Major Pension Reforms to Close Gender Gap
In a significant step towards addressing long-standing inequalities, the UK government has unveiled reforms to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) that will benefit millions of women, particularly those in frontline public service roles. The changes, set to take effect from April 2026, target the persistent gender pension gap a disparity where women often retire with smaller pensions due to career breaks, part-time work, and caring responsibilities.
The LGPS covers nearly seven million members across England and Wales, with around three-quarters being women. Many work in essential but often lower-paid jobs, such as school meal providers, cleaners, librarians, and street cleaners. One of the primary drivers of the gender pension gap is maternity and related leave, where unpaid additional periods have historically not contributed to pension accrual.
Key measures include:
- Making unpaid additional maternity leave, shared parental leave, and adoption leave automatically pensionable. This ensures that time taken to care for a new child no longer reduces future pension entitlements.
- Placing gender pension gap data reporting on a statutory footing, requiring transparent monitoring and accountability within the scheme.
These changes directly address the financial penalty women have faced for having children. As Minister for Pensions Torsten Bell stated: “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.”
Minister for Local Government and Homelessness Alison McGovern added: “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.”
The reforms also tackle survivor benefits to eliminate discrimination. Previously, inconsistencies in regulations meant that partners in same-sex marriages or civil partnerships sometimes received more generous entitlements than those in opposite-sex relationships. The new rules remove this disparity through backdated payments and adjusted future pensions, ensuring equal treatment regardless of the sex of the survivor or the nature of the relationship.
Additionally, the government is scrapping an age cap that limited lump-sum death grants to cases where the member died before age 75. This broadens protection for survivors.
To boost scheme participation, authorities will enhance data collection on why members opt out, helping identify barriers and encourage more workers—especially women—to stay enrolled and build stronger retirement savings.
Paul Nowak, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), welcomed the announcement but called for broader action: “Everyone deserves a decent quality of life in retirement, but the gender pension gap means that too many women are pushed into hardship. These measures are an important step forward… It’s now vital we see more action to close the gender pensions gap across the whole workforce, including by extending this approach to the rest of the public sector.”
The changes stem from a 2025 consultation on LGPS access and fairness, with implementation phased starting in April 2026. By valuing caring responsibilities and removing outdated barriers, these reforms mark progress towards a more equitable pension system that supports modern families and recognises the contributions of women in public services.