Access & Fairness: Gender Gap Benefits

Improving access and fairness in the LGPS

The Government has introduced changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) regulations to make the Scheme fairer for all members. Most changes will take effect from 1 April 2026, and some improvements apply retrospectively. 

Gender Gap Benefits - stronger protection when you are away from work

Note: this will only apply to active members from 1 April 2026 and there will be no retrospective review.

In the LGPS, women typically receive lower pensions than men which is known as the gender pensions gap. One of the reasons for the gap is that women are more likely to take breaks from work due to childcare and other caring responsibilities. The changes detailed below were introduced from 1 April 2026, to help reduce the gender pensions gap by strengthening pension protection when members are away from work. 

You will not need to buy back lost pension for any period of unpaid additional maternity leave or unpaid additional adoption leave between weeks 27 to 52. For unpaid shared parental leave, the weeks of unpaid will differ depending on the maternity leave and pay taken. For all child related leave this starts from 1 April 2026, and you will continue to build up pension as if you were receiving normal pay. Your employer will fund these contributions. 

Under the existing LGPS rules, no lost pension had to be bought back if you were away from work with no pay because of ordinary maternity or adoption leave in the first 26 weeks. Your pension continued to build up as if you were receiving normal pay. This will continue.

Short authorised breaks 

From 1 April 2026, if your employer allows you to take unpaid leave that lasts less than 15 days, your pension will continue to build up in this period. You and your employer will both pay the pension contributions that would have been paid if you were at work receiving your normal pay. 

This change does not apply if you were unpaid because you were on strike. A strike break does not automatically count for pension purposes. 

Unpaid leave of 15 days or more

If your employer allows you to take unpaid leave that lasts 15 days or more, the break will not automatically count for pension purposes. 

You can elect to buy some or all of the pension you lost during the unpaid period by paying extra contributions. The contributions can be paid by lump sum or regular deductions from your pay. Your employer will inform you of the cost and your payment options. 

This arrangement called a Qualifying Additional Pension Arrangement (QAPA) applies to unpaid leave that starts from 1 April 2026 or later. Improvements include:

  • More time to decide whether to buy back the lost pension. The deadline has increased from 30 days to one year after returning to work, or the date you left the employment you were in during the unpaid leave, if this is earlier. Your employer can allow a longer deadline. If you miss the deadline, the old rules apply. 
  • Contributions are based on your normal contribution rate and on the pay you would have received if you had been at work. Your employer also pays the contributions they would have paid if you had not been absent. 
  • The pension you buy mirrors the pension you would have built up if you had been at work.
  • No medical report is required. The pension fund or employer should not ask for a medical report before allowing you to start a QAPA.