Maternity payments in 2021: what benefits are provided

The B&R benefit is a one-time payment received by employed and unemployed women. In the first case, to establish the amount of payment, a calculation based on the employee’s average earnings is necessary; in the second, the amount established by law is paid without taking into account additional indicators for previous periods when the woman worked. How is the benefit amount calculated? What is the minimum and maximum established at the state level? Do annual indexation and regional coefficients affect the size of the payment?

What is maternity leave

Let's first understand the concept itself. You will not find the definition of “maternity leave” in regulatory documents, but in practice it is used much more often than the official terminology. For the first time in the history of the USSR and Russia, maternity leave was established back in November 1917. Decree of the Council of People's Commissars "On benefits for pregnancy and childbirth." This is where the name came from – “maternity leave” or simply “maternity leave”.

The procedure for granting and paying for maternity leave after 1917. changed several times. Today, when a woman says “I’m going on maternity leave,” she usually means two leaves at once: for pregnancy and childbirth and for child care.

The calculation of payments for these vacations is largely the same, but each period has its own characteristics. Let's look at them in more detail in the following sections.

Who is paid?

Minimum maternity benefits are paid if a working woman does not have enough experience and earnings to cover the minimum wage.

There are two options for calculating the minimum benefit:

1. With less than six months of experience.
2. In the absence of income for the period being calculated or low wages less than the minimum wage.

Let's take a closer look at both cases of accrual.

With less than six months of experience

Under the current circumstances, when a woman did not have time to work for more than six months, since she recently started work, the amount of payments accrued to her should not exceed the minimum wage for a full month of maternity leave.

To calculate the amount of the required benefit taking into account this rule, it is necessary to establish the average wage per day.

In order not to exceed the established minimum for a full month, it is important to calculate the benefit amount based on the established minimum amount for each month, since the number of days varies monthly.

Then you need to compare the average salary and benefits per day, based on the minimum wage, and multiply the smaller of them by the number of vacation days.

Example

Example conditions:

The employee goes on maternity leave from January 3, 2021 to May 22, 2021, that is, 140 calendar days.

Her experience at the enterprise does not reach six months, and the average earnings for the previous years 2021 and 2021 will be equal to the minimum wage, which for this period is 9,489 rubles.

Calculation:

Let's calculate the average daily earnings:

9489 * 24 / 730 = 311.97 rubles.

We calculate the daily allowance based on the monthly minimum wage:

January – 31 days: 9489 / 31 = 306.09 rubles. Since it is less than daily earnings, we multiply it by the number of vacation days.

Benefit for January: 306.09 * 29 days = 8876.61.

February – 28 days: 9489 / 28 = 338.89 rubles. Since it is more than daily earnings, to calculate the benefit for this month we take 311.97 * 28 = 8735.16 benefit for February.

March – 31 days: 9489 / 31 = 306.09. Benefit for March: 306.09 * 31 = 9488.79.

April – 30 days: 9489 / 30 = 316.3. Benefit for April: 311.97 * 30 = 9359.1.

May – 31 days: 9489 / 31 = 306.09. Benefit for May: 306.09 * 22 = 6733.98 rubles.

Let's calculate the benefit amount:

8876.61 + 8735.16 + 9488.79 + 9359.1+ 6733.98 = 43193.64 rubles.

In the absence of income or low earnings

If an employee did not work for 2 years before maternity leave or worked partially, she will receive benefits provided that her monthly earnings are equal to the minimum wage.

In this case, to calculate the amount of the benefit, you need to multiply the minimum amount of wages during maternity leave by 24 months and divide by the number of days of these years, and then multiply by the number of days of leave.

Example

Example conditions:

The woman goes on maternity leave from January 3, 2018.

She did not work in 2021, and only got this job at the beginning of 2021.

Her salary for 2021 was 95,000 rubles.

Calculation:

Let's calculate her average daily earnings based on her income:

95000 / 731 = 129.95 rubles.

Let's calculate the average daily earnings based on the minimum wage:

9489 * 24 / 731 = 311.54 rubles.

Since the average amount earned is less than the minimum amount established for wages in the current year, it is not taken into account.

We calculate the minimum maternity payment:

9489 * 24 / 731 * 140 = 43,615.6 rubles.

Maternity leave

The right to this leave is established by Art. 255 Labor Code of the Russian Federation and Art. 10 of the Law of December 29, 2006 No. 255-FZ “On Compulsory Insurance...”. Its duration can be:

1. For a singleton pregnancy – 140 days.
2. If complications arise during childbirth - 156 days.
3. In case of multiple pregnancy – 196 days
4. When adopting a child up to 3 months - from the date of adoption and up to 70 days from the date of birth, two or more children - up to 110 days from the date of birth.

The amount of the benefit in this case is equal to 100% of average earnings, which is determined for the 2 years preceding the date of accrual of the payment. The benefit is paid as a lump sum for the entire vacation period

The minimum amount of maternity leave in 2021 must not be lower than the established minimum wage (minimum wage). Because The average earnings are determined for 2 years, then the monthly minimum wage is recalculated into daily earnings in the same way. The formula is given in paragraph 15(3) of the Regulations approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated June 15, 2007 No. 375:

(minimum wage x 24 months) / 730 days

From May 1, 2018, the minimum wage increases from RUB 9,489. up to 11,163 rub. Therefore, the minimum benefit amount in 2021 will depend on the date of its assignment:

If maternity leave began before 05/01/2018, then the minimum average daily earnings will be 311.97 rubles. (9489 RUR x 24 / 730). Accordingly, the minimum amount of the BiR benefit for a standard maternity leave (lasting 140 days) will be 43,675.80 rubles. (RUB 311.97 x 140 days).

If maternity leave starts on 05/01/2018 or later, then the minimum average daily earnings will be 367 rubles. (RUB 11,163 x 24/730), and the minimum benefit for a 140-day maternity leave is RUB 51,380. (367 rubles x 140 days).

IMPORTANT: if the length of service of an employee going on maternity leave is less than 6 months, then she is paid a B&R benefit in an amount not exceeding the minimum wage for a full calendar month (Part 3 of Article 11 of Federal Law No. 255-FZ of December 29, 2006).

Who has the right to count on maternity payments?

Maternity leave refers to the leave that a pregnant employee is entitled to. Such women are entitled to leave both for the period before childbirth and during the postpartum period. Just like with a regular vacation, the employee is entitled to cash payments for this period. All pregnant women, even those who do not officially work, can count on such payments.

According to current legislation, the following categories of citizens are entitled to maternity leave and maternity benefits: (click to expand)

• officially employed women, and to receive payments they submit a corresponding application to their employer;
• women registered as individual entrepreneurs, and they send an application for payment to the social service based on the place of their registration (the amount of payments in this case will depend on the insurance premiums paid);
• unemployed women who apply to social security authorities for payments and present a document confirming that the woman is not registered with the employment service;
• female students studying full-time at institutes, colleges, universities, etc., who apply to their educational institution to receive payments;
• female military personnel serving under contract in the Russian army, and they submit an application for payments at their place of service;
• women are citizens of the Russian Federation who have adopted a child and who contact the social protection authorities to receive payments.

The procedure for calculating maternity payments in 2021 does not change; it is regulated by regulations that came into force in 2021 . Thus, in 2021, the payment of disability benefits and in connection with maternity is regulated by Chapter 34 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Holiday to care for the child

The Labor Code provides the right to parental leave until the child reaches the age of three (Article 256 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Unlike maternity leave, not only the mother, but also the father or other relatives or guardians who actually care for the child have the right to parental leave.

In terms of payment, parental leave can be divided into two parts - up to 1.5 years and from 1.5 to 3 years.

Until the child reaches the age of 1.5 years, benefits are paid in the amount of 40% of average earnings (Article 11.2 of Law No. 255-FZ). If care is provided for two or more children, the amount of the benefit is summed up, but it should not exceed 100% of earnings.

The minimum amount of care allowance is determined depending on the status of the recipient. If the benefit is paid by the employer to the working person, then its amount must be no less than 40% of the minimum wage established on the date the benefit was assigned. Thus, the minimum allowance for caring for one child for working persons in 2018 is year is:

If the recipient of the benefit is an unemployed person or an individual entrepreneur, then payments to him are made by a division of the Federal Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation in an amount not lower than the basic benefit. Its amount is established by clause 1 of Article 15 of Law No. 81-FZ of May 19, 1995 “On state benefits for citizens with children.” Taking into account all indexations, the basic amount of benefit per child from 02/01/2018 is 3,142.33 rubles.

As for the allowance for caring for two or more children, its minimum amount for all recipients is determined based on the basic standard. Starting from 02/01/2018, it is set at 6284.65 rubles.

The minimum wage is no longer applied here, because... a double benefit “by default” will exceed the limit calculated according to the minimum wage.

For low-income families, additional benefits for child care up to 1.5 years have been established (Law No. 418-FZ dated December 28, 2017 “On monthly payments to families with children”). Families with an income per person below 1.5 times the subsistence minimum are eligible to receive them. The amount of the payment is equal to the subsistence minimum per child established in the region in the second quarter of the previous year. Those. the amount is fixed for the current year and has no minimum or maximum restrictions.

The child care allowance for children aged 1.5 to 3 years was established by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated May 30, 1994 No. 110. The amount of this payment (50 rubles per month) today can be considered symbolic, so many parents do not even bother to apply for it. The government is currently discussing the issue of increasing it, but no decision has been made yet.

How are maternity payments calculated?

Women who are going on maternity leave in 2021 will receive maternity payments based on the wages accrued to them in 2021 and 2021. There are no leap years in these calculation periods, so the calculation base is taken to be 730 days. Benefits are calculated as follows:

1. For the employee, the amount of all payments that she received during the 2 years preceding the maternity leave is calculated.
2. This amount is divided by 730, as a result of which the average daily salary will be calculated.
3. The resulting value is multiplied by the number of days of vacation according to the BiR.

What to do when the experience is less than 2 years?

This happens when a woman quits one job and gets another. After some time, pregnancy occurs. In this case, the employer will follow the following algorithm:

1. The employee must present to the company's accounting department a certificate from her previous place of work, which will reflect all payments.
2. If this job is the first in the employee’s career, then her income for the past 2 years (even with a shorter duration of employment) will still be divided by 730 (731) days. Since the resulting value will be small, the minimum value of the maternity benefit will be used.

Documents for registration of maternity leave

The standard package of documents for maternity leave includes:

• Sick leave. It is registered at the antenatal clinic at the place of registration. The sheet indicates the duration of the vacation.
• A certificate from the antenatal clinic stating that the pregnant woman is registered.
• Application for maternity leave.
• Certificate of income for the previous 2 years (required for those who are applying at their place of study or have previously changed their place of work).
• Details of the bank account to which the benefit will be transferred.

It is important to remember that maternity benefits are not issued automatically. A woman needs to promptly apply for an account card at the antenatal clinic, receive a standard package of documents, and only after that proceed to registering maternity leave at work (at her place of study).

Procedure for calculating benefits

Of course, all calculations will be carried out by your accounting department or social insurance authorities. However, you can estimate for yourself the amount you will receive. For mothers who will go on maternity leave in 2021, the estimated years will be 2021 and 2021. The number of calendar days for calculations must take into account leap years, and 2016 was exactly that, that is, it had 366 days, so the calculations are carried out in 731 days. Exclude periods when you were at home due to temporary disability or were on maternity leave.

In the latter case, you can replace the years taken as the period for calculations with previous ones so that you do not lose too much in payments. A separate point is the case when childbirth occurs earlier than planned. The days that the woman did not reach the birth will be transferred to the period of postpartum leave, but the number of days of the prenatal period will be reduced. To determine the amount of benefits associated with pregnancy and childbirth in 2021, you need to use this approach.

Knowing your salary for two years, you can calculate maternity benefits

1. To determine the average daily earnings, the amount of income for 2016-2017 is divided by 731 days.
2. To determine the amount of maternity leave, the average daily earnings received are multiplied by the number of days of maternity leave.

Let's consider the calculation using the example of a normal birth without a period of incapacity. Let the maximum salary in 2021 be 650,000 rubles, and in 2021 – 725,000 rubles. The number of calendar days in the period is 731. Next, we carry out the following calculations: 650,000 + 725,000 / 731 × 140 = 263,337 rubles 89 kopecks. This is the amount you will receive as maternity leave.

Let us also remind you that such payments are not subject to taxation; social security contributions and personal income tax are not deducted from them.

Payment terms

After all the documents have been submitted to the personnel department or accounting department, the organization prepares an order for vacation and transfer of required funds. The calculation must be completed within 10 days

, and payment can be made on the nearest date of salary transfer. The entire amount is issued immediately for the entire period.

Approximately the same scheme applies to the issuance of additional one-time benefits when registering in the early stages of pregnancy and at birth.

Having received the application and documents, the employer or other body transferring funds must pay the woman within ten days. This can be done on the day you receive your salary or on any other day no later than the 26th day of the month following the one on which the documents were submitted.