Life events and your pension
Life and careers rarely follow a single, uninterrupted path. You may take time to start or grow a family, adjust how you work, provide support for a loved one, or face changes to your health. These moments matter. They shape your life, and they can naturally prompt questions about what happens to your pension along the way.
Sick leave
If you’re away from work due to illness, you will remain a member of the Scheme as long as your employment continues.
Your pension will continue to build while you are receiving sick pay, whether that is at full or reduced rate. Your contributions will be based on the pay you are actually receiving during this period.
For the purpose of calculating your benefits, your Pensionable Salary will normally be based on the salary you were receiving immediately before your sick leave began.
Unpaid leave (including secondment)
Outside of statutory leave recognised in law (e.g. maternity or adoption leave), periods of unpaid leave do not normally count towards your pension.
In some situations, time away from work may still count towards your pension.
For example, if you’re on secondment to another employer, your pension may continue to build as long as contributions are still being paid for that period, and you do not join another pension scheme while you are away.
If you’re granted an extended period of unpaid leave and want to make up the gap in your pension, you may choose to pay the cost of both your own and the employer’s contributions.
If you’re unsure how a period of absence affects your pension, please get in touch with our team. We will be happy to talk you through your options and what this means for your benefits.
Family leave
Your Scheme membership continues automatically during both paid and unpaid periods of family leave including maternity, paternity, or adoption. During this time, pension contributions are based on your full pensionable salary, not your full actual rate of pay, helping protect your long-term benefits while you focus on what matters most.
During any periods of ordinary maternity leave, ordinary adoption leave, paternity leave, parental leave, paid additional maternity leave or paid additional adoption leave your Pensionable Salary for benefit purposes is maintained at the level it would have been if you continued to work in the same capacity and for the same contractual hours as prior to the period of leave.
Employer contributions during the period continue to relate to the Pensionable Salary you would have received if you had continued in normal work, however, your contributions relate to actual salary received during the period.
Pensionable service continues to accrue throughout any periods of absence if you have received earnings for them, or if you did not receive earnings but it is a period of ordinary maternity leave, ordinary adoption leave, paternity leave or parental leave.
Reducing working hours
Your pension is calculated using your full-time equivalent pensionable salary, and your length of service (adjusted for part time hours).
This means your benefits continue to build fairly, reflecting your role and working pattern. Your death-in-service lump sum would be based on part-time pensionable salary.
Example of member moving to part-time Show Hide
Alex works full-time with a pensionable salary of £40,000 and has 10 years of pensionable service. Alex reduces working hours to 60% (3 days per week) but stays in the same role.
Pensionable salary
The salary used for pension purposes remains £40,000 (full-time equivalent).
Service build-up
From the point of reduction, service is adjusted for part-time working:
Each year worked at 60% = 0.6 years of pensionable service
So if Alex works 5 years at 60% hours:
5 × 0.6 = 3 years of pensionable service
Total service becomes:
10 + 3 = 13 years of pensionable service
Death-in-service lump sum
If Alex’s actual part-time salary is £24,000 (60% of £40,000), the death-in-service lump sum would be based on £24,000, in line with the salary being received at the time.
Changing role within UKRI
Moving to a different role within UKRI can affect your pension, depending on your individual situation and whether you continue working for MRC. You may stop contributing to the MRC Pension Scheme, but you could have the option to join another scheme within the organisation. If you’re unsure, the HR team or the Pensions Team can help guide you on what’s next.Navigating redundancy
Redundancy can be a challenging time, bringing a mix of emotions. If your employment ends either because of Voluntary Redundancy or Compulsory Redundancy, (as defined by the ‘Medical Research Council Redundancy Compensation Scheme’) your Scheme membership will cease.
Voluntary Redundancy
- If you are over the Normal Minimum Pension Age (generally age 55, or age 57 from April 2028) you will have the option of taking an immediate, unreduced pension by surrendering some or all of your redundancy compensation payment. Read more in Retirement Options.
- If you are under Normal Minimum Pension Age your pension will be deferred in the Scheme.
Compulsory Redundancy
- If you are over the Normal Minimum Pension Age (generally age 55, or age 57 from April 2028) you will have the option of taking your pension early on the standard, reduced basis. There is no option to take your pension early on an unreduced basis under the terms of compulsory redundancy.
- If you are under Normal Minimum Pension Age your pension will be deferred in the Scheme.
Your HR team will request pension figures from the pension administrator, and if you have any questions, your HR team or the Pensions Team are always there to support you.
Once you leave your employer or opt out of the Scheme, your pension remains yours. Any changes in your career after this will not affect the benefits you’ve already built up in the Scheme.
If you leave the MRC Pension Scheme and later rejoin, your pension from your earlier membership is preserved as a deferred benefit and continues to be revalued over time.
Rejoining the Scheme
When you return, you normally start building a new pension entitlement from your re-entry date, and your break in service means the periods are not treated as continuous. Depending on the rules and timing, it may be possible in some cases to link the two periods when you retire, but this is not automatic, so your old and new benefits are usually kept separate.
Currently paying in
Sick leave
If you’re away from work due to illness, you will remain a member of the Scheme as long as your employment continues.
Your pension will continue to build while you are receiving sick pay, whether that is at full or reduced rate. Your contributions will be based on the pay you are actually receiving during this period.
For the purpose of calculating your benefits, your Pensionable Salary will normally be based on the salary you were receiving immediately before your sick leave began.
Unpaid leave (including secondment)
Outside of statutory leave recognised in law (e.g. maternity or adoption leave), periods of unpaid leave do not normally count towards your pension.
In some situations, time away from work may still count towards your pension.
For example, if you’re on secondment to another employer, your pension may continue to build as long as contributions are still being paid for that period, and you do not join another pension scheme while you are away.
If you’re granted an extended period of unpaid leave and want to make up the gap in your pension, you may choose to pay the cost of both your own and the employer’s contributions.
If you’re unsure how a period of absence affects your pension, please get in touch with our team. We will be happy to talk you through your options and what this means for your benefits.
Family leave
Your Scheme membership continues automatically during both paid and unpaid periods of family leave including maternity, paternity, or adoption. During this time, pension contributions are based on your full pensionable salary, not your full actual rate of pay, helping protect your long-term benefits while you focus on what matters most.
During any periods of ordinary maternity leave, ordinary adoption leave, paternity leave, parental leave, paid additional maternity leave or paid additional adoption leave your Pensionable Salary for benefit purposes is maintained at the level it would have been if you continued to work in the same capacity and for the same contractual hours as prior to the period of leave.
Employer contributions during the period continue to relate to the Pensionable Salary you would have received if you had continued in normal work, however, your contributions relate to actual salary received during the period.
Pensionable service continues to accrue throughout any periods of absence if you have received earnings for them, or if you did not receive earnings but it is a period of ordinary maternity leave, ordinary adoption leave, paternity leave or parental leave.
Reducing working hours
Your pension is calculated using your full-time equivalent pensionable salary, and your length of service (adjusted for part time hours).
This means your benefits continue to build fairly, reflecting your role and working pattern. Your death-in-service lump sum would be based on part-time pensionable salary.
Example of member moving to part-time
Alex works full-time with a pensionable salary of £40,000 and has 10 years of pensionable service. Alex reduces working hours to 60% (3 days per week) but stays in the same role.
Pensionable salary
The salary used for pension purposes remains £40,000 (full-time equivalent).
Service build-up
From the point of reduction, service is adjusted for part-time working:
Each year worked at 60% = 0.6 years of pensionable service
So if Alex works 5 years at 60% hours:
5 × 0.6 = 3 years of pensionable service
Total service becomes:
10 + 3 = 13 years of pensionable service
Death-in-service lump sum
If Alex’s actual part-time salary is £24,000 (60% of £40,000), the death-in-service lump sum would be based on £24,000, in line with the salary being received at the time.
Changing role within UKRI
Moving to a different role within UKRI can affect your pension, depending on your individual situation and whether you continue working for MRC. You may stop contributing to the MRC Pension Scheme, but you could have the option to join another scheme within the organisation. If you’re unsure, the HR team or the Pensions Team can help guide you on what’s next.Navigating redundancy
Redundancy can be a challenging time, bringing a mix of emotions. If your employment ends either because of Voluntary Redundancy or Compulsory Redundancy, (as defined by the ‘Medical Research Council Redundancy Compensation Scheme’) your Scheme membership will cease.
Voluntary Redundancy
- If you are over the Normal Minimum Pension Age (generally age 55, or age 57 from April 2028) you will have the option of taking an immediate, unreduced pension by surrendering some or all of your redundancy compensation payment. Read more in Retirement Options.
- If you are under Normal Minimum Pension Age your pension will be deferred in the Scheme.
Compulsory Redundancy
- If you are over the Normal Minimum Pension Age (generally age 55, or age 57 from April 2028) you will have the option of taking your pension early on the standard, reduced basis. There is no option to take your pension early on an unreduced basis under the terms of compulsory redundancy.
- If you are under Normal Minimum Pension Age your pension will be deferred in the Scheme.
Your HR team will request pension figures from the pension administrator, and if you have any questions, your HR team or the Pensions Team are always there to support you.
No longer paying in
Once you leave your employer or opt out of the Scheme, your pension remains yours. Any changes in your career after this will not affect the benefits you’ve already built up in the Scheme.
If you leave the MRC Pension Scheme and later rejoin, your pension from your earlier membership is preserved as a deferred benefit and continues to be revalued over time.
Rejoining the Scheme
When you return, you normally start building a new pension entitlement from your re-entry date, and your break in service means the periods are not treated as continuous. Depending on the rules and timing, it may be possible in some cases to link the two periods when you retire, but this is not automatic, so your old and new benefits are usually kept separate.
Here to help
Times of change can raise a lot of questions – and you don’t have to face them alone. If you’re unsure how your circumstances might affect your pension, get in touch with the Pensions Team who are here to help you.
