Pension Contributions During Maternity Leave
Your workplace pension keeps building during paid maternity leave, but the contribution mechanics are asymmetric: employers must contribute as if you were on full salary; you only contribute on the SMP you actually receive. The unpaid 13 weeks at the end of leave are a different story.
The employer side — full-salary continuation
For the entire paid portion of your maternity leave (39 weeks for SMP), your employer must continue pension contributions as if you were earning your normal full salary. This is set in statute by the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations 1999, regulation 9.
So if your employer normally contributes 5% of £50,000 salary = £2,500/year, they continue contributing at that rate throughout the 39 weeks of paid maternity, even when your actual income drops to £187.18/week SMP. This is one of the rare cases in UK employment law where an employer pays more in benefits than wages.
The employee side — contributions on actual SMP
Your contributions are calculated on the SMP you actually receive, not on your pre-leave salary. If you contribute 5% of salary at work but receive £187.18/week SMP, your weekly contribution drops to about £9.36/week — a fraction of your usual.
Auto-enrolment minimum is 5% employee + 3% employer = 8% total qualifying earnings. During SMP, the employee contribution drops, but the 8% total may not be hit because the employer is still contributing 3% of a higher salary base.
Net effect on pension growth
Most employees end up better off in pension growth during maternity leave than during normal salary months, because:
- The employer contributes at full-salary rate (high inflow).
- You contribute at SMP rate (small outflow from your take-home).
- The contribution rate ratio swings dramatically in your favour.
Don't opt out of your workplace pension during maternity leave thinking you're saving money — you'd be giving up the employer's full-salary contribution to save your tiny employee contribution. Net loss.
The unpaid 13 weeks
Statutory maternity leave runs 52 weeks, but only 39 are paid. From week 40 onwards (unpaid leave), the contractual position changes:
- Defined contribution (most workplace pensions): Employer contributions usually stop. Your contract may require them to continue if it explicitly says so, but the statutory minimum is they can pause.
- Defined benefit (older / public sector): Your service accrual usually pauses; the pause counts as a break, potentially affecting final pension if you had short-service vesting rules.
You can voluntarily continue your own contributions during unpaid leave (from savings or a partner's income) but it rarely makes financial sense — the employer match is the most valuable part of any workplace pension.
State Pension and National Insurance credits
Your State Pension accrues separately from your workplace pension. During paid maternity leave, you usually pay Class 1 NI on your SMP, so the qualifying year counts automatically. During unpaid leave, you may receive National Insurance credits if you claim Child Benefit — which you should, even if you opt out of payment due to the High-Income Child Benefit Charge.
This is a real trap: high earners (over £80,000 or so) who decline Child Benefit altogether miss out on years of NI credits. Always claim Child Benefit and tick "I don't want to receive payment" if you're in the HICBC zone. The NI credits go to the household member who claimed.
Salary sacrifice during maternity
If you sacrifice salary into your pension before maternity, your AWE for SMP purposes is the post-sacrifice figure. This reduces your initial 6-weeks-at-90%-AWE entitlement. Many employers pause salary sacrifice during the qualifying period (15-23 weeks before EWC) to preserve AWE. Confirm with your HR.
What to do before maternity starts
- Check your current pension contribution rate.
- Confirm with HR what the pension will look like during SMP (it should be: employer continues at full-salary rate; your contributions drop to SMP-rate proportional).
- Decide whether to continue voluntary contributions during the unpaid weeks 40-52 (usually not worth it).
- Claim Child Benefit (even if HICBC means you decline payment) for the NI credit.
- If you have salary sacrifice for pension, ask whether it pauses during the AWE calculation window.
