Family leave can affect more than your monthly income. If you have a workplace pension, your employer may still need to contribute while you are away — and payroll mistakes can quietly reduce the amount available for retirement.

Because your own contributions may fall when your income drops, errors are easy to overlook. That is why it is worth checking your records even if your leave ended years ago.

Know What Your Employer Should Pay

During paid maternity, shared parental or adoption leave, employer pension contributions generally continue for up to 39 weeks. If the qualifying leave is entirely unpaid, they usually continue for the first 26 weeks. After that, payments may stop unless your employment contract or pension scheme offers better terms.

Your employer’s contribution should normally be calculated using your usual salary before leave, including relevant pay rises awarded while you were away. Your own contribution is generally based on the income you actually receive, so it may be lower.

Salary-sacrifice arrangements need particular attention because pension payments made this way are treated as employer contributions.

MoneyHelper pension specialists advise checking workplace pension payments during and after family leave, noting that even relatively short gaps may reduce future retirement income. They also recommend comparing actual payments with the entitlement under your employment and pension arrangements.

Check Your Records

Compare pension payments from before, during and after your leave.

Check:

payslips showing pension deductions and employer payments;

your pension provider’s online account or annual statements;

information from HR or payroll explaining how contributions were calculated.

A warning sign is an employer contribution that suddenly falls simply because your family-leave pay is lower. For paid leave, contributions stopping before 39 weeks may also indicate a problem. If your qualifying leave is entirely unpaid, check whether payments continued during the first 26 weeks.

Small Errors Can Become Expensive

Missing around €117 may not initially look serious, but pension savings are designed to grow over many years.

If an employer underpaid by approximately €117 a month for nine months, about €1,053 would be missing immediately. Over 30 or 40 years, the eventual loss could be much greater because that money would also miss potential investment growth.

With defined contribution pensions, the final amount depends partly on contributions and investment performance. Defined benefit schemes work differently, but incorrect salary or pensionable-service records can also reduce future retirement income.

What to Do if Something Looks Wrong

Contact your employer or payroll team and ask for a written explanation of how contributions were calculated. If an error is confirmed, the employer may correct it through a one-off pension payment covering the missing amount. Do not assume that an older mistake cannot be fixed. If you discover a problem from previous family leave, raise it with your current or former employer and pension provider.

Escalate the Complaint if Needed

If your employer does not resolve the issue, use its formal complaints procedure and contact your pension provider. Employees in England, Scotland and Wales can also seek guidance from Acas. Different support arrangements apply in Northern Ireland.

If the dispute remains unresolved, you may be able to contact The Pensions Ombudsman. Complaints generally need to be made within three years of the event or, if later, within three years of when you became aware of the problem.

Look at Your Wider Pension Position

Family leave is also a good time to review your retirement savings. Check whether your employer offers contribution matching, whether you receive the correct pension tax relief and whether your National Insurance record could affect your future State Pension.

Parents claiming Child Benefit may receive National Insurance credits while caring for a child under 12, helping protect State Pension entitlement when employment income falls.

Couples can also review their pensions together, particularly if one partner takes longer family leave, reduces working hours or earns less. A few minutes spent checking pension records today could prevent a small payroll error from becoming a much larger retirement shortfall later.