pay (SMP) or statutory adoption pay (SAP) is now payable for 39 weeks.

So, you will continue to pay pension contributions:

• for the first 39 weeks of your maternity leave, or
• for as long as you are receiving pay (even if this pay is less than you would receive had you not been on leave)

You will continue to pay pension contributions at your usual contribution rate. This is based on whatever pay you receive.

If you receive less than your usual pay during this period:

• your pension still builds up as usual because it will be based on your assumed pensionable pay.

If you do not receive any pay during your ordinary maternity leave or ordinary adoption leave:

• you will not be required to pay pension contributions, and your pension will still be based on your assumed pensionable pay.

This might happen if you do not qualify for statutory pay.

So during your OML or OAL your pension will not be affected.

Pension contributions during additional maternity or adoption leave

Additional maternity leave (AML) and additional adoption leave (AAL) is leave over 26 weeks.  As SMP and SAP is payable for the first 39 weeks, this means that during your additional leave period you will usually pay pension contributions for the first 13 weeks.

The employers contributions during AML and AAL are based on the pay which you would have received had you been at work.  Your contributions are based on the actual pay you receive.

If you have a period of unpaid leave during your AML or AAL, you have the option of paying an Additional Pension Contribution (APC) to recover the "lost" pension.  You must request to pay back the contributions within 30 days of returning to work (or within 30 days of resigning or being dismissed after your AML or AAL). 

Find out more about additional pension contributions during ordinary and additional maternity or adoption leave.

Keeping in touch days

If you work on a KIT day during your ordinary maternity or adoption leave, you will pay pension contributions based on the pay you receive for that day. The amount which is added to your pension account for that day will then be based on: whichever is higher between the actual pay you received for the KIT day, and your assumed pensionable pay The same applies if you work a KIT day during paid additional maternity or adoption leave. If you work on a KIT day during your unpaid additional maternity or adoption leave, you will pay pension contributions based on your pay for that day. The amount added to your pension account will simply be based on your pay for the KIT day.

Will my pension be affected by paternity leave?

During statutory paternity leave the amount added to your pension account will be based on your assumed pensionable pay.

You will pay pension contributions on your paternity pay - so your pension will not be affected.

How does parental leave affect my pension?

Unpaid parental leave will:

• effectively reduce your pension.

This is because the amount which goes into your pension account at the end of each scheme year is based on the actual pay you receive.

If you would like to buy back the "lost" pension resulting from taking unpaid parental leave:

• you have to pay an Additional Pension Contribution (APC) which will be calculated under guidance from GAD.

Further information on APCs, including an online calculator are available on the LGPS member website. 

In all cases of authorised unpaid leave except going on strike, the employer will contribute towards the cost, providing you elect to pay APCs within 30 days of returning to work. The cost will be split 1/3rd employee, 2/3rds employer. This is called a shared cost additional pension contribution (SCAPC).

If you are called for jury service, this is treated as a period of authorised leave of absence for pension purposes.

If you are paid, you will pay pension contributions on the pay you receive and build up your pension normally.

If you are unpaid, you can buy Additional Pension Contribution (APCs) for the lost pension. The cost of buying the APC for the lost pension is in accordance with the guidance issued by the Government Actuary Department (GAD).

When you return from jury service, your employer will write to you to ask if you wish to elect to buy your lost pension via an APC.

If you elect to buy an APC within 30 days of returning to work, the cost of the APC is shared between you and your employer. In this case, you pay one third and your employer pays two thirds of the cost.

You can however, elect to buy the lost pension back via an APC after 30 days of returning to work but this will be at full cost to you.

APC calculator

You can use this online APC calculator for an idea of how much it would cost you to buy an APC for lost pension.

If you enter into a period of reserve forces leave, you will:

• continue to accrue pension membership and you will continue to pay contributions on your reserve forces pay, as long as it equals or exceeds your normal pay.

If your reserve service pay is less than your normal pay, you will not have to pay any contributions and your benefits will not be affected.

How is my pension affected by strike action?

If you are away from work for a day or more due to:

• a trade dispute or strike action

that period of absence will not count as membership in the Cornwall Pension Fund.

Absence from work due to a trade dispute or strike action will effectively reduce your pension. This is because the amount which goes into your pension account at the end of each scheme year is based on the actual pay you receive.

If you would like to buy back the "lost" pension resulting from taking absence from work due to strike action:

• you have to pay an Additional Pension Contribution (APC)

which will be calculated in accordance with guidance from the Government Actuary's Department (GAD). Please note as the absence is due to strike action, your employer cannot contribute or pay a percentage towards the cost of the APC. This is because the absence is classed as unauthorised.  

Further information on APCs, including an online calculator are available on the LGPS member website.