Maternity allowance!! Anyone recently applied?

[lnfb]

I got a text message acknowledging receipt of my application and it says I should hear back about their decision within 8 weeks!! Is this the standard message they send and has anyone else who has applied in the last month or so willing to let me know how long they were waiting??

Thanks in advance [signed-(going to be) very poor, (currently) very pregnant and very emotional!]

Tbh I feel like the application could be simplified to make the process quicker...with the payslips surely they know our earnings from our tax and NI deductions through PAYE or self employment tax return over the test period? I know they allow us to choose our highest earning weeks though so maybe it's that..xx

Just had a text saying first payment in 5-10 working days!

@IVEgottheDECAF So glad you've finally heard, shame it can take anything between 5-10 working days though! xx

They text me 8 weeks too. Think it's been 3 now....

It's even simpler for self enjoyed people like me... no payslips or anything. Apparently they just check our NI contributions 🤷‍♀️

@afternoontwee and @foreverbubblegum any news?

HMRC have been really dismantled under austerity- write to your MPs! And of course jobcentres are keeling over due to all the muck ups around UC. This stuff is political, they think people won't care so they can cut the staff on these services to the bone (and that of course sends everyone still left off sick with stress and nervous breakdowns). So we need to shout about it!!! You know, with all that energy we have left over in pregnancy and the newborn days...

Nothing yet, though they received my application at the same time as yours, so hopefully won't be too long. I'm self employed so they need to check national insurance contributions, so that could make it take a bit longer.

@ForeverBubblegum it is literally as easy as them plugging your NI number into the system. It's a yes no answer whether people have paid enough.

I think they have 1 person sat at a desk on their own 🙄

Does anyone know how frequently this gets paid? I've read online it can be every 2 or 4 weeks. Can you request which one you'd rather? As I have monthly bills to pay, I'd much rather every month!

@purplefig yes there was a box to tick where u choose which

@IVEgottheDECAF nothing as of yet. But have been in hospital having baby so there could be a letter waiting for me at home potentially? Will give them a call in a few days once I’ve been released from the ward.

Congratulations afternoontwee!

Still no baby here @ 39+5

@PrayingandHoping ahhh that is great news, thanks for letting me know!

@afternoontwee congratulations!

@IVEgottheDECAF I read 85%+ babies come after their due date. Also if you're a first time mum, you're much more likely again to have a baby at 41 weeks+. I keep trying to remind myself that due dates are kind of a myth and the due period is 37 weeks - 42 weeks. Not great when you're uncomfortable though, I can imagine!

This is baby 5 .....

1 2 and 3 had all been born by now

I know this post is a bit old but has anyone heard from their MA claims? Got a confirmation they reveived mine 8 weeks ago saying it woukd be up to 8 weeks now ive seen it might be up to 16 weeks?
Hoping someone here applied mid august and has heard back

I'm curious as well. I'm 5 weeks into the waiting game, if they stick to the 8 weeks I'll be fine 😊

There was a thread where we were talking about this yesterday (i received my text from them 10 weeks ago and still waiting).

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/pregnancy/3723210-Maternity-allowance

I don't know if one of the moderators will see this but there seem to be so many threads about maternity allowance, particularly at the moment when there are massive delays at DWP. Is it possible to have a sticky or similar so people can talk about it/have all the info in one place?

I applied mid August and have heard nothing!

I wonder if anyone can help me .

I am self employed but I don't earn enough to pay National insurance. It says on their website that I have to pay at least 13 weeks class 2 national Insurance contributions in the 66 weeks before the baby is due but they will send me a code to do this.

I am so confused to be honest because If I do my tax return and pay it most of it won't be in the 66 weeks.

If I don't get MA then I will have to return to work ASAP as DH doesn't earn enough to cover our outgoings. We are putting money away to try and cover when I will be off just in case but the uncertainty is causing me sleepless nights.

Any advice would be appreciated.

@fatisnotafeeling I don't earn enough either but you can pay it voluntarily which I do so I'm
Eligible for MA and a pension

Hi, I finally started getting full payments (plus big back payment) about a week ago, after applying the first week of June. So 20 weeks in total.

I got a letter 19 September saying I would get a letter from HMRC to pay national insurance early, and would get £30 a week until it was sorted. 3 weeks later I still hadn't heard anything, so rang HMRC who said they hadn't sent me the bill because I had already paid enough in my 2018/19 tax return. A asking why the MA people hadn't been told this, and they said they'd notify them. They must have done something as I got the letter saying I could have full amount a few days later, and the money was paid about a week after that.

fatisnotafeeling if you don't earn much you don't have to pay national insurance, but can choose to make voluntary class 2 payments (about 2.80 a week) when you fill in your tax return. When are you due? And how long have you been self employed for?

MA applications are significantly delayed at the moment. Heard something about it on Woman's hour, and there's a post about it on Maternity Actions' website. Apparently they've hired new staff etc to deal with the backlog. I applied at the end of August (literally the day after I was eligible to for my due date)- got the standard text saying they've received it and to wait 8 weeks. It's been 8 weeks and there's been no news, figured I'd give it a couple more weeks before stressing about it, given the known delays and backlog.

With regards to paying voluntary contributions of class 2 NI, I contacted HMRC a few months ago and they said that you have to apply for MA, wait to be told that your NI contributions are insufficient (I haven't had to submit a tax return while being self-employed yes) to be eligible for the full amount and they give you an option to pay the voluntary contributions to HMRC with a reference code or something. You can then pay the voluntary contributions and MA should get back to you and say you're eligible for the full amount.

However, due to the backlogs with processing applications I think that this whole process will be significantly delayed- although they have said they will backdate claims/payments etc as long as you've applied at the correct time.

My 8 weeks are up today, I just gave them a call.
Waiting time is up to 14 weeks now :(
Let's hope it wont take any longer than that, baby will already be here.

@MrsGrahamx sorry to hear that. I applied at bang on 26 weeks and got a text saying it's taking 14 weeks. That's my due date then 🙄