What's the best way to max out my 年金 出資／貢献s while on maternity leave, or 上げる them when I'm 支援する at work?
I am 予定 to have a baby in a few months and I am keen to continue making 年金 出資／貢献s during my maternity leave. I 現在／一般に 支払う／賃金 above the 最小限 出資／貢献 level ーするために get higher matched 出資／貢献s from my 雇用者.
I asked my HR department about how to 持続する 支払い（額）s while on leave. I was told I will be on 十分な 支払う／賃金 for the first 20 weeks and normal 出資／貢献s will be deducted.
When I go on to statutory maternity 支払う／賃金, my 出資／貢献s will continue based on the lower level of 支払う／賃金, and my 雇用者's will carry on 存在 based on the 十分な 率 of 支払う／賃金, though I won't be able to do salary sacrifice in that period.
If I then go on to take 未払いの maternity leave, HR tells me I will make no 出資／貢献s and neither will my 雇用者, but it 示唆するs I consider 増加するing my 出資／貢献s for a time when I return to work to （不足などを）補う for this.
I'm not really 満足させるd with this 返答 because ideally I'd like to carry on 支払う／賃金ing my 現在の higher 出資／貢献s and getting them fully matched by my 雇用者 through all 行う／開催する／段階s of my maternity leave.
Do I have a 権利 to this? If I say I want to 支払う／賃金 in the usual 量, even in the 未払いの maternity leave period, will this mean my 雇用者 is 要求するd to 支払う／賃金 in and fully match my 支払い（額）s too?
If not, and I just have to catch up when I return to work 十分な time, would it be better to 支払う／賃金 a lump sum into my 年金 then, or 増加する my 出資／貢献s for a period as HR 示唆するd?
Tanya Jefferies, of This is Money, replies: A lot of women make a good start with 年金 貯金 but start 落ちるing behind if they have children.
You are therefore sensible to fill any gaps necessitated by maternity leave すぐに, or as soon as you can, as さもなければ you might never make them up again.
Even short pauses in saving for 退職 can make a difference, 特に when you are young, as you 没収される not only the sums 伴う／関わるd but the immensely 価値のある 構内／化合物 growth on your 年金 投資s?that builds up over time.
If you are in a couple, married or have a civil partner, it is a good idea to take a 共同の approach to maximising both your 年金s throughout your working life, 含むing during maternity leave.
What's the best way to 最高の，を越す up my wife's 年金 so we can afford to retire at the same time??
This is Money's 年金 columnist Steve Webb explains the optimum way for couples to 上げる each other's 年金s.?
Here, he 輪郭（を描く）s the 支配するs on 年金s and maternity leave.
For example, if you 一時的に cannot afford 出資／貢献s during maternity leave but your partner has the money to help you, ask them to do so because this will 利益 you both in the long run.
This goes too for making 十分な use of matched 年金 出資／貢献s from your 雇用者s, as you are 現在／一般に doing.?
This is 解放する／自由な money - 加える extra 税金 救済 from the 政府 on 最高の，を越す - you won't receive in your 年金 さもなければ.
It makes sense for both partners to pitch in and help subsidise each other 支払う／賃金ing into your 年金s whenever necessary, as in the end you will enjoy a richer 退職 together.
And if you unfortunately 分裂（する） up, but your 年金 マリファナs aren't too unbalanced - as they 歴史的に have been between men and women, mostly 予定 to 支払う／賃金 differences and the latter doing 未払いの caring work - there will be いっそう少なく hassle and 敵意 over dividing them.
All that said, even for those with the best 意向s like you, the maternity leave system can get 複雑にするd regarding 年金 出資／貢献s.
We asked a 財政上の 専門家 to explain how to work out how much you might lose and the best way to go about filling the gap.
Laura Suter, 長，率いる of personal 財政／金融 at AJ Bell, replies: Firstly, 井戸／弁護士席 done on thinking ahead on this.
Women tend to have smaller 年金 マリファナs then men, partly because they are more likely to take career breaks when they have children.
This leaves them with a big gap in their 年金 出資／貢献s during that time. It's 広大な／多数の／重要な that you're planning ahead for your maternity leave.
What your 雇用者 has told you is 訂正する and unfortunately the system isn't very 柔軟な.
Your 雇用者 will carry on 支払う／賃金ing in their 現在の 出資／貢献 through your maternity until you go の上に the period with 無 支払う／賃金.
However, after the first 20 weeks your personal 出資／貢献s will be based on your lower level of 支払う／賃金 ? which is where your personal 年金 gap will begin.?
How big is the 財政上の 穴を開ける you will need to fill?
Your first 仕事 is working out what your 年金 gap will be. It gets pretty 複雑にするd but it's possible.
You need to work out how long your maternity leave will be ? if you've already discussed this with HR they should be able to 供給する you with a 決裂／故障 of how long you'll be on 十分な 支払う／賃金, statutory 支払う／賃金 and no 支払う／賃金.
Then you should check your most 最近の 年金 声明 and see how much both and your 雇用者 与える／捧げる each month.
You can 無視（する） the first 20 少しの ks of your leave, as you say you will be on 十分な 支払う／賃金 and so neither you nor your 雇用者's 出資／貢献s will 減ずる.
The next 行う／開催する／段階 is working out how much of your remaining leave will be on statutory maternity 支払う／賃金.
Your 雇用者 will continue to make 十分な 出資／貢献s on your に代わって during this period, but your personal 出資／貢献 will be based on your statutory maternity 支払う／賃金.
So you'll need to do the maths to work out how much that 量s to and what 年金 gap it leaves you with.
And finally, you need to work out how long your final period of 未払いの leave will be, where you are getting 無 年金 出資／貢献s, and what the 年金 不足（高） is during that time.?
What is the best approach to making up the 行方不明の 出資／貢献s?
You have three 選択s if you want to cover the gap: 増加する your 年金 出資／貢献s before you go on maternity leave; 増加する them when you return to work; or a combination of the two.
Some companies will only 許す you to change your 年金 出資／貢献 百分率 once a year or at 確かな life events ? and having a child is usually one. Depending on their 支配するs that might 軍隊 you into only 上げるing 出資／貢献s when you return to work.
You also ask whether it's better to 支払う／賃金 it in as a lump sum or as an 増加するd 月毎の 出資／貢献.
This depends on a couple of factors. First: your 雇用者's matching 支配するs. If you're not exhausting all the 雇用者 matching at the moment then you're better off 増加するing your 月毎の 出資／貢献 as your 雇用者 will 追加する more to your 年金 too.
The next factor is whether you 支払う／賃金 into your 年金 by salary sacrifice.
If you do then your 年金 出資／貢献s are 効果的に taken before any 税金 or 国家の 保険 is paid, which saves you more money than if you just paid in a lump sum and 埋め立てるd the 税金.?
What other steps can you take to 持続する your 年金?
There are a couple of other things to 耐える in mind. Because you accrue holiday and bank holidays during maternity leave, lots of women take this at the end of their leave, to 減ずる the period where they are 未払いの.
During this period you will have 効果的に returned to work for payroll 目的s, so your 年金 出資／貢献s will return to normal. This can help to 減ずる the 年金 gap.
Secondly, if you decide to return to work part-time, or on より小数の hours than you 現在／一般に work, that will have a big 衝撃 on your 年金 出資／貢献s.
If you want to 持続する your 年金 you'll need to 意味ありげに i ncrease your 百分率 出資／貢献 to 補償する for your lower salary.
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