You are living through exciting times. You have or are about to become a new mum or dad. The great news is that if you are receiving statutory maternity or paternity leave, your pensionable service continues. In short, there is no impact on your pension. If you are adopting a child, you can also apply for leave at the beginning of the adoption time.
Your contribution stays the same as if you are being paid your full-time pay. Your accrual will remain the same even if you are receiving a reduced amount while you are on family leave.
However, if you are not receiving any payment, then you are not considered to be in pensionable service. Therefore, you will not accrue any benefits towards your pension. However, if you are on family leave that is counted as non-pensionable, if this follows a period of pensionable service, your beneficiary will still receive the in-service Death Grant – and a pension will become payable to your heirs.
The content in this article was correct on 15th November 2019. You should not rely on this article to make important financial decisions. Teachers Financial Planning offers advice on pensions for teachers and non-teachers. Please use the contact form below to arrange an informal chat with an advisor and see how we can help you.