Absence from Work
Sick leave
If you are temporarily off work due to sickness, your membership of the Fund will continue as usual and contributions will continue to be paid while you receive sick pay. If your sick pay runs out, you will not usually be required to contribute to the Fund, but you will still earn benefits in the Fund during this time.
Maternity leave / exchanged maternity leave
Normally, during the first 39 weeks of your leave your contributions are paid in the usual way (but based on the pay you actually receive) and you continue to build up pensionable service.
For any leave after 39 weeks, you have two options:
Option 1
You do not have to contribute but you will not earn pensionable service until you return to work.
Option 2
Your membership can be treated as continuous and you carry on earning pensionable service, but you do not have to contribute until you return to work. Once you return, your contributions can be made up, usually by paying double your usual contribution until the arrears are cleared.
If you return to work and subsequently leave before paying the contributions due under option 2, your pensionable service will be adjusted to reflect this.
In either case, if you do not return to work, then you will be treated as having left the Fund with effect from the date that you left service.
Your Human Resources (HR) Office will provide you with a form to complete confirming which option you would like to take.
Paternity and other paid family leave
If you are paid during your leave, your contributions to the Fund will continue in the normal way and you continue to build up pensionable service.
Adoption leave
Normally, during the first 26 weeks of your leave your contributions are paid in the usual way (but based on the pay you actually receive) and you continue to build up pensionable service.
For any leave after 26 weeks, you have two options:
Option 1
You do not have to contribute but you will not earn pensionable service until you return to work.
Option 2
Your membership can be treated as continuous and you carry on earning pensionable service, but you do not have to contribute until you return to work. Once you return, your contributions can be made up, usually by paying double your usual contribution until the arrears are cleared.
If you return to work and subsequently leave before paying the contributions due under option 2, your pensionable service will be adjusted to reflect this.
In either case, if you do not return to work, then you will be treated as having left the Fund with effect from the date that you left service.
Your HR Office will provide you with a form to complete confirming which option you would like to take.
Career Breaks
If you take a career break you can choose whether or not to pay the contributions that would have been due had you not taken a career break, different conditions apply depending on the length of the career break.
Up to 13 weeks
If you elect for the period to be pensionable, you would pay contributions at 5% of your contributory pensionable salary for the period of leave.
Over 13 weeks
If you elect for the period in excess of 13 weeks to be pensionable you would pay contributions at 5% of your contributory pensionable salary plus contributions equal to the Employers contribution due, currently 27.3% of your contributory pensionable salary.
For career breaks in excess of 13 weeks, you can elect to pay contributions for the first 13 weeks, in which case the period in excess of 13 weeks will not be pensionable and will not count towards your pension.
Note that in all cases there is a deadline of 1 month within which to decide whether to back pay contributions to cover any non-pensionable service break. If you do not apply within the deadline, the option to back pay contributions will cease to be available.
Further information can be found in our Guide to Absence from Work available on the Fund website.
Your period of the career break will be non-pensionable unless you elect to pay contributions to cover the period of absence. For the first 13 weeks contributions would be payable at the employee rate of 5% for any period between 14 and 26 week contributions would be payable at the combined employee and employer rate currently 32.3%.
Normally during the first 26 weeks of leave your contributions are payable based on the pay you receive and you continue to build up pensionable service. For any period of leave over 26 weeks, you can choose to have this non-pensionable in which case you pay no contribution and build up no pensionable service for this period. Alternatively, you can elect for this period to be pensionable in which case on your return from leave the contributions due will be deducted from your salary, usually by paying double your normal contribution until the arrears are cleared.
If you are paid during your leave, your contributions to the Fund will continue in the normal way and you will continue to build up pensionable service.
Normally during the first 39 weeks of leave your contributions are payable based on the pay you receive and you continue to build up pensionable service. For any period of leave over 39 weeks, you can choose to have this non-pensionable in which case you pay no contribution and build up no pensionable service for this period. Alternatively, you can elect for this period to be pensionable in which case on your return from leave the contributions due will be deducted from your salary, usually by paying double your normal contribution until the arrears are cleared.
This has no effect on your pension, you will continue to pay contributions and accrue pension, if your pay falls to zero while no contributions will be paid, your pensionable service continues to accrue.