What are the criteria to get a full MA (maternity allowance ) ?

[Yanecek]

hi there,

I hope someone can help me here. My girlfriend and I expecting a baby mid march next year.

My girlfriend have been unemployed since July last year but now started to do some freelance work as interior designer and look like she will be getting more project moving forward.

She is now in process of setting up sole trader (self employed) businesses to make things official and pay taxes, etc.

Question is: what she need to do in order to make sure she will get full Maternity Allowance (MA) when baby is born. I think is now at £151.20 per week? What are the criteria? shall she pay national insurance payments earlier?
I see that she will have to pay full class 2 national insurance for at least 13 weeks before baby is due. Is that correct ?

any help/advice will much appreciated

Jan

In the 66 weeks before your baby’s due, you must also have been:

• employed or self-employed for at least 26 weeks
• earning (or classed as earning) £30 a week or more in at least 13 weeks - the weeks do not have to be together

You may still qualify if you’ve recently stopped working. It does not matter if you had different jobs or periods of unemployment.

If you’re self-employed

To get the full amount of Maternity Allowance, you must have paid Class 2 National Insurance for at least 13 of the 66 weeks before your baby’s due.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will check if you’ve paid enough when youmake your claim. They’ll write to you if you have not.

If you have not paid enough Class 2 National Insurance to get the full rate (£151.20 a week), you’ll get £27 a week for 39 weeks. You still need to meet all the other eligibility criteria to get this amount.

You may be able to get the full rate by making early National Insurance payments. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will send you a letter to tell you how.

You’ll need to pay using the reference number in the letter to get the full rate, even if you’ve recently made a payment through Self Assessment.

will she have been self employed for 26 weeks by the time the baby is born?

yes, she will be