What happens to my workplace pension during maternity or paternity leave?

On GOV.UK, you can:

• check if you can get Statutory Maternity or Paternity PayOpens in a new window

• see the eligibility criteria for Statutory Adoption PayOpens in a new window

If you qualify for these Statutory amounts, your family leave will usually be paid by your employer for up to 39 weeks (around 9 months).  

Many employers offer extra payments on top of this (or for longer), so always check your workplace family leave policy.

You might qualify for your employer’s payments even if you cannot get the Statutory amount.

For more information, see our guides:

• Maternity leave, neonatal care leave and pay

• Paternity leave, neonatal care leave and pay

• Adoption leave and pay.

If your maternity, paternity or adoption leave will be paid by your employer, payments to your workplace pension will usually continue as normal for at least 39 weeks. 

If your contributions are made using salary sacrifice, these are treated as being made by your employer.

This means the entire contribution should continue while you’re on paid leave, as long as this does not reduce your pay below the National Minimum Wage. 

If you choose to take any unpaid leave, all pension contributions will normally stop. 

This typically happens from weeks 40 to 52 during maternity or adoption leave, as you’re entitled to the time off but payments like Statutory Maternity Pay finish at week 39.  

Your employer can explain the rules that apply to you. 

If you do not qualify for any paid leave, your employer’s contributions will usually continue as normal for the first 26 weeks (around 6 months). 

This includes if you qualify for Maternity Allowance, as this is a benefit paid by the government rather than your employer.

Your employer will be able to explain the rules that apply to you and how much they would pay.

If your pension contributions stop for a while, it could affect your future retirement income. 

If you have a defined contribution pension (the most common type), your missed contributions will usually impact the growth of your pension savings.

This is because the amount it will pay you largely depends on how much is paid in and how well the invested money performs.

If you have a defined benefit pension (often called a final salary or career average scheme), paid leave will usually continue to build up pension benefits, but unpaid leave will not.  

This is because the amount it will pay you depends on your salary while you’re a scheme member. 

To avoid losing out on pension savings during unpaid leave, check if you’re able to pay extra contributions.

This might mean you pay a small amount now to boost your pension for many years to come. 

If you have a partner and their pay is unaffected by your leave, you could consider using some of their income to pay into your pension.  

For more information, see our guides: 

• Ways to boost your pension 
• Ways to close the gender pensions gap.

Your employer should follow the rules automatically, so you do not need to do anything. 

But always check that your pension contributions have been made correctly, as mistakes are common. For example, contributions being based on your reduced pay or stopping too early.  

If you spot a mistake, ask your employer to put things right. See how to get free help if your employer is not being fair

How much State Pension you’ll qualify for depends on your National Insurance (NI) record. You usually need at least 35 years of qualifying NI years to get the full amount and at least 10 years to get anything. 

The easiest way to protect your State Pension entitlement is to register for Child Benefit. This is because you’ll automatically receive NI credits until your child is 12 – even if you do not qualify for any money from Child Benefit.  

You can make a claim for Child BenefitOpens in a new window on GOV.UK 2 days after you’ve registered your child’s birth or once they come to live with you.

If you earn at least £129 a week for a full tax year (6 April to 5 April), you’ll usually earn a qualifying NI year anyway.  

As only one person can claim Child Benefit per child, you can usually transfer any NI credits from Child Benefit you do not need to someone else. This can either be to: 

• your partner, if you live with them – you can apply to transfer NI creditsOpens in a new window using the form on GOV.UK 
• a family member who looks after your child, including another parent who has moved out and grandparents – they can apply for Specified Adult Childcare creditsOpens in a new window on GOV.UK.

If you return to the same salary when your family leave ends, your pension contributions should continue as normal. 

But they’ll usually go down if you reduce your hours or stop if you do not go back at all. 

If you plan to work fewer hours, your pension benefits will usually build up slower than they would have before you went on leave. 

This can affect how much retirement income you’ll have to live on when you’re older.

To help save enough for a comfortable retirement, consider increasing your contribution rate. If your employer offers contribution matching, you might even find they’ll pay in more too. 

Find out more in our guide Boost your pension with contribution matching.  

If you do not go back to work after your leave, your workplace pension contributions will stop and your provider will continue managing your pension until you’re ready to take an income. 

Even a small break in contributions can make a big difference to your future retirement income, so always consider how you’ll continue saving. For example, setting up your own pension.   

Our Pension calculator can show how much retirement income you might need and how much you’re on track to get – and what would happen if you saved more or less.  

When you pay into a pension, the government usually adds a top-up payment called tax relief. This is the money you’d normally pay in Income Tax.  

Each tax year until you’re 75, you can get tax relief on all your contributions up to: 

• the amount you earn, and 
• your annual allowance – this is £60,000 for most and covers all payments into your pension, including any from your employer. 

If you earn under £3,600, you can get tax relief on your pension contributions up to £2,880 each tax year. 

For more information, see our guides: 

• What happens to my pension if I leave a job or opt out? 
• Why should I save into a pension?
  
• How tax relief boosts your pension contributions.

If you feel your employer is not following the rules or being fair, ask them to put things right first.  

For example, if they’ve based your pension contributions on reduced pay, ask them to make an extra payment to make up the difference. 

If you’re unhappy with their response, you can contact: 

• the HMRC Statutory Payment Dispute TeamOpens in a new window 
• your trade union, if you have one. 

You can also get free employment law help and advice from: 

• AcasOpens in a new window if you live in England, Scotland and Wales 
• the Labour Relations AgencyOpens in a new window if you live in Northern Ireland.