Benefits????

[Linzi01]

Hello! I am so confused about what benefits and how much I will receive and when?! I've done those online calculator things on direct gov but they require so much info, I just need a rough idea lol! Do you receive child tax benefits as soon as u start maternity and working tax credit?? I also need to try and workout if I will be worse or better off staying at home or goin back work! All help and advice would be appreciated?! :)

It's impossible to give a rough idea as so much depends on your specific circumstances, whether you have a partner, what they earn, etc. I had my children before WTC was around so I can't help on that one.

Have you tried the Turn2us calculator? I find that one a lot more user friendly than the direct gov one. You can put in your current circumstances, then start over again and put in your expected circumstances for the future.

Do you qualify for SMP or MA ? Is this your first child and when is your baby due ? After April it will be under Universal credit

Yh I thought it would b asking too much for a rough guide! The reason I'm asking so early (13wks pregnant) is my boss is already asking if I'm goin to return after 6/12 mths and if f/t or p/t! I've said I av no idea I need to work out our finances but that's easier said then done :/ Baby is due 22/07/13. I am entitled to SMP and I know the amount of that, it's just the other benefits I'm finding hard to figure out! I live with my partner we currently both work f/t he earns c£21k and me c£16k

I'd be surprised if you qualified for much help tbh , the threshold is fairly low. btw your boss cannot demand a commitment to return, legally he has to keep your job open for a year and you only have to give your contractual notice if not.

From what I can workout i just qualify for maternity pay and child benefit! its the working tax i struggle with, i really didn't want to rtn f/t but think financially I may av to :( my boss is not the most understanding man n is being quite rude tbh! I appreciate he wants to know ASAP what my intentions are but it's so hard to know at this early stage! Men!!

Legally he cannot even ask . Just say you expect to return , end of.

Didn't think it would take long...

Lol! I have worked all my life, never once claimed benefits! My partner has been fighting on the front line in Afghanistan for this country! I categorically do not want to 'live off' benefits! I asked what benefits will I receive, if you feel me and my partner are not entitled to these then please go ahead and voice your opinion! I am very aware of ppl that take advantage of our country's benefit system thank you! And i will not earn a wage when I am on maternity leave!

£135 pw isn't that bad a "wage" though plus you'd get CB of around £20. tbh these things are always difficult too predict until nearer the time anyway.

Thank u for ur advice we obviously do not want to rely on benefits to get by on and nor will need to! I was just hoping I could plan ahead if I could afford to return after 6 or 12 months! I will only claim what I am entitled to, me and my partner have paid enough tax in our lives to cover what the government will pay us back for 6-12mths! I wasn't grumbling or
moaning that I wouldn't be getting enough and yes I agree £135 is fair amount for SMP! And you may ask why should the government pay for us to av children, because they are this country's future :)

And you know this how? Surely you have no idea that anyone's unborn child is going to cost society more money? Shall we all stop procreating then so the human race becomes extinct but atleast there will be no extra debt on society? I use the NHS as I am entitled to having paid tax and NI all my life! I gather you take nothing from the government then and never have or have you ever given anything back to this country? And as you are so concerned with the country's state surely
not had any children?

Yh Cheers :)

The current tax credits I think with ond child the limit us if you earn £26 fir a couple with one person working I think 24 hours per week. So if you returned after 6 months mat leave add half your annual salary to your partners you would be over thd limit to claim tax credits.

You are way over working tax credits limit I think it's about 16K. You may be able to claim some tax credits towards child are costs but again you may be over the limit. Obs very rough guide here and all will be different when universal credit starts.

linzi - as soon as baby is born/registered you will need to apply for child benefit (mw gave me my form) and call the child tax credit office. they will initially base your entitlement on last years earning and once you get the letter saying you are entitled to £10/nothing you can then reapply with change of circumstances (ie you are receiving maternity pay). you are unlikely to qualify for working tax credit but will probably get some child tax credit (or similar equivalent under this new universal credit malarky). tax credits are there for people who work/maternity pay. whilst pn maternity leave you are still classed as being in employment.
its marvellous that some people earn so much they dont need them, but if they were the only people allowed to have children the country would be rather fucked.

Thank u for that :) much more helpful!
Yes I didn't realise I'd just asked half of the country to pay for my unborn child lol! Never mind these ppl av to voice their opinions somewhere, as long as its off their chest now :)

Hi linzi01 firstly you boss is being a dick.
?You do not have to inform them that you are prenant until 15 weeks before due date.
?you do not have to inform them when you plan to start maternity leave until 28 days before you start it.
?smp is paid for 39 weeks (that's 9 months)
?You do not have to tell your employer (yet) when or if you plan to return.

Not sure about tax credits as I have a much lower income than you, so qualify for wtc to start with. This is based on previous years earnings, (so mine won't change for another year) so I doubt that you will receive any this year if you qualify at all.

with dc1 ctc and child benefit started from the week after dc1 was born. (Which was a few days after I informed them of the changes)

Yes he is always a dick tbh! Being really awkward with my holidays too but I am speaking with acas about that! I will be telling him on Monday that I will give him 28 days notice of my leaving date and will let him know when i know my return date, my friend mentioned if I change my mind about rtn date I just av to give 8wks notice?

There are a lot of hysterically sanctimonious 'why should I have to pay for other people's children?!!!' arseholes on this message-board at the moment. ... Ignore them. :)

The main benefits potentially available to you will be Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits. If your husband earns more than £50k some of the CB will be clawed back through taxation. If your household income is above about £26k you might not qualify for CTCs. The www.turn2us.org.uk calculator is pretty good in that it will tell you where to apply as well as giving you some idea of how much you may be able to claim. However, if you have a reasonable income, don't expect too much... then you won't be disappointed.