Maternity Allowance

[CoffeeAndCarbs]

Hi All,

Hoping you can provide me with some advise.

I have 2 jobs, 1 part-time (employed) and the other self-employed. I only work 12 hours a week in my part-time job and earn just under the necessary £118 a week which would entitle me to SMP. Between this position and my self-employed job, I earn beneath the threshold for paying tax and NI and to date, I haven't opted to pay voluntary NI contributions.

I'm just wondering where I stand with regards to Maternity Allowance. I have worked for my employer for almost 3 years so I know I'd be entitled to MA on this basis but then it gets complicated with my self employed income (which I complete a self assessment for every year).

Any guidance/advice would be much appreciated!

When you apply for maternity allowance they will check to see if you have paid enough class 2 NI. If you havent they will give you the option to pay them in order to get the maximum MA amount

@dementedpixie thank you for your reply! I had heard that you could pay outstanding NI contributions retrospectively but I didn't know how to go about it. Good to know that they give you the option at the time of application.

Thanks again x

www.gov.uk/maternity-allowance/eligibility this page tells you about making NI contributions

That's great! Thanks x

Just to let you know that there is a bit of a backlog - it will prob take at least 10 weeks to process your application etc - don't worry, its normal.

Thanks @AnxiousandExcited that's good to know 👍🏼 x

Seems a little faster now. I had my (positive!) MA response yesterday after only 5 weeks. They had said it would take 10.

@crazymuseummumtobe oh wow - they did mention they were getting more staff to deal with the backlog. I can hope mine should come through soon then - I applied about 5 weeks ago now, they also told me 10 weeks, but then most people were reporting wait times of up to 14 weeks...

I think with pp that are self employed it goes quite quickly, especially if you have already paid enough NI to qualify for the higher rate. I phoned last month to check I have enough NI and was told that I do. So I expect once I send the form in a couple of weeks to be processed quicker than for those who need to send payslips etc.

Anyways, just in case, I'm saving some money for the first couple of months just in case it gets delayed.

@crazymuseummumtobe I actually received my letter today! Though I owe NI to get the full amount, so that will take a bit longer.

I'm self employed and applied the day I turned 26 weeks. That was early November and I still haven't heard back on a decision. They text to say they'd let me know in 14 weeks...which is my due date.

Baby is now due in around 4 weeks, so I've got my MP on the case to investigate.

@purplefig That's really tough - about the same as I was told. There was a thread on here about 6 weeks ago or something when everyone was waiting or had waited 14-plus weeks. I'm glad to see they've hurried up a bit by me! Hopefully yours should come through soon esp with your MP on the case.