The procedure for paying maternity benefits in 2021 - 2021

Our online calculator will calculate the amount of maternity payments, as well as the amount of child care benefits up to 1.5 years.

In order to find out the amount of maternity payments you must enter the period of pregnancy and childbirth and your salary for the previous two years . For a more accurate calculation, it is necessary to exclude periods of temporary disability

In order to find out the amount of benefits for child care up to 1.5 years, you must enter the period of parental leave, as well as the amount of your salary for the previous two years.

Who is paid maternity benefits?

According to the article of the Federal Law dated May 19, 1995 No. 81-FZ, maternity benefits (B&R) are awarded to women (including those who have adopted a child under the age of three months):

• working;
• unemployed if they were fired due to the liquidation of the employer company (loss of individual entrepreneur status, termination of lawyer status, etc.) within 12 months preceding the day they were recognized as unemployed;
• full-time students in professional and other educational organizations;
• undergoing military service under a contract, as well as service in law enforcement and customs authorities.

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REFERENCE. Who should pay benefits to a part-time worker? The answer depends on where she was registered at the start of her employment leave, and where she worked for the two previous calendar years. If employers have not changed, maternity leave is issued by each of them (for each you will have to take the original sick leave). If all employers have changed, then the payment can be received at one of the last places of work (at the woman’s choice). The amount will be calculated based on earnings accrued not only by the employer who transfers the benefit, but also by others (based on certificates issued by them).

Payment of benefits to the Social Insurance Fund

Women who were not officially employed are not granted maternity leave. But there is one exception. If a woman loses her job due to the closure of an individual entrepreneur or the liquidation of a company, she can receive benefits within a year. After this period, she will be declared unemployed. The fact is that the legislation does not provide for the combination of maternity payments with benefits for the unemployed. You'll have to choose one. An unemployed woman will receive benefits for 140 days. But its size will be minimal.

To receive maternity benefits, an unemployed woman must:

• contact social security authorities. To the FSS office at the place of registration;
• submit documents. You will need a certificate of incapacity for work, an application for maternity leave and a certificate from the Employment Center.

Deadlines for receiving benefits

The period for consideration of an application for maternity leave by the Social Insurance Fund is 10 calendar days. It may increase if social insurance employees require additional documents. Payment is made no later than the 26th day of the following month after approval of the application. The money will go to the bank account specified in the application. Materials can also be sent by postal order.

Note! If an unemployed woman submits documents incompletely or there are errors in them, the Social Insurance Fund will return them within five days. The application will have to be submitted again. This means that the benefit payment period will need to be calculated again.

How to apply for maternity benefits

No later than 6 months after the end of the employment leave, the woman must bring the following documents to the accounting department:

1. Certificate of incapacity for work issued in connection with childbirth.
2. Certificate of earnings from other places of work (if they were in the billing period; for more details, see: “Certificate 182n on the amount of wages”).
3. Application for granting benefits.

According to the law, the employer must independently find the amount of the benefit and reflect it in the second section of the sick leave (for more details, see: “Payment of sick leave in 2021”).

First, the organization or individual entrepreneur issues money to the employee, and then the Social Insurance Fund compensates for the payment in full.

Work with electronic sick leave and submit all related reporting through Kontur.Extern

The procedure for paying maternity benefits from 01/01/2021

From 01.01.2021, all regions of the Russian Federation will switch to direct payments of benefits from the Social Insurance Fund. The corresponding law was adopted on December 29, 2021: Federal Law of December 29, 2020 No. 478-FZ.

Read more about this in the article: “Pilot project in 2021: regions.”

Law No. 478-FZ abolished the obligations of insurers (employers, educational institutions, etc.) to calculate and pay benefits, as well as a number of legal acts regulating this process. Now the policyholder only has to provide the Social Insurance Fund with complete and correct information to calculate benefits.

However, the policyholder’s representative still needs to navigate the nuances of the calculation. Since, according to the new law No. 478-FZ, if the FSS incorrectly calculates the benefit according to the policyholder’s data and in connection with this incurs expenses (for example, it overpays the benefit or underpays and the underpayment will be collected with interest), then the policyholder will be required to reimburse the FSS for such expenses .

How to calculate maternity benefits in 2021

The algorithm is given in the Regulations on the specifics of the procedure for calculating benefits for temporary disability and pregnancy and childbirth (approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated June 15, 2007 No. 375). First you need to find the average earnings, compare it with the limits, and then calculate the amount of the B&R benefit.

Calculation of average daily earnings

Total earnings

It includes payments to the employee from whom contributions were paid for compulsory social insurance in case of temporary disability and in connection with maternity.

In general, it is counted for two calendar years preceding the year in which the maternity leave began. If a woman goes on leave for employment and labor in 2021, the total earnings are determined for 2019 and 2021.

ATTENTION. If in the two previous calendar years a woman was on another maternity leave or on maternity leave for at least one day, one or two years can be transferred to an earlier period. The basis must be a written statement. Let's give an example. Let's say maternity leave starts in March 2021. Moreover, in 2021 the employee was on maternity leave, and in 2021 she was on maternity leave. She wrote a statement, and her total earnings were calculated for 2021 and 2017.

Total earnings are taken into account in the part that does not exceed the maximum value of the base for contributions in case of temporary disability and in connection with maternity. This value is approved annually by the Government of the Russian Federation. Earnings for each of the two years separately should be compared with the maximum values ​​of the base (for an example, see Table 1).

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Table 1

An example of comparing total earnings with the maximum values ​​of the base when calculating benefits for the BiR

Number of days in the billing period

To find it, you need to take two quantities:

1. The number of calendar days in the period for which total earnings are calculated.
2. The number of calendar days of the excluded period. It includes time of illness, maternity leave, and parental leave for up to 1.5 years. Also included in the excluded period are days when the woman was released from work according to the laws of the Russian Federation with full or partial retention of her salary (if contributions were not transferred from payments in case of temporary disability and in connection with maternity).

Then the second value should be subtracted from the first value.

Average daily earnings

It is equal to the total earnings divided by the number of days of the billing period.

Example 1

Ksenia Ivanova goes on vacation in April 2021. Her total earnings for 2021 and 2021 amounted to 500,000 rubles. (base limits are not exceeded). In 2019-2018 there are 730 calendar days. Of these, Ivanova was on sick leave for 15 calendar days. The number of days in the billing period is 715 days. (730 - 15). Average daily earnings amounted to 699.3 rubles. (RUB 500,000: 715 days).

Comparison of average daily earnings with limits

Minimum maternity payments in 2021

The amount of the B&R benefit cannot be as small as desired. If a woman’s average earnings are below the minimum wage established on the start date of maternity leave, the benefit should be considered based on the minimum wage.

It is necessary to compare two values ​​of average daily earnings: actual and based on the minimum wage. To do this you need to do the following:

1. Divide the actual total earnings by the number of days in the billing period.
2. Multiply the minimum wage as of the start date of maternity leave by 24 months and divide by 730 days.
3. Compare the figures obtained. If the first is greater than or equal to the second, the benefit must be calculated based on the first value. If the first is less than the second, the benefit should be determined based on the second value (example in Table 2).

table 2

An example of comparing two values ​​of average daily earnings: actual and based on the minimum wage

The amount of maternity benefit is equal to the average daily earnings multiplied by the number of vacation days according to the BiR.

The amount of maternity benefits, calculated based on the minimum wage, in 2021 is:

• RUB 55,831.23 - if the duration of leave under the BiR is 140 days;
• RUB 62,211.95 - if the duration of leave under the BiR is 156 days;
• RUB 77,366.14 - if the duration of leave under the BiR is 194 days.

Calculate wages and benefits according to labor accounting at an enterprise with different remuneration systems, coefficients and allowances

Maximum amount of maternity payments in 2021

If the employee did not write an application to transfer the pay period to earlier years, the total earnings for maternity leave are considered for 2021 and 2021.

Taking into account the maximum base values, the maximum average daily earnings will be 2,301.37 rubles ((815,000 rubles + 865,000 rubles): 730 days).

The amount of maternity benefit cannot exceed the following values:

• RUB 322,191.8 - if the duration of leave under the BiR is 140 days;
• RUB 359,013.72 - if the duration of leave under the BiR is 156 days;
• RUB 446,465.78 - if the duration of leave under the BiR is 194 days.

Calculation of the benefit amount according to BIR

You need to take the average daily earnings and multiply by the number of calendar days of vacation according to the BiR according to the certificate of incapacity for work (140, 156 or 194 days).

IMPORTANT. When paying benefits under the BiR, the average daily earnings are multiplied by 100%, regardless of length of service. Personal income tax is not charged or withheld from this payment.

Example 2

In May 2021, Daria Petrova brought a maternity bulletin to the accounting department, according to which the duration of leave is 140 calendar days. Petrova did not submit an application to postpone the billing period.

The employee’s total earnings in 2021 amounted to 750,000 rubles, and in 2021 - 730,000 rubles. (base limits are not exceeded).

During 2018-2019, Petrova was on the ballot for 14 calendar days.

The accountant determined that the actual average daily earnings are equal to 2,067.04 rubles ((750,000 rubles + 730,000 rubles): (730 days - 14 days)).

Next, I compared the resulting figure with the limits and made sure that:

• actual average daily earnings do not exceed the maximum permissible value (RUB 2,067.04 < RUB 2,301.37);
• the actual average daily earnings are greater than the average daily earnings calculated based on the minimum wage (RUB 2,067.04 > RUB 398.79).

As a result, the maternity benefit amounted to 289,385.6 rubles (2,067.04 rubles × 100% × 140 days). Petrova received this amount in her hands.

ATTENTION. If the employee’s insurance experience is less than 6 months, then an additional condition is introduced. The BiR benefit for a full month cannot exceed the minimum wage multiplied by the regional coefficient (if it is introduced in a given area). The amount of payment for an incomplete month is calculated as follows. The minimum wage (taking into account the regional coefficient) is divided by the number of calendar days in a given month and multiplied by the number of days of maternity leave in a given month.

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Results

Maternity benefits are provided to all women insured in the compulsory social insurance system.
It is calculated based on data on earnings and hours worked for two calendar years preceding the insured event. By calculation, the maximum and minimum for this benefit are calculated for each year. Maternity payments are made by the employer, and if he is unable to do this, then it is necessary to contact the social insurance authorities. If a pilot social insurance project is being implemented in the region, the benefit is paid directly from social insurance to the current or personal account of the expectant mother. You can find more complete information on the topic in ConsultantPlus. Free trial access to the system for 2 days.

Amounts of “children’s” benefits in 2021

How leave is granted

Before you learn how to calculate your maternity benefits, you need to familiarize yourself with the legislative acts that regulate the procedure for registering leave.

It is believed that, having become pregnant, an employee registers with a medical institution, undergoes an examination, and closer to the expected date of birth, her doctor issues a certificate of temporary incapacity for work, which will indicate the duration of the leave. According to labor law, seventy days are required before childbirth and seventy days after it.

Of course, they calculate the date of birth approximately, so it may not be possible to divide the entire period of release from work clearly in half. Therefore - and not for this reason alone - it is allowed to distribute the allocated rest days in a way that is more convenient for the employee, of course, after agreement with the doctors and the employer. For example, you can take thirty days before giving birth, and after them use the remaining one hundred and ten.

Or do the opposite: take one hundred and twenty days off before giving birth, and the remaining twenty days after. This method of dividing leave will not affect how to calculate maternity benefits, since the calculation formula remains unchanged, and each day used must be paid.

Of course, you don’t have to register disability in advance, fulfilling your work duty to the last minute and avoiding going to a medical consultation, but the sooner the employee worries about the period of her absence, the more convenient it will be for everyone: herself, the employer, and the accounting staff.

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How long is maternity leave?

As mentioned above, the total duration of the decree is one hundred and forty calendar days. To know how to correctly calculate maternity leave, you must also take into account that, in addition to the general case, there are also special ones, and then the duration of release from work increases or decreases.

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Extension of maternity leave

The legislation provides for the issuance of additional vacation days in the following cases:

• sixteen days for childbirth with complications;
• fifty-four days in the case of the birth of two or more children.

We remind you that the total duration of the vacation does not affect how maternity benefits are calculated, but it does affect the final amount - after all, it is paid every day.

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Reducing maternity leave

Despite the fact that a reduction in the duration of maternity leave is not provided, and the employer does not have the right to demand that the employee either go to work earlier or go on leave later, there are cases when maternity leave is shortened (which, of course, affects on how maternity benefits are calculated).

In addition to the fact that an employee can voluntarily reduce her stay at home, the duration of leave from work due to pregnancy can also be reduced in the unfortunate event that the pregnancy must be terminated for medical reasons. In this case, of course, no one will immediately force the woman to work, but a certificate of temporary incapacity for work will be issued only for the period necessary for recovery, but not less than three days.

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The employer does not pay benefits

If the company refuses to pay the money, the employee must contact:

• labor inspectorate;
• the prosecutor's office;
• court.

Any of these authorities is obliged to consider the complaint and take the employee’s side, since the employer is obliged to pay the required maternity benefits if sick leave is provided and the period is met for 6 months.

Based on the results of the inspection, regulatory authorities have the right to impose a fine on both the organization and the official.

Sometimes, some companies find themselves in difficult financial situations. Under such circumstances, a scheme has been developed for the transfer of funds by the fund within 10 days after receiving an application from the company and providing a complete package of documents.

Excluded periods: list

However, there are still excluded periods when calculating sick leave in 2021. Provided that we are talking about basic maternity benefits. When calculating them, they do not take into account the periods during which:

1. temporary illness;
2. pregnancy and its outcome;
3. babysitting;
4. release of the employee from performing his labor functions while retaining his position.

The latter case is usually associated with the performance of state or public duties. For example, as an assessor in court, a witness, an expert, a translator, a member of an election commission, etc.

EXAMPLE

Accountant Lobanova submitted an application requesting maternity leave from March 2021. The estimated time for determining her benefit is the period 2021 and 2021. Over the course of these two years, she had moments when she took sick leave:

• in 2021 – 12 calendar days;
• in 2021 – 23.

These days should not be taken into account when calculating benefits in 2021. As a result, the number of days in the employee’s pay period will be: 365 + 365 – 12 – 23 = 695.

Exception Features

The accountant must correctly set the excluded days for calculating sick leave. It is important to have two basic aspects in mind:

1. None of the days of illness are excluded from the calculation;
2. In the formula for calculating sick leave benefits, 730 of them always appear (for 2 years).

In this case, the type of sick leave does not matter. The calculations will always include 730 days, as required by paragraph 3 of Article 14 of Law of 2006 No. 255-FZ “On compulsory social insurance for illness and maternity.” Even if there is:

• sick leave to look after a child;
• misfortune during the labor process;
• injury sustained during off-duty hours;
• the illness occurred within 30 calendar days after the final departure from the enterprise.

The algorithm for calculating sick leave benefits, as well as which days are excluded from the calculation of sick leave , have not changed in 2020. Here is the current formula:

To be more precise, let’s say which periods are excluded when calculating sick leave in 2021. Thus, when calculating the required benefit, those periods when wages were not accrued are not taken into account. After all, the policyholder did not deduct contributions from her.

By whom and how are maternity benefits paid?

For women who work, military personnel or students, this support is issued at the place of employment, at the place of military service or at the place of training. The rest will receive money through social security authorities if they quit for several reasons.

1. Due to an illness that makes it difficult to perform work duties or because of which it is impossible to stay in these climatic zones. Confirmed by a medical certificate.
2. Due to the illness of a family member who requires care or the presence of a Group I disability. Confirmed by a document from the clinic.
3. Due to the need to move to the spouse’s place of residence or to the place of his new job.