Unpaid holiday
Taking unpaid holiday does you good and helps you open up new perspectives, but there are a few things you should do to avoid negatively affecting your retirement pension.
Unpaid holiday and its implications
There are a number of reasons to take unpaid holiday. Most of the pension plans within PUBLICA have generous rules for this eventuality. Some offer reduced coverage during unpaid holiday. Please check your plan regulations or seek advice.
In general, your pension and your risk premiums for death and disability at PUBLICA remain unaffected for the first eight weeks of your unpaid holiday. From the third month of unpaid holiday, you have two options to choose from:
Maintaining your existing insurance coverage
From the third month onwards, you will pay not only your own savings and (where applicable) risk contributions, but also your employer’s. Your insurance relationship remains unchanged.
You will need to discuss this option with your line manager and HR department, but you do not have to notify PUBLICA – your HR department will do this.
Limiting your insurance to the risks of death and disability
If you want to retain your insurance for the risks of death and disability but not save for retirement during your holiday, you will pay only the risk contributions from the third month onwards.
Unless you choose one of the two options, you will not be insured in pillar 2 during your unpaid holiday. For that reason, you should plan ahead and select the option best suited to your circumstances before you start your unpaid holiday.
Key facts
When you take unpaid holiday, your employment relationship continues but your salary payments are suspended.
Some pension plans have different arrangements for unpaid holiday in their regulations. You should therefore check your plan regulations carefully before opting to take unpaid holiday.