Back

Absences from work

If you’re away from work long-term, this may affect the pension you receive at retirement.

How your absence affects your pension depends on when the absence happened. This is because of changes to LGPS rules from 1st April 2026. Absences before and after this date are treated differently, including how you buy back lost pension.

From 1st April 2026 (current rules)

How different absence types affect your pension from 1st April 2026

This table shows how different reasons for absence will affect your pension.

Sick leave

When you are on sick leave, you pay pension contributions on whatever pay you receive. For example, full pay, half pay, or sick pay.

If you go onto unpaid sick leave, you will stop paying pension contributions. However, LGPS rules treat this leave as if you had paid your pension contributions in full.

This means that you will keep building up pension throughout your sick leave, based on your assumed pensionable pay. You will not lose any pension.

If you’re paying 50:50 contributions then go on unpaid sick leave, you will automatically move into the main section of the scheme from the start of the next pay period. So, from that point forward you will build up a full rate LGPS pension, even though you’re not paying contributions.
Maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental leave

If you are on maternity, paternity, adoption or shared parental leave, you pay pension contributions on whatever pay you receive. For example, full pay or statutory pay. If you go onto unpaid leave, you will stop paying pension contributions. However, LGPS rules treat this leave as if you had paid your pension contributions in full.

This means that you will keep building up pension throughout your paid and unpaid leave, based on your assumed pensionable pay. You will not lose any pension.

If you’re paying 50:50 contributions and go onto no pay during ordinary maternity & adoption leave (which is usually the first 26 weeks), or paternity leave, you will automatically move to the main section of the scheme from the start of the next pay period. So from that point forward you will build up a full rate LGPS pension, even though you’re not paying contributions.
Authorised unpaid absence (including unpaid neo-natal care leave)

Authorised unpaid absences and unpaid neo-natal care leave are treated the same for pension purposes.

During any period of authorised unpaid absence, you will not receive any salary. Whether you build up pension during this time will depend on the length and type of your unpaid absence.

  • An authorised unpaid absence of up to 14 days is automatically pensionable. This means you must continue to pay pension contributions and build up pension for these short periods. How you pay these contributions will be agreed with your employer.
  • If your authorised unpaid absences is for 15 or more days, you won’t pay contributions. This means that you won’t build up any pension during an unpaid absence of 15 days or more. However, you will have the choice to pay contributions for the pension you have lost through a Qualifying Additional Pension Arrangement (QAPA).

(Since 6th April 2025 neonatal care leave is available if needed. This is for employed parents whose child/children receives neonatal care starting within 28 days of birth and goes on to spend seven or more continuous days in care. During paid neonatal care leave, you will keep building up pension throughout your paid leave, based on your assumed pensionable pay.
Strike breaks

If you are on strike, you will not build up any pension as you will not receive any salary. You will have the choice to pay the full cost of the lost pension through an APC Lost. No contributions will be paid by your employer. There is no deadline to decide to buy the lost pension. However, you should decide as soon as possible because age-related factors are used to work out the cost of buying back your lost pension.
Jury service

If you receive salary during jury service, then you pay pension contributions and keep building up pension as normal.

If you don’t receive any salary during jury service, whether you build up pension during this time will depend on the length of your jury service.

  • Periods of unpaid jury service of up to 14 days are automatically pensionable. This means you will continue to pay pension contributions and build up pension for these short periods. How you pay these contributions will be agreed with your employer.
  • If your unpaid jury service lasts more than 14 days, you won’t pay contributions. This means that you won’t build up any pension during an unpaid absence of 15 days or more. However, you will have the choice to pay contributions for the pension you have lost through a Qualifying Additional Pension Arrangement (QAPA).
Reserve forces leave

If you are on reserve forces leave, you will keep building up pension based on your assumed pensionable pay. You won’t lose any pension while you’re away.

Your LGPS employer needs to tell you:

  • the amount of pension contributions you and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) must pay;
  • any additional contributions you are paying; and
  • your assumed pensionable pay, for working out these contributions

You should pass this information to the MoD who will then take the pension contributions and pay them across to the Clwyd Pension Fund, along with the employer’s contributions.

During this leave, you won’t pay pension contributions from any salary you receive from your LGPS employer.
Unauthorised unpaid absence

If you take an unauthorised unpaid absence from work, you won’t build up any pension and you can’t buy it back.

Buying back lost pension (current rules)

How do you buy back lost pension from authorised unpaid absence?

You will have the choice to pay contributions for the pension you have lost through a Qualifying Additional Pension Arrangement (QAPA). Your employer should speak to you about this when you return to work. A QAPA is based on:

  • you paying the contributions you would have paid if you had not been absent
  • your employer paying the contributions they would have paid if you had not been absent

This means the cost to buy back the lost pension is the same as what you would have paid if you had been at work during that period.

You will have one year after returning to work to tell your employer you want to pay a QAPA. You must still be paying LGPS contributions in the job you were absent from to be able to apply for a QAPA.

Any lost pension you buy back will count towards survivor pensions, and won’t be reduced if you retire on redundancy or efficiency grounds.

How do you buy back lost pension from a strike break?

To buy back lost pension from a strike break, you will need to find out how much pensionable pay you have lost during the strike period. Your employer is responsible for giving you this information

You should then use the online APC lost calculator to find out the cost of buying back your lost pension.

Any lost pension you buy back will not count towards survivor pensions, and will be reduced if you retire on redundancy or efficiency grounds.

If you want to go ahead, complete the application form on the APC calculator and send copies to your employer’s payroll department and the Clwyd Pension Fund.

You can buy back your lost pension in different ways:

  • as a one-off lump sum payment through the payroll so that your payment attracts tax relief
  • as a one-off lump sum paid directly to the Clwyd Pension Fund, but you will have to contact HM Revenue & Customs yourself to receive your tax relief
  • monthly over a minimum period of one year through the payroll so that your payments attract tax relief

If you wish to pay monthly, you may be asked to undergo a medical examination by a Registered Medical Practitioner (at your own expense) to confirm that you are in reasonably good health.

Up to 31st March 2026 (old rules)

How different absence types affect your pension up to 31st March 2026

This table shows how different reasons for absence affected your pension.

Sick leave

When you were on sick leave, you paid pension contributions on whatever pay you received. For example, full pay, half pay, or sick pay.

If you went onto unpaid sick leave, you stopped paying pension contributions. However, LGPS rules treat this leave as if you had paid your pension contributions in full.

This means that you kept building up pension throughout your sick leave, based on your assumed pensionable pay. You did not lose any pension.

If you were paying 50:50 contributions then went on unpaid sick leave, you were automatically moved into the main section of the scheme from the start of the next pay period. So, from that point forward you built up a full rate LGPS pension, even though you were not paying contributions.
Maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental leave

During any paid periods of maternity, paternity, adoption or shared parental leave, you paid pension contributions on whatever pay you received. You kept building up pension throughout your paid leave, based on your assumed pensionable pay.

If you went onto unpaid leave, you no longer paid contributions. During this time, usually weeks 39 to 52, you wouldn’t have built up any pension. You have the option to buy back the pension you have lost through an APC Lost.

If you were paying 50:50 contributions and went onto no pay during ordinary maternity & adoption leave (which is usually the first 26 weeks), or paternity leave, you automatically moved to the main section of the scheme from the start of the next pay period. So, from that point forward you built up a full rate LGPS pension, even though you were not paying contributions.
Authorised unpaid absence (including unpaid neo-natal care leave)

During unpaid authorised absences you did not receive any salary. This means that you didn’t pay any contributions or build up any pension while you were away. You have the option to buy back the pension you have lost through an APC Lost.

Since 6th April 2025 neonatal care leave is available if needed. This is for employed parents whose child/children receives neonatal care starting within 28 days of birth and goes on to spend seven or more continuous days in care. Neonatal care leave is treated as an authorised absence. For neo-natal care leave taken before 1st April 2026, you kept building up pension throughout your paid leave, based on your assumed pensionable pay. During unpaid neonatal care leave, you have the option to buy back the pension you have lost through an APC Lost.
Strike breaks

If you were on strike, you did not build up any pension as you did not receive any salary. You have the choice to pay the full cost of the lost pension through an APC Lost. No contributions will be paid by your employer. There is no deadline to decide to buy the lost pension. However, you should decide as soon as possible because age-related factors are used to work out the cost of buying back your lost pension.
Jury service

If you received salary during jury service, then you paid pension contributions and kept building up pension as normal.

If you didn’t receive any salary during jury service, you didn’t pay any contributions or build up any pension while you were away. You have the option to buy back the pension you have lost through an APC Lost.
Reserve forces leave

If you were on reserve forces leave, you kept building up pension based on your assumed pensionable pay. You did not lose any pension while you were away.

Your LGPS employer should have told you:

  • the amount of pension contributions you and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) must pay;
  • any additional contributions you are paying; and
  • your assumed pensionable pay, for working out these contributions

You should have passed this information to the MoD for them to take the pension contributions and pay them across to the Clwyd Pension Fund, along with the employer’s contributions.

During this leave, you should not have paid pension contributions from any salary you received from your LGPS employer.
Unauthorised unpaid absence

If you took an unauthorised unpaid absence from work, you didn’t build up any pension and you can’t buy it back.

Buying back lost pension (old rules)

If you stopped building up pension at any time during your absence, you can buy it back by setting up additional pension contributions, known as APC lost.

To find out how much you need to pay, please use the online APC lost calculator. You will need to ask your employer how much gross pensionable salary you lost while you were away.

If your absence was because of a strike, you need to pay all of the extra contributions to buy back the lost pension.

For other types of unpaid absence:

  • If you set up the extra contributions within 30 days of returning to work, you will only have to pay 1/3rd of the contributions and your employer will pay the other 2/3rds.
  • If you set up the extra contributions more than 30 days after returning to work, you must pay all of the extra contributions yourself. Your employer can choose to extend this 30 day deadline.

Any lost pension you buy back will not count towards survivor pensions, and will be reduced if you retire on redundancy or efficiency grounds.

If you want to go ahead, complete the application form on the APC calculator and send copies to your employer’s payroll department and the Clwyd Pension Fund.

You can buy back your lost pension in different ways:

  • as a one-off lump sum payment through the payroll so that your payment attracts tax relief
  • as a one-off lump sum paid directly to the Clwyd Pension Fund, but you will have to contact HM Revenue & Customs yourself to receive your tax relief
  • monthly over a minimum period of one year through the payroll so that your payments attract tax relief

If you wish to pay monthly, you may be asked to undergo a medical examination by a Registered Medical Practitioner (at your own expense) to confirm that you are in reasonably good health.

For any other type of unauthorised unpaid absence, you won’t build up any pension and you can’t buy it back.

Assumed pensionable pay

Depending on your reason for absence, your employer will work out a salary figure to base your pension on so that it’s not affected. This is your assumed pensionable pay, or APP.

It is based on the last three months of full salary that you received. If you are paid weekly, it will be based on the last 12 weeks.

Example

A member is on unpaid sick leave between 1st July and 31st December.

The member is paid monthly, and received the following full salary in April, May and June:

  • April pensionable pay = £1,600
  • May pensionable pay = £1,600
  • June pensionable pay = £1,800

The average of these three months is:

£1,600 + £1,600 + £1,800 = £5,000.

£5,000 ÷ 3 = £1,666.67 average each month

The member was on sick leave for six-months, so:

£1,666.67 x 6 = £10,000 assumed pensionable pay overall for 1st July to 31st December.

Back to top