Absences

There may be certain occasions whilst you are a member of the Gwynedd Pension Fund when you are unable to work for different reasons.

This may be due to:

  • Sickness Leave
  • Child related leave
  • Any other unpaid leave

Sickness leave

While you are on sickness leave, your pension remains unaffected.  You will pay your normal contribution rate on any pay that you receive.

For any period that you receive less or no pay, we will use the Assumed Pensionable Pay (APP) supplied by your employer, which is the pay that you would have received for this period had you worked normally. This APP will be used to calculate your pension for this period.  

Child related leave

There are different rules for relevant child related leave and unpaid child related leave.

Relevant child-related leave in the LGPS means:

  • ordinary maternity or adoption leave – normally the first 26 weeks
  • paid additional maternity or adoption leave – normally week 27 to week 39
  • unpaid additional maternity or adoption leave – if the unpaid period started 1 April 2026 or later
  • paid shared parental leave
  • unpaid shared parental leave – if the unpaid period started 1 April 2026 or later
  • paternity leave
  • bereaved partner’s paternity leave
  • paid parental bereavement leave, and
  • paid neonatal care leave

During a period of maternity, paternity or adoption leave, you will still pay your normal contribution rate on any pensionable pay that you receive (Statutory Maternity Pay, Contractual Maternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay). Your pension will be calculated using Assumed Pensionable Pay (APP) supplied by your employer, which is the pay that you would have received for this period had you worked normally.

You will not need to buy back lost pension for any period of unpaid additional maternity leave, unpaid additional adoption leave (weeks 27 to 52) or unpaid shared parental leave that starts from 1 April 2026 or later. You will continue to build up pension as if you were receiving normal pay.

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 regardless of its length.

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.

An 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 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 – it counts towards the calculation of survivor pensions and is not reduced for early payment if your pension is paid early due to redundancy or efficiency
  • no medical report is required – your pension fund or employer cannot ask for a medical report before allowing you to start a QAPA.

See the buy lost pension calculator for information about the rules that applied to authorised unpaid breaks that started before 1 April 2026.

Any other unpaid leave

If you have been absent from work for one or more full days for any reason (including industrial action, jury service, reserve forces leave), you will not accrue any pension on the days you were absent, unless you pay extra contributions to negate that loss.

If you wish to buy-back the ‘lost’ pension, you can do so by paying an Additional Pension Contribution (APC) contract. The pension you have lost will be calculated as 1/49th of the APP for the period of unpaid leave if you were in the main section of the scheme, and on a 1/98th basis if you were in the 50/50 section.