Universal credit and statutory maternity pay

[Rachel12551]

Hi

I am due to have a baby later this year and just wanted to ask as the websites are so confusing!

I will be on maternity pay from my employer which is 90% of my wage for the first 6 weeks however after this it goes down to £150 a week on statutory maternity pay. My partner is on £20,000 a year and will continue to work full time.

My question is am I able to claim universal credit alongside maternity pay and does anyone know how much this is? I am worrying about money as obviously the maternity pay is going to be under half the income I am currently on.

Thanks!

Look at the benefit calculators like Entitledto as it really depends on your circumstances.

You can claim but unlikely to get anything with two wages coming it. However it does depend on how much you pay in rent. Once the baby is here you will get a couple element of £594.04 ( assuming one of you is over 25), a child element of £235.83 and then a rent element. If you are private renting the rent element you get will depend on the local housing allowance for the number of bedrooms you are entitled to. These three elements added together make your total UC amount which is then reduced by earnings, smp is counted as earnings. Once your baby is here you will get a work allowance meaning some of your earnings are disregarded before earnings reduce your Uc. This work allowance depends whether you rent or have a mortgage.