Best online benefit calculator to use

[Heartburn888]

Hi sorry if this is the wrong place to post, but I’m so bloody confused with what I will be able to claim when I go on maternity leave in few months and I don’t want to just leave it to chance for what I’ll get I need to know so I can start preparing and budgeting if needs be.

I have used the turn2us calc and the entitled to and they have given me a figure that has a difference of about £900 per month.

I have rung the universal credit office and they’ve basically just told me that I’ll be able to claim what I can claim and just wait till I go on maternity to find out. Sorry but I don’t know how they can give that advice out. Ridiculous.

I have posted something similar before and a poster worked out what she is entitled to in her area and it was similar of that of the figure on turn2us which I would be able to survive from but the entitled to gives me a figure of approx £600 and there’s no way I’ll be able to pay my rent, household bills, car and car insurance, feed, clothe and wash myself let alone a new baby.

I’m starting to panic a bit about it now as it’s getting close to the date and I don’t want to be struggling on top of being a first time mum sad

Can anyone help me please?

Basically, if you're still employed, but just on maternity, the only additional claim you can make is for smp or maternity allowance (depending on how long you've been with your current job).

You might consider not taking as much time off. But you aren't entitled to additional benefits as you are still classed as employed.

Name changed as I work for Universal Credit and some of my posts may give me away!

They won’t tell you what you are entitled to as the figures are based on the information you provide and until everything is verified they cannot promise you a figure. Entitled to is the one we advise people to use. Maternity pay is treated as earnings. Your allowance increases once the baby is born and verified so do a calculation based on when your on mat leave before giving birth and one after. I usually advise people to bring the birth certificate in to verify a new baby as other wise you have to wait for child benefit to kick in and that can take a few weeks to process. Child benefit will back date a claim (check how long I think it’s 12 weeks) so make sure you report the change on your Universal Credit ASAP and get the child verified that way you get the child element whilst waiting for child benefit to verify the child and make payment. Hope that helps