Child benefit change of name

[SnozzberryMincePie]

I'm about to claim child benefit for dc2. I'd eventually like to put the child benefit for both DC in days name as I have a student loan which is currently deferred, and I don't want to go over their earning threshold for repayment (which seems to constantly change) .

However as I understand it it is better for me to claim cb while I am maternity leave (something to do with ni contributions?).

Does anyone know if I have understood this correctly and if so is it easy enough to change it to dp's name in a year's time or should I just claim it in his name from the start?

Our money is in a joint account so it doesn't matter which name it is in for any practical purpose.

Thanks

Bump

Check but I don't think child benefit counts as income for that

Thanks bacony, unfortunately I have one of the older loans which have been sold off to private companies, who have reinterpreted the rules and they do include now child benefit as income (I think this is unfair as I see it as the dc's money not mine, which is why I have no qualms about switching things around to avoid paying if I can).

I asked about changing child benefit into dh name, as I was becoming the primary earner. I thought it would protect his ni contribution, because if you claim cb you get 'credits' towards your pension even if you are not earning enough to pay NI.

But I was told it's not possible to just change names. I would have to close my claim, and dh would have to open a new one in his own name. This would mean a gap in payments of a month or so.

It all sounded too confusing and we could lose a few months money, so we decided not to.

Apparently i can more easily transfer the 'credit' scheme to him, so he will still get a full pension in the future.

Thanks bells. I actually called them yesterday and they said the same thing, but they didn't mention a possible gap in payments. I think we're going to do it as I need the ni contributions while I'm on maternity leave.

How long are you going on maternity for? If it's just a year I wouldn't worry about NI credits.

Yes it will be a year with the last three months unpaid. I don't know enough about how ni works to know if that will be a problem or not?

I also have a lgps pension that I will continue to contribute to if that makes any difference.

You will still receive credits if you are on maternity leave. You do need to request them.
www.gov.uk/national-insurance-credits/eligibility