The Government has introduced changes to the LGPS to make the Scheme fairer for all members. Most changes took effect from 1 April 2026.
Survivor Benefits
The LGPS provides valuable benefits when you die. Your spouse, civil partner or eligible cohabiting partner will receive a part of your pension – this is paid as a survivor pension. It will be paid for the rest of their life.
From 1 April 2026, survivor pensions will be calculated more consistently to ensure equal treatment regardless of the sex of the member or their survivor.
Some survivor pensions will be increased as more of the member’s service before April 2014 will now count. Some survivor pensions will become payable for the first time – this is most likely to affect male survivors of female members who left the LGPS before April 1988.
The changes apply to deaths dating back to:
- 5 December 2005 for opposite sex marriages and same sex civil partnerships
- 13 March 2014 for same sex marriages
- 31 December 2019 for opposite sex civil partnerships.
Some cohabiting partners’ pensions may also increase if the member died between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2014.
Where necessary, pension funds will recalculate survivor pensions and pay arrears with interest.
Death Grants
Previously the upper age limit for paying a death grant was 75, this has now been removed and is backdated to cover deaths from 1 April 2014. A death grant is only paid in limited circumstances when an LGPS member dies after age 75. LGPS pension funds are working to identify any new death grants in respect of members who died after age 75 since April 2014.
Late death grants no longer have to paid to personal representatives and instead, pension funds can use its discretion to choose the most appropriate beneficiaries. This means the death grant will be taxed at each beneficiary’s marginal rate of tax, rather than the 45% charge that applies when it is paid to personal representatives.
Authorised Unpaid Leave
In the LGPS, women typically receive lower pensions than men – this is called 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 below were introduced from 1 April 2026 to help reduce the gender pensions gap by strengthening pension protection when members are away from work.
Child related leave
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.
Under the existing LGPS rules you do not need to buy back lost pension if you are away from work with no pay because of ordinary maternity or adoption leave (first 26 weeks), as your pension continues to build up as if you were receiving normal pay.
Under 15 days*
For authorised unpaid leave of less than 15 days that began on 1 April 2026 or later – it will now be compulsory that this period is pensionable, using pay figures you would have normally received.
This means members will no longer need to apply to buy back pension lost during a short authorised unpaid break. This change does not apply to a period in which the member is unpaid because of a trade dispute (strike).
15 days* or more
If the unpaid leave period is 15 days or more, it is up to the member whether they pay contributions to cover the absence period, this option is called a Qualifying Additional Pension Arrangement (QAPA).
An arrangement called a Qualifying Additional Pension Arrangement (QAPA) applies to unpaid leave that starts from 1 April 2026 or later. Improvements include:
- no medical report is required – your pension fund or employer cannot ask for a medical report before allowing you to start a QAPA.
- 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 leave 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.
*Please note these time periods relate to calendar days, not working days. There is no adjustment for working days or in respect of members who work part time when working out whether an unpaid break is more than 14 days.