Maternity benefit in 2021: minimum amount, maximum, how to calculate

The law establishes minimum maternity payments in 2021. As a general rule, they are determined by the employee’s average daily earnings over the previous 2 calendar years. However, if the resulting value is less than the minimum wage, then the maternity benefit will be calculated based on the minimum wage. In this case, earnings for the last 2 years will be equal to 24 minimum wages, and it is based on this amount that the benefit amount will be calculated. The minimum wage indicator is taken at the time the employee goes on maternity leave, that is, at the time of the occurrence of the insured event. From January 1, 2021, this value amounted to 9,489 rubles, and from May – 11,163 rubles.

What is maternity benefit?

The expectant mother has the right to receive a government subsidy, which is designed to ease her financial situation in the period before the birth of the baby. The law provides for three gradations of benefits:

Ordinary childbirth - benefits are accrued for 140 days of maternity leave, of which 70 days are for the period before childbirth, 70 days for the period after childbirth.
Complicated childbirth (for medical reasons) – benefits are paid for a period of 156 days.
Multiple births – leave is extended to 194 days.

The maternity benefit is credited to the applicant's account as a one-time payment. The amount of payment for each day of maternity leave is established based on the woman’s average monthly earnings (official, reflected in the work book, or according to the employment contract) for the previous 2 years. At the same time, the state guarantees a minimum minimum and also limits the upper (maximum) value of the benefit.

If a woman has other official income, for example, is employed in several enterprises, then these amounts are also taken into account and included in the calculation base. But there are also incomes that are not included in the base, namely:

Income received unofficially. We are talking about those incomes from which deductions were not made to the state budget, social funds, etc. For example, payment in cash for certain services without signing an agreement, profit from the sale of property without issuing a bill of sale, etc.
Benefits, alimony, compensation for kindergarten and other accruals received by the mother for older children.
Sick days are not taken into account.
Periods related to previous pregnancy and covered by other social benefits are not taken into account.
The 3-year leave to care for an older child is not taken into account.

Documents for payment of maternity benefits

Expert opinion

Nikishina Anastasia Yurievna

General Director of the law firm Pravo Consult. More details

Maternity benefits are paid at the place of work, service or other activity. The company pays the entire amount due to the woman, and then can either apply to the Social Insurance Fund for reimbursement of expenses, or offset the amount against the insurance premiums due.

The company pays the entire amount due to the woman, and then can either apply to the Social Insurance Fund for reimbursement of expenses, or offset the amount against the insurance premiums due.

Therefore, inspectors from the fund will definitely check whether the benefit was calculated correctly. If errors are found, then the expenses incurred will not be accepted for offset (clause 3 of Article 11 of the Law of July 16, 1999 No. 165-FZ).

To prevent this from happening and to ensure that the package of documents for the BiR benefit is accepted by the Social Insurance Fund the first time, you need to make sure that you have the following documents for maternity payments:

an employment contract with an employee who received financial assistance (Clause 1, Article 9 of Law No. 165-FZ);
sick leave completed by a medical institution;
staffing table, order for its approval, payroll and pay slips;

personal statement of the employee for granting leave for employment and labor and payment of benefits;
if the birth was complicated and the employee brought sick leave for an additional 16 days of maternity leave, the initial application must be rewritten taking these days into account;
order for granting leave, assigning benefits and its calculation.

For women dismissed due to the liquidation of an organization, benefits are paid by social security authorities at their place of residence (place of actual stay or actual residence). The FSS will also pay maternity benefits to an insured woman if the company where she works is in bankruptcy (Order of the Russian Ministry of Labor dated May 6, 2014 No. 291n).

Minimum maternity benefit

This value is tied to the minimum wage - the minimum wage. It applies to those women whose wages are less than or equal to the state-approved minimum. In 2021, this value will be 9,489 rubles. per month. It is this value that is included in the draft federal budget for 2021 and for the planning periods 2019-2020.

Thus, the amounts of minimum maternity benefits in 2021, based on the established gradation, will be:

Normal childbirth (140 days) – 43,675 rubles. (RUB 311.97 for 1 day);
Complicated childbirth (156 days) – 48,667.32 rubles;
Multiple births (194 days) – 60,522.18 rubles.

If a woman is unemployed, then maternity payments are not provided for her, except for the following exceptions:

University students. For the calculation and calculation of benefits, it does not matter in which educational institution the woman studies, on a paid or budget basis;
Dismissed during the liquidation of the organization;
Lawyers;
Notaries;
Individual entrepreneurs who have ceased to operate.

However, in order to receive maternity benefits in the minimum amount, these categories of women must properly register with the employment service as unemployed at least 1 year before pregnancy.

If a woman does not fall into any of these categories and is unemployed, then maternity benefits are calculated for her based on the established value:

2914 rub. - during normal pregnancy (140 days);
3247 rub. - during complicated pregnancy (156 days);
4038 rub. - in case of multiple pregnancy (194 days).

The basis for the unemployed in 2021 is a fixed amount - 20.81 rubles. for 1 day, or 632.76 rubles. per month.

If a woman serves in the ranks of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation under a contract, then her maternity benefit is calculated based on the amount of her salary. In 2021, this value is 30 thousand rubles. per month.

Who is eligible for benefits?

Only women are entitled to receive maternity benefits. The expectant mother will receive funds if she:

Officially employed. Including drawn up under an employment contract.
An individual entrepreneur and pays voluntary contributions to the Social Insurance Fund.
Dismissed from work due to liquidation of the organization.
Student of a university, technical school, college, full-time school.
He is doing military service under a contract.
Employee of institutions of the penal system and customs authorities.
She adopted a child under three months of age and belongs to one of the listed categories. In case of surrogacy, maternity benefits are not paid to the biological mother.
He is in prison and is engaged in paid work.

Maximum maternity benefit

The benefit limits in force in 2021 will be indexed. The maximum value of the maternity benefit in 2021 (from 02/01/2018) will be:

Normal childbirth (140 days) – 282,493.4 rubles. (RUB 2017.81 for 1 day);
Complicated childbirth (156 days) – 314,778.36 rubles;
Multiple births (194 days) – 391,455.14 rubles.

In fact, this means that even if the average woman's earnings for 2021 and 2021. above the maximum established by the state (RUB 2,017.81 per day), she cannot qualify for payments in excess of the state-approved limit.

Algorithm for calculating maternity benefits

Knowing the standard values of the maximum and minimum benefits, you can perform the calculation yourself. This will help ensure that the company's billing department has not made a mistake in the calculations.

The starting point is the date when the woman officially went on maternity leave. According to the standard, this date should coincide with the onset of the 30th week of pregnancy. From the moment of registration at the antenatal clinic, the weeks of pregnancy are reflected in the medical documentation. From the first day of maternity leave, all further calculations of benefits will be made.

The basis for calculating benefits is the average earnings for 1 day during the 2 years preceding the calculation. To get the calculation basis, you need to add up all the income received over 2 years (official). Then count the number of days in the billing period (730 or 731 days). Now the total income is divided by the number of days. The resulting value is the average daily wage.

The number of days of maternity leave (140, 156 or 194) is multiplied by the average daily salary. The resulting value is the amount of maternity benefit. It is compared with the maximum and minimum values established by the state, after which a decision is made on the accrual.

Calculation procedure

Let's take a closer look at how to calculate maternity benefits in 2022. The calculation can be made in three options:

At the minimum level.
At the maximum level.
Based on average earnings.

When using the maternity pay calculator in 2022, you must follow the following rules. You must enter the data correctly. Limits, rules, surcharges and various situations are taken into account in the online calculator.

The following formula is also used for calculation: P = ZPsr x Ko. In this formula, P is unemployment benefits; ZPsr - the amount of the average daily wage; Ko – number of calendar days.

In 2021, it is planned to introduce changes to the procedure for calculating maternity benefits. Now the employee can write an application to replace two payroll years with benefit for herself. This is very convenient for mothers who go on maternity leave again. However, according to the clarifications of the Ministry of Labor, the replacement can be made only for the previous two years before the first decree. Consider this as an example: In 2021-2019, an employee goes on maternity leave with her eldest child, and in 2021 with her youngest. Accordingly, there was no earnings in 2018-2019 and it is more profitable to take the billing period for 2016-2017.

Minimum payments

The benefit amount cannot be critically low. When making calculations, they are guided by the provisions on the specifics of calculating benefits. For the insured it is mandatory:

The regional coefficient is applied to the minimum amount.
The minimum wage, which corresponds to the start date of maternity leave, extends to 24 months and is divided into 730 days.
The fact of working part-time is not taken into account.

For those who are voluntarily insured, the calculation will be different:

The amount of the benefit is determined by dividing the federal minimum wage by the number of calendar days in the month at the beginning of maternity leave.
The regional coefficient does not apply to the minimum wage.

Based on the above, the amount of minimum maternity leave in 2022 will depend on the minimum wage. It is from this that the minimum average daily benefit and the amount of minimum maternity leave are calculated.

Maximum payouts

The amount depends on:

The size of the maximum permissible average daily earnings, which is taken into account.
The maximum possible duration of maternity leave.

To calculate the first amount, take the amount of insurance premiums paid and divide by 730. After receiving the number of average daily earnings, the number of vacation days is taken into account.

The maximum payments in 2022 may amount to about 500,000 rubles.

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:

The employee must present to the company's accounting department a certificate from her previous place of work, which will reflect all payments.
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.

Maternal capital

In the Russian Federation, there is a form of support for families with children in the form of maternal or family capital. The program began its operation in 2007 and is a serious help to families. The payment is targeted and can only be spent on certain needs, namely:

Improving living conditions.
Getting an education.
Purchasing goods or services that are intended for children with disabilities.
Mother's pension savings.

Citizens of the Russian Federation, both women and men, minor children and full-time students, have the right to receive this type of assistance. This category also includes fathers (adoptive parents) of a child without citizenship if the woman ceases to enjoy the right to receive additional state support.

The amount of maternity capital in 2022 will be 504,693 rubles for the first child and about 666,933 for the second.

What other payments are due to a pregnant woman and a woman giving birth?

In addition to the maternity benefit, a woman is paid a one-time benefit (once) upon registration at the antenatal clinic (Article 9 of the Federal Law No. 81 of May 19, 1995) before the 12th week of pregnancy (from the 13th week it is too late to apply for benefits). The benefit was specifically introduced to encourage expectant mothers to register with the antenatal clinic in a timely manner and follow the doctor’s instructions. In 2021, this amount will be 632.76 rubles.

The second lump sum benefit is paid to the woman giving birth. In 2021, this amount will be indexed based on Rosstat’s calculation of the consumer price index for 2021. The index will be officially published in January 2021. In 2021, the benefit amount was 16,873.54 rubles. Everyone who is entitled to receive benefits will receive this amount and apply for it before 02/01/2018. From February, the payment is made in the form of an indexed amount. It is important to consider that documents must be submitted before the newborn (adopted child) turns 6 months old.

What awaits the unemployed?

Separately, it is necessary to talk about the payment of maternity benefits in 2021 to the unemployed in Russia, because even today they can count on receiving social assistance from the population. Maternity payments for the unemployed cannot be called maternity benefits, but officially unemployed expectant mothers are paid special benefits. However, it is also worth considering the fact that the unemployed can receive only minimal assistance, which does not even reach the subsistence level, so in this case it will not be possible to live solely on benefits.

In general, no special changes in maternity payments and their terms are expected for Russians, but the absence of bad news in this situation is good news in itself, so, in general, the forecast can be called positive.

What is important to know about maternity leave?

There are several very important nuances that must be taken into account when applying for maternity leave:

Not only the mother, but also the father of the child has the right to go on maternity leave. The family resolves this issue independently. If it is decided to leave the father on maternity leave, then the documents are submitted to the accounting department at his place of work, study, or to the social security authorities.
After receiving an application for maternity leave, the enterprise issues an order for maternity leave, on the basis of which an entry about the beginning and end of maternity leave is made in the employee’s personal card.
The payment period for maternity benefits is no later than 6 months after the end of the vacation.
If a doctor orders a woman to go to the maternity hospital for safekeeping (for medical reasons), then these days are included in maternity leave.

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).

Compensation payments to women on maternity leave

A small financial reward for women who will be on vacation until the baby is 3 years old is 50 rubles per month and is paid monthly from their place of work.

This payment can be received by any relative of the mother who gave birth, who actually takes care of the child and has taken maternity leave.

Such financial resources are paid at the expense of the company’s own funds, to which an application will be submitted with a request to transfer the accruals.