Most women at least once in their lives have to delve into the basics of accounting to find out how maternity is accrued - the very amount that is paid to a young mother during maternity leave.
According to amendments to the federal legislation, starting in 2013, a new method for calculating benefits will come into force. For two years (since 2011), a special transitional period has been established. That is, a woman has the opportunity to independently choose according to which scheme the allowance will be calculated for her. The accrual of maternity in 2012 can also be done depending on the wishes of the employee.
The main difference between the old and the updated scheme is the estimated period that came before the pregnancy leave. Until 2011, one year (12 months) was taken into account. Since the beginning of January 2013 will be taken into account for two years (24 months).
If a woman leaves on sick leave after January 1, 2013, then maternity will be calculated taking into account the average earnings for two years. And no other way. If the sick leave starts before 2013, then the young mother can choose whether to use a two-year or one-year period.
Everything seems to be simple. But Russian women had a lot of problems and a lot of misunderstanding. Which circuit is better? Of course, the option is more profitable in which the mummy leaving on maternity receives more. If her average daily earnings over the past twenty-four months are greater, then it is more profitable to calculate maternity (2012) accruals according to the type recently proposed by officials. If less, it is better to ask the accountant about the calculation based on the old scheme.
Be sure, especially when there is no special education, use the correct initial data. So, the calculation of maternity takes into account taxable income. This does not include hospital benefits, vacation pay, or business trip payments. In addition, the law prescribes the maximum amount of the amount of the maternity allowance, and even if it is exceeded, a woman will not be able to receive more.
Separately, it is worthwhile to dwell on those workers whose total experience is less than six months. This happens either in the case of recent employment, or if the hours worked had long periods of temporary disability (illness, vacation). For such women, a different procedure for calculating maternity payments is established. When it will be used the amount of average daily earnings received in the month when the sick leave was opened (the decree began).
We will analyze the simplest example of calculating pregnancy benefits according to the new and old schemes. Suppose a woman who went on maternity leave in January 2012 earned three hundred thousand rubles in 2010 and 2011 (according to the law, the maximum income cannot exceed 463 thousand). So, for 2 calendar years she received 300 * 2 = 600 thousand rubles. This amount should be divided by the number of days worked (suppose there were no sick days or other excluded periods) - 730. We get 600,000 / 730 = 821.9 rubles. We multiply this average daily earnings by the number of days on maternity leave - one hundred and forty (the birth of one child is normal, otherwise, maternity leave increases) - and we get 821.9 * 140 = 115 thousand 066 rubles. This amount a woman will receive when calculating the new formula.
According to the old version, maternity accrual occurs in this way. The average annual income for the year (300 thousand rubles) is divided by the number of days (310), and then multiplied by the duration of maternity leave (140 days). We get 300,000 / 310 * 140 = 135 thousand 478 rubles. That is, about twenty thousand rubles more than before.
Obviously, the new procedure for calculating benefits is inferior to the old one, and the state wins. So while there is a possibility of choice (and this is real for everyone who went on maternity leave before the beginning of 2013), it is better to first carefully calculate everything and choose the best option.