According to calculations by Interactive Investor ahead of Mother’s Day this Sunday (30 March), women could be missing out on thousands of pounds of employer contributions to their pensions during maternity leave.
The investment platform has warned women to ensure they don’t miss out on money they are entitled to by law.
Earlier this month, Nugget Savings found that some employers unintentionally base pension contributions on statutory maternity pay (£187 per week after the first six weeks from April 2025) rather than an employee’s full salary. The parenting platform shared its findings with Sky News.
Interactive Investor has warned that women need to check their pay slips and speak to their employer’s HR department to ensure they don’t miss out.
Camilla Esmund, senior manager at Interactive Investor, said: “It’s not clear whether this is a widespread issue, but it is another reminder of the importance of pension engagement. Unfortunately, the pensions system is quite complex – so, understandably, it isn’t always easy for consumers to know what to look out for, or what to ask. But essentially, the rules are supposed to ensure women still get a full pension payment even while their pay is reduced, but in some cases, it seems this isn’t happening, so it is important that women check.”
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How much money could mums be missing out on?
Interactive Investor calculated that during maternity leave, a woman on £35,000 could be left with an £822 hole in her pension over 39 weeks if employer contributions were mistakenly based on her reduced maternity pay rather than her full salary.
Earners with a salary of £50,000 or £80,000 could face a gap of £1,307 and £2,276 respectively.
Because of investment growth, this gap could grow to £4,534 by retirement for a £35,000 earner, and a £12,554 gap for a higher earner on £80,000.
Esmund said: “These potential pension errors are yet another barrier when it comes to closing the gender pension gap, with many women struggling to build retirement wealth. On average, women have 35% less pension wealth than men by retirement because they often take years out of the workplace and are more likely to work part-time to care for their family. To help close this gap, it’s vital that women get everything they are entitled to, especially on maternity leave.
“At a time when finances are stretched to the limit, it’s extremely worrying that women could be missing out on valuable pension contributions. Women often have more than one maternity leave, so they could be missing thousands by the time they reach retirement.
“When you’re planning for a baby, your pension and retirement might be the last thing on your mind. But taking a moment to check your pension could make a big difference to achieving your retirement goals. Anything you set aside in your 20s and 30s can benefit from years of investment compounding, which helps your wealth to snowball over time. That is, if you’re also keeping a close eye on your fees, as this can also eat into your wealth over time if you’re overpaying in charges.”
