maternity allowances

[ellac]

Hi. my husband is stationed at ramstein (germany).
i will be 21 weeks pregnant next week.
due to me expecting twins, i will be giving up work on friday 29th august.
i have been working full time since 1st december 07, and have been paying national insurance.
could anyone please advise me if i am entitled to any benefits? and if so when should i apply for them?
its all a bit confusing!!!
thanks

sorry forgot to say that the twins are due on dec 7th 08

i think it's based on 26 weeks of earnings back from your 13th week of pregnancy or something utterly bizarre. i know i wasn't entitled to a bean so didn't pay much attention. do you still get kindergeld? i didn't apply for that either, as it was altogether too much hassle - i'm a bit wiser these days...
hope someone who knows what they are talking about comes and puts me right!

you are entitled to start mat leave and receive SMP (statutory maternity pay or Maternity allowance) from the 15th week before EWC (expected week of confinement) so in your case 15 wks before your due date. This means that whilst you will be living in Germany you will/can still be on maternity leave from your employer. You do not have to hand in your notice until 8 weeks before you are due to return to work. Equally you don't need to confirm when you intend to return or give more than 28 days notice of your intention to take mat leave. Mat leave is 26 weeks ordinary maternity leave and 26 additional maternity leave. SMP is payable for 39 weeks (I think??). SMP is calculated from the qualifying period of your employment, I think that because you are 21 weeks now and started with them last dec you are entitled to SMP. There is no difference in SMP or MA, except that when you are entitled to SMP you get 90% salary for the first 6 weeks then 112.75 for the next 33...clear as mud? BTW your holiday entitlement remains the same throughout the period too. Someone else will pop along and correct me if I have given incorrect info, but hopefully this will help. The best thing is to be honest with your employer but prob speak to HR first. The HMRC website has an smp calculator on it.

If you find that you are not entitled to pay from your employer then the government will pay your maternity allowance directly as long as you have been paying national insurance. if you are moving about with your DH you'll need to find out if your employer has a 'pay back' period eg the NHS requires you to return to work for 3 months after your mat leave or you have to pay some of the money back.
I'm self employed and so wasn't expecting anything but my friends knew about maternity allowance and said it worked out at about £115/ week for up to 9 months which is quite cool. i'm 24 weeks but haven't yet sorted this out so can't give you any more details yet ...
Good luck with your twin joy!

thank you for the messages.
i do not intend to go back to work. think i will have my hands full!!!!!
will this make any difference?

nope, not going back to work is your perogative. however, like I said you don't need to confirm anything to your employer regardless of your location, until at least 8 weeks before the end of your mat leave. Don't burn any bridges, you may get posted back to the uk sooner than you think, or you might even want to go back to work - LOL!! Us forces wives have to keep doors open, and employers now are much better at accepting that people change where and how they want to work. Look at it this way, if you fell down the stairs (not pg) and injured your back you'd be off work instantly, no one would know how long for, and your employer would have to find a replacement very quickly with no handover. Maternity leave is actually easier to plan for. Good luck with twins btw, I'm sure you'll be great! SSAFA midwives (IME) are fabulous!

meant to add that BFBS is not great so stock up on dvds for those days glued to sofa feeding babies!!

Go and see Bill T (civ ad o) and the families office, between them you will get all the info!! (I came back from Ramstein end of last year.) I had someone come in to talk to me about all my options and what i was entitled to when i was about 7 months preg.

Also apply for kindergeld as soon as you can, it takes months to come through.

I guess you will be having the twins at st johannes, i thought they were fantastic the entire time and i hate hospitals!! Enjoy baby shopping in the BX!!!

hi pinkem. what is your real name?
I am the manager at the moment in the brit cafe. yes, will be having them at st johannes, unless they come early, and i may have to have them at homburg!!!
do you apply for kindergeld as soon as the babies are born or before?
the baby shopping in the bx is good, although i am getting a lot of parcels from my mum and sisters back in old blighty!
my name is ella coombes (by the way).

I'm called Emma P... We left Ramstein at the end of august.
Jude said hello!!!!! I asked her if she knew anyone at Ramstein who was having twins and she mentioned your name.

You will need the birth certificates for kindergeld.

The BX is definately hit and miss we learnt that if you see something good you buy it as it will not be in next time!!!! Fantastic bargins though!!