One of many worries for employees about to go on a period of parental leave might relate to being unable to continue to make contributions to their pension scheme, which could have a detrimental effect on their long-term retirement savings.
But for the 135 staff at the Marsden Building Society this is not a concern, because the organisation commits to not only continuing to pay its own employer contribution during this period but also covering the employee’s share.
Under its pension provision, the organisation puts in 10% of salary when employees contribute 5%. Hayley Duckworth, head of people at the organisation, which runs eight branches across Lancashire, says: “If their salary drops to a point where they can’t put in the 5% because it would take them below the minimum wage thresholds, we top that up. Then when they get to no pay after 39 weeks, we will pay the whole amount.”
The pension scheme itself is offered on a salary sacrifice basis, meaning both the employer and employee benefit from national insurance savings, and employees from further tax savings. Employees can also make additional voluntary contributions, with some choosing to put in as much as 30% of salary.
After moving to bring its cleaning operations in-house, meaning those individuals were also able to join the employer’s pension scheme, the business was awarded the living pension employer accreditation from the Living Wage Foundation in February 2026 as a result of its generous contribution levels. “Culturally, we’re all one big family anyway and it felt like that was the right way for us,” says Duckworth.
Getting accreditation has allowed the organisation to further promote its pension offer through the intranet, internal newsletters and social media. “It’s part of a broader piece for us around making sure colleagues are aware of pensions and planning for their future,” she explains. “We have around half the workforce coming up to retirement in the next 15 years so it’s important they’re planning for retirement.”
Beyond its pension provision, the building society also offers other benefits including six-times death-in-service benefit, retail discounts, an employee assistance programme and access to mental health support. It has also introduced a week’s leave on full pay for anyone who suffers from a miscarriage and two weeks’ full pay for neonatal bereavement.
