single parent, stat maternity pay can i claim UC?

[pbxxx]

Hi all

Just wondered if anyone could give me any advice?

I am due to have a baby later this year and just trying to work out my finances. I will get the statutory maternity pay.

I will be a single parent and I current live in my own house (mortaged). The maternity pay will only just cover the mortgage payments so I am just wondering whether anyone has had experience with claiming Universal Credits to help during this time?

I used the entitled to calculator and it was reassuring but reading other stories online makes me doubt this.
Thank you.

Contact citizens advice. They will be able to help you fill in the forms and work out what you're entitled to.

You would get standard element - if you are over 25 this is currently £409.89 but this will reduce in september. When the baby is born you will get another £235.83 and once the baby is born you will get a work allowance meaning that the first £512 of earnings is disregarded before wages reduce the total Uc. So once your baby is born your total Uc would be around £636. Say your smp was £600, the first £512 of that would be disregarded then there would be a 63p reduction of your UC for each pound earned above £512, so you would keep most of the UC total.
Child maintenance does not affect UC.
These figures assume you do not have savings over 6k. If you have savings over 16k you cannot claim UC.

@Babyroobs thank you for your post. That is what i worked out so it would be monthly it would be roughly
The SMP (approx 600) + the universal credit (after the work allowance part had been deducted)?
So say in total around £1000?

[quote pbxxx]@Babyroobs thank you for your post. That is what i worked out so it would be monthly it would be roughly
The SMP (approx 600) + the universal credit (after the work allowance part had been deducted)?
So say in total around £1000?[/quote]
If SMP is £600, then the first £512 of that is disregarded , so you would have deductions of about £55 from your Uc, so Uc would be around £581 per month. So you would have SMP of £600 and Uc of £581 + child benefit of around £80 a month so around £1261 altogether.
This is if it is definitely SMP and not maternity allowance which is treated differently on UC.

You won't get any help for housing as you have a mortgage so just standard element for yourself and child but then it is reduced pound for pound according to the smp you get.

And you will probably qualify for a reduction in your council tax, too. You have to apply to the council for it.

@As2021

You won't get any help for housing as you have a mortgage so just standard element for yourself and child but then it is reduced pound for pound according to the smp you get.

This is wrong. SMP is treated as wages. As op will have a baby and is not claiming any help with rent she will get a work allowance of £512, so most of her SMP is dsregarded an d then each pound of smp above £512 reduces her UC by 63p.

Thanks for all your help @Babyroobs