Millions of women working in local government will see their
pensions improve under new reforms coming into force in April, as
the government takes action to close the gender pension gap.
These steps will directly benefit working people on the front
line, serving school lunches, cleaning buildings, managing
libraries, and cleaning streets.
Measures include making gender pension gap data reporting
statutory and making unpaid additional maternity, shared
parental and adoption leave automatically pensionable.
Around three-quarters of the scheme's near seven million
members are women and one of the most significant causes of
the gender pension gap is due to maternity leave.
Making unpaid additional maternity leave automatically
pensionable is a critical step that will help close the gender
pension gap.
Minister for Local Government and Homelessness, said
It is shocking that this gender imbalance in our pension
system has persisted so long, and I am proud that these reforms
will help correct this historic inequality.
These crucial changes will give hard working cleaners,
librarians, school cooks and other public servants the security
in retirement they deserve.
Minister for Pensions said:
For too long, women have been penalised in retirement simply for
having children.
These reforms mean that for millions of women working in local
government, taking time out to care for a new baby will no longer
cost them their pension security.
This is about a pension system that works for modern families and
properly values the vital contribution of working women across
our public services.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said:
Everyone deserves a decent quality of life in retirement, but the
gender pension gap means that too many women are pushed into
hardship.
It's not right. That's why these measures are an important step
forward - they will make a meaningful difference for millions of
women working in local government, helping them to build up a
decent pension.
It's now vital we see more action to close the gender pensions
pay gap across the whole workforce, including by extending this
approach to the rest of the public sector.
Other measures include backdated payments and increased future
pension payments to ensure that all surviving partners of
eligible members are given the same pension as other survivors
regardless of the type of relationship they were in.
Due to issues with the existing regulations, there have been
instances where people in same-sex marriages and civil
partnerships have received a more generous pension
entitlement than those in opposite-sex marriages and
partnerships.
Under these new reforms, all discrimination on the basis
of the sex of those affected will be removed.
Another reform will remove an age cap currently in
place that requires an LGPS member to have died before the age of
75 for their survivor to receive a lump sum payment.
The government is also taking steps to keep people in the scheme
by enhancing data collection on why people opt out, in a bid to
ensure as many people as possible benefit.
