How does anyone survive on SMP?

[AutumnCandle]

Genuine question. My OMP package looks decent up until about 6/7 months, then it’s 9 weeks of SMP alone. I realised lately it’s taxed as well! How do people cope on that? Right now it seems crazy to me. Do you just cut your cloth or is it really miserable?

I didn't earn much so SMP wasn't too bad as long as I was very careful. Not everyone is well paid.

Same as most PP’s really, I worked out how much I’d need to cover the essentials plus some extra spending money each month for the time I was on SMP/unpaid (I got 18 weeks full pay so about 4.5 months) then DH & I saved towards that amount each during pregnancy while I was still working and I used the savings pot to top up once my pay decreased.

I went back to work when my babies were four and five months old.

I went back after 6 months. Longer was unaffordable (plus you loose some rights at work if you stay longer, so couldn’t risk that either).

I only got SMP! We used savings and I went back to work after 9 months.

Why should it be more though? It’s already enough to get you through the early days of having a newborn and it gives plenty of time to recover from the birth. Companies are free to pay more if they want but the government shouldn’t be providing any more than that.

There’s a reason it takes two people to make a baby. The other parents wage should support the mother and baby, not the taxpayer. That, and savings.

The answer is almost always some combination of savings, top up benefits and a partner covering the majority of costs.

I was bringing home more with SMP than I was going back to work and paying for childcare!

I don't hear of many women at all returning after 6 weeks and you will barely accrue any holiday in 6 weeks

@Boymum2104 assuming they mean women with OMP packages, not uncommon to go back after 6 months + annual leave.

Sorry, i wasnt really meaning the 6 week point for those only recieving smp. I was meaning when thier enhanced employer package drops to smp lots of prople ho back to work as smp isnt enough to live off.
Its been a while since i looked at the stats, but there used to be little peaks of women returning to work whenever the income drops or rules change, So there wsa a little peak at 6 weeks for those only on smp, a littke rise when it switches from ordinary maternity leave to the other big, then a massive peak at 9 months for those who only get smp. For those with enhanced schemes the peaks are when there enhanced pay ends and when smp ends.

I really think the 90% pay bit needs to be longer to ensure full recovdery for all women.

@FloweryName you need to do a comparison to other countries to see why we should be getting a better deal.

I think @FloweryName is right. There is no need for the public purse to do any more than support the initial recovery from the birth.

SMP was topped up to half my wages (still not a huge amount - would have been about £600/mth in total).

We saved in the run up to TTC and through the pregnancy so I could have six months off, then DH took 6 weeks Additional Paternity Leave, or whatever it was called then, which was brilliant as he worked in retail and it meant he had Christmas & New Years off that year which would never have happened otherwise.

I left work at the start of Feb (35 weeks) and used Annual/Flexi Leave for just under 3 weeks as I was booked in for an induction.

My OMP was 6 weeks at 90%, 18 weeks at 50% which I averaged out with SMP for the remaining 33 weeks. We'd saved 3 months of wages so I could take a further 3 months off. Then, I went onto Annual leave for a further 6 weeks as I'd accrued it during mat leave. 78 weeks in total.

I also used my KIT days which helped.

In terms of expenditure, I really recommend borrowing or buying equipment second hand where it is safe to do do. I bought (and still do buy) most of DD'S clothes second hand, babies really don't need much fancy shiny stuff (although it is great fun looking at it)

Hope all goes well for you 🙏

I should also have said, that I've worked for the same organisation for 10+ years, so my contact was very generous, and my leave entitlement is at the maximum. (local government)

DS1 I had an expensive commute to work so it sort of balanced out being on maternity leave and not needing to get the train every day.
DS2 was a Covid baby so I had no where to spend any money on my maternity leave.

I got lucky!

This my OMP is 50% + SMP so tried to put 50% of my salary away every month after my BFP. I managed 12 months 1st time, second time I part time so could do that went back at 6 months.

I found living on SMP was a foretaste of working and nursery fees!

as a family we saved for years to have a year of maternity leave for each child - infertility meant we had an ok pot!

OP, that's quite a generous package. I got statutory minimum, but I'd saved throughout my pregnancy and before, to ensure I didn't run out.

Then my bastard employer made me 'redundant' first morning back and I had to fight an unfair dismissal case while my bank account was running on empty.

I finally was paid compensation on DS' second birthday, which was a good day 😊

SMP is a joke. How they hell do they expect anyone to cope with a new baby, and for a lot of women, post natal depression on top, while only on SMP?

Maternity leave should be a relaxing time, not one in which people are worried sick about finances and cutting back.

Women should receive their full, regular pay for each week they choose to take as maternity leave. Before I got pregnant, I was very naïve, and I genuinely thought that was what happened.

Yes!