Single parent benefits

[Katrina1234567]

Hi,

My sister is due to give birth at the beginning of October and will be a single parent with no money coming from the dad.

She currently has a home with a mortgage and a full time job that pays £20,000.

Does anyone know what benefits that she would be entitled to?

Thank you.

What a strange selection of threads you have chosen to post on this morning uraburdenonsociety - and as it happens the OPs sister does have a job...

OP your sister would be entitled to stat maternity pay if she has been in her job long enough and also child benefit. If she is lucky her employer may also offer occupational maternity pay. She may be able to take a payment holiday on her mortgage for a few months but if not she needs to start saving like mad.

Why does she think there will be no money coming from the dad? Even people on benefits are expected to pay some of the money towards their children.

Strange response there above... there are benefits calculators online for example at entitledto. Not always accurate but they are a start.

Assuming she plans to continue working after maternity leave, she'll be entitled to some working tax credit and some child tax credit for childcare - exactly how much depends on how much her childcare costs and how many hours she works, but having recently helped a client with similar circumstances, I'm going to take a rough guess that she'll get approximately £400 a month in WTC and a couple of hundred in CTC. Use the HMRC tax credits calculator. www.gov.uk/tax-credits-calculator

Plus child benefit at £20.70 a week, and any maintenance from baby's father.

I know its different circumstances but dp and I had an income of around 20000 between us, it is based on last years so even though im now on mat leave and not earning so much we are entitled to child tax credits 250 pm, child benefit 80 pm and thats it. Not entitled to working tax credits as I'm not actually working atm.

entitledto is a good start OP:

Benefits Calculator - entitledto

www.entitledto.co.uk

I'm a LP on a bit more - I receive £20.70 child benefit, some tax credits towards nursery costs because I' in work, the minimum maintenance from child's father. I have savings above the threshold so not entitled to anything else like housing benefit. hope that helps.

Oh - and advise your sister to be very careful with tax credits. They are notorious for paying them, then deciding you have had too much and removing them entirely or cutting them right down. I've just spent 6 months living out of savings because they got it wrong and cut mine. My advice would be if possible to put them in a separate account and not spend until the next year - if that's not a possibility (it wouldn't be for a lot of people) just be frugal and careful until they are officially 'yours' in the next tax year.

Amy you should still be entitled to wtc whilst on maternity leave - I've just started mine on Monday and the tax credit office have readjusted my claim but the wtc element is still on there - you're still counted as being in employment.

Lokis, I thought that but when I rang they said because im not working 16 hours we aren't entitled, its a joint claim so both dp and myself need to work 16 hours at least.