Pension scheme reforms aim to reduce the gender pension gap

Reforms coming into force in April will make unpaid additional maternity, shared parental and adoption leave automatically pensionable and will require statutory reporting of gender pension gap data for the Local Government Pension Scheme, affecting nearly seven million members.

New reforms to the Local Government Pension Scheme will come into force in April and are intended to reduce the gender pension gap. The measures apply to the scheme’s near seven million members, around three-quarters of whom are women. The package includes changes to how parental leave is treated for pension purposes and to survivor entitlements. Officials and union leaders have said the steps target gaps linked to maternity and other parental leave. Key points: - The reforms take effect in April and apply to the Local Government Pension Scheme. - Gender pension gap reporting for the scheme will become statutory. - Unpaid additional maternity leave, shared parental leave and adoption leave will be automatically pensionable. - Backdated payments and increased future payments will align survivor entitlements so they do not differ by the sex of those affected or by relationship type. - The current age cap requiring a member to have died before age 75 for a survivor lump sum will be removed. - The scheme will enhance data collection on why members opt out to monitor retention. Summary: The measures are designed to improve pension outcomes for many women working in local government by addressing maternity-related membership and survivor entitlement differences. They are scheduled to be implemented in April. Unions have urged extending similar approaches across the wider public sector; further developments beyond these measures are undetermined at this time.