“These measures are an important step forward - they will make a meaningful difference for millions of women in local government,” said TUC general secretary Paul Nowak, as ministers confirmed Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) changes that begin this spring. The government set out the package on 2 February 2026, billing it as a push to narrow the gender pension gap. (gov.uk)

From 1 April 2026, unpaid additional maternity, additional adoption and shared parental leave will count towards LGPS pensions, with employers covering the contributions. Unpaid absences of less than 15 days will also be pensionable automatically, and members will have up to a year to buy back pension for longer unpaid breaks at standard rates. (gov.uk)

Why this matters here is scale. Across Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and Merseyside, the Northern LGPS pool says it serves about 870,000 members and manages more than £60bn - shaping retirement outcomes for staff in our councils, schools and libraries. (northernlgps.org)

Drilling down, Greater Manchester Pension Fund is the largest LGPS fund, looking after roughly 420,000 member accounts. Merseyside Pension Fund serves more than 140,000 members - together with West Yorkshire, these are among the biggest funds in the country. (investmentawards.lgcplus.com)

Ministers framed the reforms around everyday Northern roles - school cooks, cleaners, librarians and street staff - arguing that time out to care for a new baby should not cost pension security. The government says the measures are designed to reflect how families work today. (gov.uk)

There’s also a fix to survivor benefits. All partners will be put on the same footing regardless of relationship type, with backdating aligned to when relationships were recognised in law: opposite‑sex marriages (from 5 December 2005), same‑sex marriages (from 13 March 2014) and opposite‑sex civil partnerships (from 31 December 2019). The age‑75 cap on death‑grant eligibility will be removed and backdated to 1 April 2014. (gov.uk)

Transparency is being tightened. A limited form of gender pension gap reporting will appear in the 2025 valuation reports, with fuller - potentially employer‑level - reporting planned for 2028. The Government Actuary’s Department is preparing guidance to standardise how the gap is calculated. (gov.uk)

Opt‑outs will be tracked too. From the 2026–27 scheme year, funds must publish opt‑out rates in their annual reports by December 2027, and employers will be required to share data with funds under an amended Regulation 80. (gov.uk)

The backdrop is stark: retired women in the UK receive about 36.5% less pension income than men - equivalent to four months a year without a pension, according to the TUC. That gap helps explain why LGPS changes will be felt strongly across Northern workforces. (tuc.org.uk)

The government also notes that around three‑quarters of the LGPS’s near seven million members are women, many in frontline, often part‑time roles. For Northern families, that means fewer holes in pension accrual when caring duties arise - and less reliance on paperwork to ‘buy back’ missed service. (gov.uk)