Paternity Leave Policy - April 2026

Re-instating lost pension because of unpaid paternity leave

As a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), you are able to reinstate any ‘lost pension’ arising from a period of unpaid paternity leave by paying additional contributions under an Additional Pension Contribution (APC) arrangement on your return to work. To do so, you will need to make an election to re-instate your lost pension within 30 days of returning to work. Provided you make your election within this period, and the reason for the period of absence is authorised unpaid leave the cost will be shared with the Authority (1/3rd to the member and 2/3rds to the Authority). 

However, if your election is made after 30 days of the date on the payslip in which the deduction of unpaid leave is taken, the entire cost will fall with you, as the member. 

If you wish to reinstate the lost pension during your period of unpaid paternity leave, you will need to complete an online application form via online modeller on the Absent from Work page of the Dyfed Pension Fund website. Before accessing the online modeller, you will need to have to hand, the lost pensionable pay for your period of unpaid leave/ industrial action ( you will be able to request for this information from payroll by emailing CRPayroll@carmarthenshire.gov.uk ) and the date you returned to work. 

Please note that you will need to complete all the following details on the online calculator: 

Personal Details section – complete all fields 1 – 7 – (information you must have at hand to complete this section are your NI Number and payroll number).

Details for Quote: - complete fields 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12.

Field 8 – insert the lost pensionable pay – this will be to amount shown in your payslip for the deduction of the unpaid leave.

Field 9 – insert the reason of absence –click on ‘authorised unpaid leave’ from drop down menu.

Field 10 – section during absence – click on ‘main section’ from down menu (unless you have made an election to contribute under the 50/50 Section of the Scheme).

Field 11 - Last day of absence – insert the last date of unpaid leave taken during the applicable month. If the reason for absence is “authorised unpaid leave”, and you are making the application within 30 days of the date on the payslip in which the deduction of unpaid leave is taken, please click on the box “30-day override” (employer confirmation must be provided).

Field 12 – Method of payment – click on ‘lump sum deduction’ from drop down menu. 

Finally click on ‘Get Quote’ to calculate the cost of purchasing lost pension – this will show on the results section on the right-hand side of the page see below:

Lump sum Cost to member before tax relief £ xxx.xx

Please note that you can also choose to buy the lost pension by spreading payment of the additional pension contributions over several complete years, however, you will be required to arrange a medical examination (by a Registered Medical Practitioner) to obtain a certificate at your own expense to certify that you are in ‘reasonably good health’ before your application is accepted.

Having completed the above, if you then wish to proceed with the purchase of your lost pension, please follow the following steps: 

Step 1 - you will need to download the online form by ticking the ‘Application’ box, which confirms that the information entered is correct and that you have read and understood the ‘Terms and Conditions’ for your additional pension applications.

Step 2 - click on the ‘submit’ button on the bottom right-hand side of the page. This will transfer the details that you have entered onto a pdf document. 

Step 3 - please sign the declaration on this form and email or post it directly to: 

CR Payroll ( CRPayroll@carmarthenshire.gov.uk ) mailbox or post to HR/Payroll, Carmarthenshire County Council. 3 Spilman Street, Carmarthen SA31 1LE.

If you do not elect to reinstate your ‘lost pension’, the pension benefits that you have built up within the Scheme Year (1 April to 31 March), in which your period of unpaid leave falls, will be proportionately less as a result. For further information, please refer to the Dyfed Pension Fund website.